Arizona Charlie's mum on loan

It was unclear this morning whether the bankrupt Arizona Charlie's resort received a loan Friday to pay off its creditors.

Even the resort's biggest creditor, billionaire Carl Icahn, was not sure whether the new week finds him owner of the Decatur Boulevard hotel-casino.

"My assumption is that the loan did not get funded," said Ed Weisfelner, an attorney for Icahn.

But Weisfelner said he has been unable to reach Arizona Charlie's owner Bruce Becker or his attorneys to determine whether Icahn is indeed now the resort's owner.

Under the terms of an agreement reached in June between Becker and Icahn, if Becker did not receive a loan by Friday to pay the resort's bondholders about $61.6 million, Icahn would take over.

Icahn owns a majority of Arizona Charlie's bonds. Becker, Icahn and Station Casinos, which also owns Arizona Charlie's bonds, fought a spirited battle for control of Arizona Charlie's through the first half of this year in bankruptcy court. The June agreement ended the fight between Becker and Icahn. Station withdrew its bid under pressure from merger partner Crescent Real Estate Equities.

Arizona Charlie's declared bankruptcy last November after defaulting on loans related to a Missouri riverboat venture.

Last month, United Healthcare Financial Services LLC, of Southern California, withdrew an offer to lend Becker $92 million. United Healthcare alleged Arizona Charlie's financial condition was insufficient to service the loan. Becker attorney John Clemency threatened possible legal action against the mortgage lender, which had promised the loan in a series of letters and affidavits since early February.

A United Healthcare attorney said the loan was not authorized, and that the United Healthcare employee who promised the loan has been terminated.

Clemency said last week the resort was seeking new financing. If Arizona Charlie's did receive a loan Friday, Becker has until this Friday, Aug. 7, to pay the resort's creditors.

If not, the June agreement obligates Becker to continue running the resort until the end of September at no charge. In that case, Icahn will likely have a representative on-property within a few weeks, Weisfelner said.

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