Maverick to Close Two Elko Casinos on 30 November, Putting 239 Jobs at Risk

Maverick NV LLC will permanently close the Maverick Casino Hotel and the Gold Country Inn and Casino in Elko on 30 November 2026 unless a new operator is found, the company told Nevada authorities on 28 September 2026. The WARN-style notices filed with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation put about 198 employees at the Maverick Casino Hotel (2065 Idaho Street) and 41 at Gold Country (2050 Idaho Street) — 239 roles in total — at risk. The letters state the closures are subject to change if the properties are transferred to a new owner or operator during the debtor bankruptcy process.

What the DETR notices say and who signed them

The two Rapid Response letters sent to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation are dated 28 September 2026 and were signed by human resources director Leticia Flores. Both letters say Maverick NV LLC "plans to completely and permanently close" the respective properties on 30 November 2026 and explicitly note that the company is "currently subject to a bankruptcy proceeding" that could produce a new operator or owner and thus delay or cancel the closures.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal first published the notices on 6 October 2026. The notices repeat the caveat used in earlier filings the company made in Washington state, where eight card rooms also carry a 30 November closure date unless an alternative operator emerges.

Bankruptcy background and the Blue Owl sale-leaseback

Maverick NV LLC is a named debtor in Case No. 25-90238 and is being jointly administered with the Chapter 11 case of RunItOneTime LLC (Case No. 25-90191) before Judge Alfredo R. Pérez of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Court filings show the Elko properties were included in a 6 October 2022 sale-leaseback to Blue Owl for $47.3 million. The master lease, according to a debtor motion filed on 10 December 2025, covered multiple properties including the Gold Country Inn & Casino and the Maverick Casino Hotel Elko.

At the time of the Chapter 11 proceedings the debtors said the leased properties drew no bids when offered for sale. Rent under the master lease was about $17.8 million a year at filing and the debtors had paid no rent since April 2025. As part of a settlement with Blue Owl entities Project Evergreen WA LLC and Project Evergreen NV Owner LLC, the parties agreed rent concessions of roughly $11.5 million over 12 months and a process for either designating properties to replacement operators or rejecting leases, with an orderly winddown where necessary. Judge Pérez signed the agreed order on 17 December 2025.

Why a buyer must be an operator with a Nevada licence

Any buyer of the Elko casino operations cannot simply acquire the buildings; Nevada requires a casino operator to be licensed by the Nevada Gaming Commission after an investigation by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The reporting that accompanies this article found no public application involving these properties, Maverick NV LLC or Blue Owl on the agendas and dispositions published by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission between January 2025 and the Board's 7 October 2026 meeting. That does not preclude a deal in progress, but it does mean a replacement operator would either need to hold an existing Nevada licence or have regulators move quickly — with less than eight weeks before the stated closure date.

In Washington state the founder Eric Persson has stated he will buy back eight card rooms that carry the same 30 November 2026 closure date, though the Washington Gambling Commission must still license any new operator there. Persson has told Seattle media his current operating company is separate from the entity in bankruptcy.

Local economic impact and gaming figures for Elko

Elko County recorded a gaming win of $12.3 million in August 2026, down 0.27% from the same month a year earlier, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board's monthly report. A state labour market publication that draws on Data Axle still lists the Maverick Casino-Hotel as one of the city's largest employers in its 2026 release, with an employer-size band of 500–999 staff — a figure notably higher than the 198 specified in the closure notice. Elko Mayor Reece Keener told the Nevada Independent, when Maverick filed for bankruptcy, that the properties had been "an Elko staple for more than a generation." Losing both buildings would remove a large hotel-casino and its neighbour from a relatively small local market.

Where the process goes from here and what operators or buyers face

The December 2025 settlement with Blue Owl created a mechanism to hand properties to replacement operators on terms the landlord accepts. The closure notices act as a legal floor: they set a default termination date while leaving open the possibility the leases will be assumed or properties designated to new operators. For any transferee the immediate barriers are securing a Nevada gaming licence or already holding one, negotiating acceptable lease terms with Blue Owl's Project Evergreen entities, and moving through the bankruptcy-designation process in court.

For Elko specifically, timelines are compressed. A replacement operator who lacks an existing licence would need either a fast-tracked regulatory review or to operate under a license-holder affiliate. To date there is no public sign of such an application in Nevada's published agendas and dispositions through 7 October 2026.

"If the Site is transitioned to a new owner/operator, the above-referenced closure may not occur, or alternatively, the closure could be delayed," the Maverick NV LLC letters say, underscoring that the bankruptcy process remains the decisive variable.

Wider pattern: lease-driven closures across jurisdictions

The Elko notices complete a pattern that began with Washington properties. The eight Washington card rooms listed for 30 November and the two Tukwila properties listed for 1 November are the Washington properties within the Blue Owl master lease. The mechanism is therefore portfolio-driven: every property in the Blue Owl lease now has an announced closure date unless a replacement operator is designated under the settlement terms the debtors negotiated with Blue Owl and secured lenders.

Maverick NV LLC and related debtors have until the end of the designation process to find operators willing to take the leases under the landlord's terms. If they cannot, the estate will proceed with a winddown that the Rapid Response notices set in motion.

For coverage of regulatory steps and licensing matters that will determine whether a buyer can operate these properties, see the reporting in our regulation and news sections.