Casino Owners Not Licensed, Judge Rules

The future of the second-largest casino in the state was in question Thursday after a Superior Court judge ruled that the managing partners of the Bicycle Club Casino do not have a license to operate the card club.

Judge Dzintra Janavs granted a preliminary injunction to keep the partners from operating the club. But she stayed her ruling until Wednesday to allow the partners to operate the casino while they consider appealing the ruling.

Haig Kelegian, the casino’s managing partner, said he will ask the state attorney general to issue a decision on who is licensed to operate the casino. Without a licensed manager, Kelegian said the casino may close.

The ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by George Deitch, a former Bell Gardens councilman who was part of an investment group that lost a bid to buy the casino interest.

In his suit, Deitch alleges that Kelegian and his partners are operating the club without a city license, which is required by state and city law.

Federal marshals, who seized the casino in 1990 because of money laundering at the club, sold the controlling interest in April to Kelegian and his partners.