Eric Persson Moves to Repurchase Two Elko Casinos and Rehire 239 Staff

Eric Persson said on 8 October 2026 that he will acquire the Maverick Casino Hotel and the Gold Country Inn and Casino in Elko, Nevada, and intends to rehire the full complement of 239 employees that faced redundancy under current owner Maverick NV LLC. Persson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he expects the transaction to close within three weeks; no purchase price, buying entity or court sale motion for the Elko properties has been filed as of 7 October on the bankruptcy docket.

Deal outline: Persson will buy back the Elko casinos and rehire staff

Persson, the professional poker player and co-founder of Maverick Gaming, said he is acquiring the two adjacent Elko properties on Idaho Street and will transfer operations to Maverick, a company he now owns outright. The workforce numbers he cited match the WARN notices filed by Maverick NV LLC with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation: 198 employees at one property and 41 at the other, for a total of 239 jobs at risk under the scheduled 30 November 2026 closure date.

Persson described the transaction to the Review-Journal as a repurchase of assets and brand from lenders under a transition services agreement he signed after transferring assets in July 2025. He said the mechanics are like the process he used to reacquire eight Washington card rooms earlier in October.

"There will be no disruption and all the employees will be rehired," Persson told the Review-Journal.

Regulatory and timetable constraints for the Persson buyback Elko casinos plan

Nevada's gaming regulator is actively engaged. Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer told The Nevada Independent the agency is "very involved" and has been in contact with Persson "extensively," though no licensing item for the Elko casinos appeared on the Board or Nevada Gaming Commission agendas published through 7 October.

Three weeks from 8 October falls before the Board's next regular meeting, so closing on Persson's timetable would require either an existing Nevada gaming licence that already covers the new operating entity or a special Board session and Commission approval. The Nevada Gaming Commission next meets on 22 October; the Board meets on 4 and 5 November. The deadline that currently governs the WARN notices is 30 November 2026.

What the bankruptcy docket shows and what it does not

The Elko casinos are operated by Maverick NV LLC, a debtor in the Chapter 11 case captioned In re RunItOneTime LLC before Judge Alfredo R. Pérez in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Case No. 25-90191). Kroll Restructuring Administration, the debtor claims agent, maintains the docket; records captured through 7 October contain no sale motion specific to the Elko properties.

The most recent sale motion on the docket, filed 30 September 2026, covered two Tukwila, Washington card rooms and illustrates the wider estate process: in that motion the debtors planned to sell personal property and reject the lease while a buyer (TIL Gaming LLC) acquired the real estate directly from Blue Owl. Blue Owl previously bought the Elko casinos, an Elko gas station and a Tukwila card room in October 2022 for $47.3 million under a sale-leaseback; that arrangement and Blue Owl's rent concessions — which the Tukwila motion said end on 1 December — complicate how a purchase or new lease for Elko would be structured.

Persson has not disclosed whether he intends to buy the Elko buildings from Blue Owl or to take a new lease. The bankruptcy filings to date imply the estate may be selling only in-building assets while real estate terms remain subject to separate agreements with Blue Owl.

Who is running the properties now and who would operate them after a deal?

The court docket records a 23 March 2026 order that authorised a consulting agreement with RRC Gaming Management, LLC and allowed a "Supporting Shareholder" to install Tony Rodio, the former Caesars Entertainment chief executive, as manager of the licensed operator affiliates. RRC, under Rodio, is managing the Elko casinos at present, according to the Review-Journal. Persson said operations would pass to Maverick, the entity he controls, once the transaction completes.

The earlier Washington sales and the estate's treatment of Persson's past acquisitions will matter to creditors and the court. Persson was treated as an insider when his company bought four Washington card rooms from the estate in 2025; a sale back to a former chief executive and majority shareholder is likely to draw similar scrutiny once a sale motion is filed.

Precedent and practical steps to meet the 30 November deadline

The Nevada regulator has previously acted on expedited timelines: the case of Affinity Gaming's Primm properties saw the Board convene specially and the Commission condition licences on a signed master lease before gaming began, with one-year limits on approvals. That set of dispositions was published on 25 June 2026 and shows the state can accelerate approvals but will attach conditions.

For Persson to effect a closing within three weeks and keep Elko open past the 30 November WARN deadline, the likely path is either:

1. Demonstrate that Maverick (Persson's operating company) already holds a Nevada licence that covers the sites; or

2. Secure a special Board hearing and a Commission licence approval with conditions, mirroring the Primm precedent.

The Control Board's published October 2026 agenda contained no Maverick items; that creates a narrow window if Persson's timeline holds.

What remains public and what remains intention

Persson's announcement makes the survival of Elko's 239 jobs more plausible, but until the estate files a sale motion, a lease is recorded, and a Nevada gaming licence is granted publicly, the plan is an intention communicated through the press rather than a completed transaction. Sources on which this report relies include the bankruptcy docket maintained by Kroll Restructuring Administration, court filings in Case No. 25-90191, the Nevada Gaming Control Board agendas and dispositions, and contemporaneous interviews and emails to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and The Nevada Independent.

For regulators and creditors the key facts to watch are whether a sale motion for the Elko properties is filed, whether Persson obtains or already holds a licence that covers the new operator, and whether a lease or real-estate purchase from Blue Owl is recorded before 30 November. Readers tracking regulatory steps can consult the Nevada Gaming Control Board's schedule and dispositions for potential special-session items on licensing.