BILOXI, Miss., Nov. 22, 1995 -- The United States
Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Mississippi ruled
Tuesday, November 21, in favor of the proposed purchase of the
Palace Casino located in Biloxi, Mississippi by Casino Resource
Corporation, (Nasdaq: CSNR). The dockside vessel will be purchased
by Casino Resource Corporation for a total cash purchase price of
$12.0 million. The ruling follows several months of negotiation and
extends the closing date of the transaction to January 31, 1996, in
exchange for the court's granting to Casino Resource Corporation, in
lieu of exclusivity, a right of first refusal as protection against
any competing offer that might be entertained through that date.
The terms of the company's offer were previously accepted by the
Maritime Group, Ltd., which will
continue to operate the property
under Chapter 11 reorganization until the closing date of the
transaction. According to Jack Pilger, chief executive officer,
Casino Resource Corporation contemplates financing its purchase of
the property through a combination of debt and equity, or through a
joint venture partner who would provide part or all of the equity.
Pilger emphasized that Casino Resource Corporation is not
considering a Reg. S offering. "We recognize our obligation to
shareholders and are committed to acting in their best interest and
in the best long-term interest of the company," he said.
Pilger also noted that the company remains committed to keeping
the facility on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. "With certain
operational improvements and the capital restructuring we expect to
put in place, Casino Resource Corporation's purchase of the Palace
Casino represents an important opportunity for the company, its
shareholders, and the continued economic health of the region," said
Pilger. "We are confident in our ability to structure financing
that will be appropriate to the property's performance and that will
help optimize return over cost to our shareholders," he added.
Pilger also noted that licensing to operate the property is
being processed through the Mississippi Gaming Commission, which he
anticipates will be finalized by the Commission at its December 28
meeting. "While there are always certain `unknowns' about a project
of this magnitude, many positive developments have been running
parallel to yesterday's decision by the court, and we are encouraged
by the progress that has been made along several fronts to position
Casino Resource Corporation as a full-fledged gaming and
entertainment company," said Pilger. He added that while the
company is considering relocating the vessel to a berth with
frontage on I-90, he expects in any event that the property will
begin cash flowing under new ownership during the first calendar
quarter of 1996.
Announcement of the court's decision follows the newly signed
management agreement between Harrah's Entertainment and the Pokagon
Band of Potawatomi Indian Tribe to develop and operate casinos for
the Tribe in Southwestern Michigan and Northern Indiana. Casino
Resource Corporation will serve as a paid consultant and technical
advisor to Harrah's in the implementation of these agreements,
receiving 21.6 percent of Harrah's management fee throughout a five-
year term and any extensions. The agreement does not require Casino
Resource Corporation to provide any of the capital necessary for
development.
Casino Resource Corporation is a diversified hospitality and
entertainment enterprise. The company owns and operates the 2,000-
seat Country Tonite Theatre in Branson, Missouri; Country Tonite
Enterprises, an award-winning theatrical production company in Las
Vegas (producers of the "Country Tonite Show," currently in its
fourth year at the Aladdin Hotel); and the 154-room Grand Hinckley
Inn, located in Hinckley, Minn., adjacent to the Grand Casino. In
addition, the company has entered into strategic alliances for the
development of Indian gaming properties in Michigan and Indiana.
/CONTACT: Jack Pilger, CEO, or Robert J. Allen, VP,
601-435-1976, both of Casino Resource Corporation; or Madeleine
Franco,
or Mark Grapin, 801-595-8611, both of Jordan Richard Assoc./
NEW ORLEANS, La., Nov. 22, 1995 -- href="chap11.harrahs.html">Harrah's Jazz Company
announced today that it filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition under
Chapter 11.
Harrah's Jazz has been informed that the lenders to the Harrah's
Jazz partnership have determined not to disburse funds under its
bank credit facilities. Harrah's Jazz Company required
disbursements under the bank credit facilities in order to continue
with the construction of the Canal Street Casino. Construction on
the Canal Street Casino has been suspended and all payments stopped.
Harrah's Basin Street temporary casino has ceased operations. The
bank lenders have accelerated the bank debt and applied all amounts
in the bank disbursement account to repayment of the bank debt.
Harrah's Jazz Company will seek to restructure the Harrah's Jazz
financing and renegotiate other contractual terms which have
substantially raised the fixed costs of the temporary and permanent
casinos. Harrah's Jazz intends to commence negotiations with its
creditors immediately in an effort to restructure its outstanding
debt, and with other parties on matters relevant to the project.
