About 850 casino workers in Washington are expected to keep their jobs after Maverick Gaming owner Eric Persson moved to reacquire eight casinos named in recent closure notices. Persson told KIRO Newsradio the properties will remain open during the ownership transition.
Persson said that he expects the purchase to close in about three weeks and that the new company will rehire employees at the sites.
“From a customer standpoint, you know nothing changes,” Persson said. “The building never closes.”
The deal covers:
- Great American Casino (Everett)
- Chip’s Casino (Lakewood)
- Macau Casino (Lakewood)
- Palace Casino (Lakewood)
- All Star Casino (Silverdale)
- Casino Caribbean (Yakima)
- Crazy Moose Casino (Pasco)
- Coyote Bobs Casino (Kennewick)
What the WARN filings said
Last week, the company sent separate letters about each closure to Washington’s Employment Security Department.
Maverick Washington LLC, a subsidiary of RunItOneTime LLC, filed the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices. The notices covered positions in gaming, food service, security and management, among them dealers, cooks, servers, bartenders, cashiers and supervisors.
Every letter included a statement from Maverick Washington LLC Human Resources Director Christine Wisniewski, who wrote that a new owner could keep a site open.
“Maverick Washington LLC is currently subject to a bankruptcy proceeding and, as part of that proceeding, there could be a potential change of operator and/or owner for the site,” she stated. “If the site is transitioned to a new owner/operator, the above-referenced closure may not occur, or alternatively, the closure could be delayed. We will provide updated information to you in the event that occurs.”
A change of employer, not a shutdown
According to Persson, the notices account for the end of workers’ employment with the old company before the new owner rehires them, and they do not mean the casinos will close their doors.
“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.
Persson added that reports based on the notices had left workers and customers confused about the future of the casinos.
“It would have been helpful, I think, if the WARN notice said that you know there was an expected transition with another party, and these properties are expected to remain open,” he said.
When asked whether anything could hold up the deal, Persson said he did not anticipate obstacles and was working closely with regulators.
“I’m trying to make sure these properties stay open, these jobs stay in place,” he said.
Two Tukwila properties received notices in September
In early September, local media reports indicated that two of Maverick’s Tukwila casinos had filed closure notices that affected 238 employees.
Maverick Gaming filed the notices with the state for the Great American Casino and the Riverside Casino on Interurban Avenue S., and the filings listed November 1 as the closure date.
Riverside Casino announced layoffs for 142 employees, while Great American Casino announced layoffs for 96. The affected workers include cashiers, bartenders, dealers, cooks, and management.
Persson said he understood that two additional properties were being sold to another buyer, with the transaction expected to close in about a month, although he did not name those properties during the interview. He also said three other properties had been sold to a different buyer.
How the bankruptcy and the buybacks connect
Persson disputed the characterization that his current company is in bankruptcy. He said that in July 2025 he agreed to transfer assets to his lenders, who then filed for bankruptcy through a separate company.
Persson said he bought back the Maverick Gaming name as part of that transition, and he described the current business as separate from the company involved in the bankruptcy proceeding.
“Maverick Gaming is not a party to the bankruptcy,” he said. “We’re a separate company.”
Persson said that over the past year he has been buying assets back from the lenders. Those purchases included four Washington card rooms, two in Kirkland, one in Mountlake Terrace and one in Lakewood, along with a manufacturing company. The eight casinos now under acquisition are the latest part of that effort.
“These card rooms are staying open,” Persson said.