Real Estate and Development Projects

Lewis Roca's Gaming Practice Group includes nationally recognized lawyers who have been at the forefront of all the major gaming trends for the past quarter century. We represent numerous casino operators, investors, developers, lenders, financial institutions, suppliers and other companies doing business with the commercial gaming industry.

Our Gaming Practice Group sees significant exposure to real estate issues. Although much of the group's activities involve gaming licensing and related regulatory approvals related to the ownership and operation of casinos, gaming laws have additional requirements that need to be considered in a real estate context. Specifically, any resort-hotel-casino property would either (a) own the land under which it does business or (b) be party to a lease or management agreement allowing for such use (it should be noted that in a lease or management agreement context, there are very specific gaming law requirements that need to be considered and complied with).

When a gaming property is being developed or sold, or if a gaming tenant (or manager) is changing, real estate issues must be addressed in conjunction with gaming law requirements, including but not limited to, issues involving title, escrow, liens, deeds of trust, foreclosure remedies, financing, loan and security agreements, lease terms (landlord-tenant), zoning, use permits and joint ventures with adjacent non-gaming properties. Finally, gaming companies going through bankruptcy reorganization or other restructuring may also face real estate issues depending upon what it is set forth in a specific plan of reorganization.

Our representative experience includes many types of deals, including representation of a major hotel/casino in the successful bid award of the right to develop, construct and build a riverboat casino project in St. Louis, Missouri. In connection therewith, negotiated partnership agreement, development agreements, ground lease and financing arrangements for the project.