L.A. Group Says It Will Team With Marriott for Aladdin Bid

A Los Angeles-based investment group said Sunday that it would team with Marriott International Inc. to enter the bidding to take over the Aladdin hotel-casino in Las Vegas.

Marriott intends to invest $25 million in the property’s hotel, said Richard Alter, managing director of Financial Capital Investment Co. of Los Angeles.

Alter said Marriott would run the hotel but have nothing to do with gambling operations. He said the deal made sense for the well-known hotel chain.

“Marriott has every major city covered except for Las Vegas,” Alter said. “They have tremendous demand for a Strip property.”

Alter’s group has offered to assume $476 million of the casino’s debt and invest $100 million in capital projects, according to court records.

Alter’s plan, which was submitted in U.S. Bankruptcy Court by Las Vegas Hotel Casino Investors, has not been approved by Aladdin’s lenders, he said.

Alter’s group is competing with OpBiz -- a company formed by Robert Earl, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Bay Harbour Management -- in the bidding for the Arabian Nights-themed resort. Earl is a co-founder of Planet Hollywood International Inc.

A June 20 purchasing hearing has been scheduled for the casino, built at a cost of $1.4 billion. All casino bids must be submitted to the court by June 17.