The case was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware.
/CONTACT: Ralph Berry, Harrah's Management, 901-762-8629/
MEMPHIS, Nov. 22, 1995 -- Harrah's Entertainment,
Inc.(NYSE: HET) announced today that it expects to write off its
investment in the Harrah's Jazz
Company partnership due to the
voluntary bankruptcy filing of its New Orleans casino project. A
subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is one of three partners
in Harrah's Jazz Company with New Orleans/Louisiana Development
Corporation (NOLDC) and Grand Palais Casinos. The Harrah's Jazz
Company partnership has been informed by its lenders that they have
determined not to disburse funds under its bank credit facilities.
Harrah's Jazz Company required disbursements under the bank credit
facilities in order to continue with construction of the Canal
Street Casino.
If the full amount of Harrah's Entertainment's current balance
of investment and amounts due to Harrah's Entertainment by the
partnership, plus other costs associated with the bankruptcy were
charged to income, an approximate 55 cents to 60 cents per share
after tax effect on income as a one-time charge would result. The
current outstanding debt of the partnership in non-recourse to
Harrah's Entertainment and the other partners.
Construction has been suspended on the Canal Street Casino.
Harrah's Basin Street temporary Casino has ceased operations. The
bank lenders have accelerated the bank debt and applied all amounts
in the bank disbursement account to repayment of the bank debt.
Harrah's Jazz Company will seek to restructure the Harrah's Jazz
financing and renegotiate other contractual terms which have
substantially raised the fixed costs of the temporary and permanent
casinos and impeded their operation. Harrah's Jazz intends to
commence negotiations with its creditors immediately in an effort to
restructure its outstanding debt and with other parties on matters
relevant to the project.
"While Harrah's Entertainment still believes the Canal Street
Casino can be a success if restructured," said Philip Satre,
president and CEO of Harrah's Entertainment, "it has become obvious
to us that the project as it is now configured cannot succeed with
its existing financial structure, the current levels of
participation by various partners and parties, and the political and
operating risks of the market.
"Harrah's Entertainment has met every one of its legal
obligations to Harrah's Jazz Company. However, from the original
bid by Harrah's Entertainment in conjunction with NOLDC, the capital
costs have risen from $425 million to an estimated $855 million
driven by numerous changes in scope and delays caused by
requirements of the City of New Orleans' previous administration and
the State of Louisiana. As a result, the fixed costs of the project
have increased while the anticipated market demands has yet to
materialize," Satre added.
Harrah's Entertainment is an independent New York Stock Exchange
traded company operating 15 additional open, operating and highly
successful casinos in eight states and has five additional casinos
under development. Its participation in Harrah's Jazz is as a
partner and management company. The ultimate fate of the casino
project in New Orleans does not impact the individual operations of
Harrah's other casinos and pending developments, and impacts
Harrah's Entertainment only to the degree of the financial
investment in New Orleans.
/CONTACT: Ralph Berry, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. 901-762-8629/
VANCOUVER, B.C.--Nov. 22, 1995--AZCO MINING
INC. (TSE, AMEX:AZC) AZCO Mining Inc. (the "Company") announces an
update in respect to its agreement in principle of September 20,
1995 (the "Agreement") with Princeton Mining Corporation
("Princeton").
Under the terms of the Agreement the Company has made request
for access to the $3 million credit facility to be supplied by
Princeton, however, this request has not been fulfilled. The
Company has issued notice to Princeton of noncompliance with the
Agreement and with such funding request. Princeton has advised the
Company that it is making all efforts to secure funding to satisfy
the request but, in any event, has further advised that it disagrees
with the Company's interpretation as to the requirement to provide
the facility and disagrees with the Company's position that it is in
non-compliance of the Agreement.
In the event that the credit facility is not available on terms
acceptable to the Company or the shareholders of the Company do not
approve the Phelps Dodge transaction, and without any other
financing alternative, the Company would be compelled to seek
reorganization pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the U.S. Code
or a liquidation pursuant to Chapter 7 or title 11 of the U.S. Code.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of AZCO Mining Inc.
Alan P. Lindsay
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
NOTE TO EDITORS: This news release has been prepared by
management of the company who takes full responsibility for its
contents. The American Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock
Exchange neither approve nor disapprove the contents of this news
release.
