Penn National seeks Vegas entry with Fontainebleau bid

Casino operator Penn National Gaming seems to be looking make it big with the help of one of Las Vegas’ biggest busts. After weeks of negotiations, Penn bid $102 million for the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, an unfinished and bankrupt casino hotel that spent about $2 billion on construction and development, according to court records. Developer Jeffrey Soffer, of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, is pursuing a sale of the Vegas Fontainebleau after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on the stalled project in June. Other casino companies also have toured the Fontainebleau site and signed the documents necessary to prepare a bid for the project, said Howard Karawan, chief restructuring officer for Fontainebleau Resorts. [Miami Herald]