Maverick’s Founder Says He Will Buy Back Eight Washington Cardrooms, but the Court Has Not Seen a Deal

Eric Persson, the founder of Maverick Gaming, says he is buying back the eight Washington cardrooms that were due to close on November 30, a move he says keeps about 850 workers in their jobs. He told Seattle’s KIRO Newsradio, in an interview published October 5, that he expects the purchase to close in about three weeks. As of October 6, the bankruptcy court docket in Houston showed no motion asking a judge to approve it.

The eight are the rooms named in closure notices filed with the state on September 28. They are Great American Casino in Everett, Chips, Macau and Palace in Lakewood, All Star Casino in Silverdale, Casino Caribbean in Yakima, Crazy Moose in Pasco and Coyote Bobs in Kennewick. Maverick had 17 cardrooms in Washington when it filed for Chapter 11 in July 2025.

However, despite Persson’s public statements asserting that the transaction will close within three weeks, an inspection of the docket in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas reveals no formal asset purchase agreement (APA) or motion for sale approval under 11 U.S.C. § 363.

“The Building Never Closes”

Persson’s message to customers was simple. “From a customer standpoint, you know nothing changes,” he told the station. “The building never closes.”

He said the layoff notices describe a change of employer, not a shutdown. “The employees are being terminated as it relates to the old company and being rehired by the new company, but the properties themselves will stay open,” he said. He added that he did not expect anything to hold the deal up and that he was working closely with regulators.

That’s the whole of the public detail. The report names no price and no buying entity, and it doesn’t say what happens to the leases.

One Sale Motion, and It Isn’t His

The docket fills in some of the gaps. The 20 most recent entries on the claims agent’s site run from September 22 to October 6, and they hold a single sale motion. It is the September 30 request to sell two Tukwila cardrooms to TIL Gaming Bidco LLC for $75,000 plus assumed liabilities. Objections to that sale are due 21 days after filing, which is October 21.

Persson seemed to refer to it. He said he understood two more properties were going to another buyer in a deal expected to close in about a month, though he did not name them.

The Tukwila motion also shows what a rescue has to solve. Maverick rents a group of its buildings from entities the filing calls Blue Owl under a master lease, and its Lakewood and Yakima subsidiaries are among the tenants. In Tukwila, the buyer struck its own agreement to acquire the real estate from Blue Owl, and Maverick asked the court to reject the lease for those two rooms only. The lease stays in force everywhere else.

The Clock Still Runs to December 1

The viability of any proposed acquisition depends on resolving property lease obligations. A significant portion of the Washington cardroom portfolio operates under a master lease back structure executed in 2023 with real estate investment entities affiliated with Blue Owl Capital.

Following defaults on monthly rent payments, the bankruptcy court approved an administrative stipulation granting temporary rent concessions that expire on December 1, 2026. Under Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code, a debtor cannot assign a commercial lease to a new buyer without curing historical defaults or obtaining explicit landlord consent. If an acquiring entity fails to negotiate a lease assumption or enter into a direct real estate agreement with Blue Owl prior to December 1, the underlying master lease reverts to default status, forcing facility shutdowns regardless of licensing status.

Persson has been here before. Bloomberg Law reported in September 2025 that an entity he manages won a bankruptcy auction for three Washington locations with a $28 million bid. He told KIRO he has since bought back four cardrooms, two in Kirkland and one each in Mountlake Terrace and Lakewood, along with a manufacturing company.

He also rejects the idea that his company is the bankrupt one. Persson said he agreed in July 2025 to hand assets to his lenders, who then filed for bankruptcy through a separate company, and that he bought back the Maverick Gaming name. “Maverick Gaming is not a party to the bankruptcy,” he said.

Elko Got the Same Warning

Washington isn’t the only state with a November 30 date. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on October 6 that closure notices were filed with Nevada’s employment department last week for two casinos in Nevada, both in Elko. They cover 198 employees at the Maverick Casino Hotel and 41 at the Gold Country Inn and Casino, a combined 239 jobs.

The Nevada notices carry the same exit clause as the Washington ones. If the properties move to a new owner or operator, the closures may not happen or could be delayed. The newspaper said it tried unsuccessfully to reach Persson for comment.

Elko is tied to the same lease. The tenants on the Blue Owl master lease include Maverick Elko LLC, Maverick NV LLC and Gold Country Operator LLC. Maverick went into bankruptcy with five Nevada properties, three in Elko and two in West Wendover.

A Narrow Business on a Rent Break

The business being fought over is a narrow one. Washington’s cardrooms are limited to 15 Table Games each, a mix of Baccarat, Poker and variations of Blackjack. The rent break that has kept those tables open ends on December 1.