CONTACT: Alan P. Lindsay, 604/682-7286;
Anthony Harvey, 604/682-7286;
Paul Lathigee, 604/682-7286
or 800/563-7939;
604/685-4320 (Fax)
CAMP SPRINGS, Md., Nov. 22, 1995 -- Representatives of Tom
and Wanda Clancy released the following:
An Alexandria, VA., man rounded up over $6 million between 1992-
1994 in a complex investment scheme that victimized dozens of
Maryland residents, including author Tom Clancy and his wife, Wanda,
according to a November 10, 1995 complaint filed in the Circuit
Court of Prince George's (MD.) County. The Maryland Securities
Division is charging that the man, Richard A. Scott, engaged in
"acts, practices and a course of business that operated as a fraud
on Maryland investors ... "
In the multi-layered scheme, some investors approached by Scott
thought they were putting their money into a special investment
program at Scott's coin and stamp operation for which the promoter
"guaranteed" a 15 percent return. Investors were told that the Camp
Springs, Md.- based business, Goldie's Coin and Stamp Center,
generated these results through transactions involving gold coins
purchased from estates. Other investors thought they were investing
in a brokerage account or accounts controlled by Scott and to which
only he had direct access. The Maryland Securities Division alleges
that Scott told investors that he had an investment return track
record of 30 percent a year.
Investigation revealed that the vast majority of the funds from
both of the investment programs went into a single brokerage account
controlled by Scott. Most investors were not advised that their
funds were being pooled with those of others, that the account was
being traded on margin, that intense speculation in risky options
contracts was a major focus, and that they could not liquidate their
funds on short order, according to the Maryland complaint. In other
cases, the Maryland complaint alleges, investors who asked Scott to
purchase specific stocks later learned that the transactions had not
been completed.
In a joint statement issued today, Tom and Wanda Clancy said:
"Along with many of our friends and fellow community members, we
were taken in by Richard Scott's elaborate and professionally
promoted investment scheme. This was not some high-roller, ultra-
risky investment strategy. To the contrary, Scott presented it as
an extraordinarily safe and solid investment program. We didn't
intend to be a part of speculative tactics like options or buying on
margin. That's not how it was presented to us."
Ellyn L. Brown, the Clancy's attorney and a former Maryland
securities commissioner, explained: "This investment scheme bears
many of the classic hallmarks of a successful swindle. It grew
within a network of friends, relatives and associates, many of whom
were long- time investors and major community figures. It featured
a complex series of transactions and reports. It involved the
artful construction of fictitious account statements and oral
representations. In my experience, the most successful swindles
are complicated, seem entirely credible at the time, and flourish in
an environment of trust. Unfortunately, this was one of those
situations."
In its action, the Maryland Securities Division points to
widespread violations of the Maryland Securities Act, including
failure to register securities, operating an unregistered investment
company, acting as an unregistered broker-dealer and broker-dealer
agent, and posing as an investment adviser without proper
registration. On November 10, 1995, the state agency went to the
Circuit Court of Prince George's County seeking injunctive relief, a
freeze of all corporate, bank, and brokerage assets, appointment of
a receiver, and the establishment of a constructive trust for the
victims.
On November 2, 1995, Goldie's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Maryland, Southern Division. According to the state's complaint,
less than $400,000 remains in the brokerage account controlled by
Scott.
Since December 1992, Tom and Wanda Clancy have invested over
$1.4 million with Scott. Of the amount, $200,000 was supposedly
placed by Scott in the guaranteed 15 percent account, with the
balance, $1.2 million, going into stocks. In statements to the
Maryland Securities Divisions, the Clancys indicated that they were
told neither about the pooled nature of the stock investments nor
the high investment risks involved. Further, Scott appears not to
have made at least $200,000 in purchases of certain stocks that he
represented had been acquired on behalf of the Clancys. When the
promoter was ordered by Mr. Clancy in October 1995 to liquidate a
portion of the couple's portfolio, Scott failed to do so, according
to Tom Clancy's affidavit.
In their statement, the Clancys said: "I don't think we were
targeted because we are the Clancys. We have good friends who lost
only a few thousand dollars. Some of them are retirees. This
promoter was indiscriminate and cold-blooded. Anybody with a few
dollars was considered a target of opportunity."
