Caesars Entertainment Corp had removed Ganesvoort Hotel from its proposed project in Las Vegas. This comes after regulatory concerns were aired as to the hotel operator, thus forcing Caesars to dissolve a partnership agreement for a deal in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts gaming authorities recommended that no license be issued to the gaming giant because of questions on its Gansevoort investor. This was confirmed by Caesars Entertainment Corp Chairman and CEO Gary Loveman through a telephone interview.
Loveman said that the findings of the investigators were 'extraordinary'. He also said that other large casino operators would find it difficult to comply with the Massachusetts state licensing standards.
According to Loveman, "It's going to be very hard for a multi-jurisdictional operator to pass the test. It's going to be very hard for anyone to pass."
The investor in question, Arik Kislin, was identified in German court documents to allegedly have ties to Russian organized crime. This was also reported by the New York Post in 2012. In response, Kislin's lawyer Lisa Cohen had informed the Post that Kislin had no recollection about being related to the company identified to have Russian mafia ties.
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