Casino Owner in Nevada Files for Protection

Attorneys for casino owner John Anderson’s Cedar Development Corp. have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court here.

Cedar Development, which sought the court protection Wednesday, is a holding company, wholly owned by Anderson, which owns a subsidiary, Baby Grand Corp., operating the Maxim hotel-casino in Las Vegas.

But Cedar Development attorney Mike Bonner said the Maxim itself is not in bankruptcy. He said the Maxim “is operating as normal, and its financial condition is normal. . . . It’s business as usual.”

The Chapter 11 filing was prompted by a move by Eureka Federal Savings and Loan to acquire Cedar Grand’s ownership of Baby Grand. Anderson, who also owns the Dunes hotel-casino in Las Vegas, owes Eureka $25 million.

The filing delayed a Clark County district court hearing Wednesday in which Eureka had sought to reregister the Baby Grand stock in its name.

Also delayed was state Gaming Control Board consideration of a Eureka petition to foreclose on the Baby Grand shares.