Among other investments, Scott managed a $100,000 trust set up
by the Clancys for the college educations of the children of a
deceased family friend. The Clancys also contributed $450,000 to
their children's school, which the institution invested with Scott
in 1993. In October 1995, the school asked that Scott liquidate
$200,000 of the amount. He has failed to do so, according to the
Maryland Securities Commissioner's complaint.
In a separate comment, Tom Clancy said: "I have encountered
many things in my life, but never before the cold, manipulative
deception that characterized this swindle. I have been fortunate to
deal almost exclusively with outstanding and reputable people. I
wonder if there really is a defense against someone who is so
`wrong' that they will say anything and produce completely phony
documents and reports in order to hold together a complex tissue of
lies. On one level, I suppose it's a good thing that I have so much
difficulty understanding what goes on in the head of someone who
would rob the trust fund set up for the children of a deceased
friend."
/CONTACT: Scott Stapf, on behalf of Tom and Wanda Clancy,
703-276-1116 (office) or 800-570-4400 (pager)/
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--Nov. 22, 1995--KLH
Engineering Group Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board:KLHE) reported a
loss of
net income of $1,669,005 or (1 cent) per share, on revenues of
$298,702, vs. a loss of net income of $808,031 or (1 cent) per share
on revenues of $4,283,907 in the previous year's third quarter.
Weighted average common shares outstanding were reported at
120,286,679 vs. 56,700,839 on a comparable quarter basis.
Nine month net income loss for the year was reported at
$2,074,991, or (2 cents) per share, on revenues of $5,251,032, vs. a
loss of net income of $636,311, or (1 cent) per share on revenues of
$8,177,836. Weighted average shares outstanding were reported at
123,354,337 vs. 48,875,524 on a comparable basis.
The company also announced its intention to reverse split its
common stock on a one-for-fifty basis, in order to increase the
price per share to a level investors will find more attractive.
According to Rod Clawson, president of KLH Constructors: "While
the earnings still remained negative for the quarter, KLH
Engineering Inc. was able to achieve some very positive results in
cost containment. Operating and general and administrative costs
declined 28% over the comparable nine-month period. The nine months
results, also reflect charges incurred in closing our office in
Mexico in mid-year.
"Additionally, third quarter revenues were impacted by a one-time
nonrecurring writedown charge of $1,299,177, or 1 cent per share,
attributed to our subsidiary, Tomahawk Construction Inc. This
charge occurred in conjunction with its emergence from bankruptcy in
August, 1995.
"We anticipate that the fourth quarter will be a pivotal point
for KLH, with a significant contribution by Tomahawk close at hand.
We are also continuing to obtain more diversified contracts with a
design/build focus to improve our direction towards profitability."
KLH Engineering Group Inc. is a full-service consulting,
engineering, surveying and construction firm based in Englewood,
specializing in design/build services for the development community.
CONTACT: REOVEST, Golden, Colo.,
Bob Oberndorf, 303/642-0073
SAN DIEGO--Nov. 22, 1995--Audre
Recognition
Systems Inc. ("Audre") announced a restructuring of its top
management.
Thomas Casey will now focus all his attention on AUDRE Inc., the
wholly owned operating entity of Audre Recognition Systems Inc. and
will remain the president of AUDRE Inc. The company's board of
directors assumes the roles of Audre's and AUDRE Inc.'s chief
executive officer and chief financial officer (positions previously
held by Casey) through the board's executive and audit committees,
respectively.
Casey will retain his membership on the board, which is
currently comprised of Benjamin Huberman, Sergei Givotovsky, Donald
Lundell, Dr. Dwight Lundell and Dr. James Fiebiger, who was
appointed the new chairman of the board. Dr. William Jordan, who
was previously announced as a member of the board of directors, did
not join the board.
Robert Ames, a consulting partner with Gray, Cary, Ware &
Freidenrich, has agreed to join the company as the executive officer
in charge of its Chapter 11 reorganization, reporting to the
executive committee. His duties will include all aspects of the
company's reorganization effort, including preparation of the
reorganization plan and negotiations with creditors, as well as
dealing with issues outside the ordinary course of business for
AUDRE Inc.
In an update to its previous announcement regarding the
engagement of new auditors, Audre announced it is in the process of
retaining McGladrey & Pullen, the seventh largest accounting firm in
the nation. The relationship will be finalized pending McGladrey's
client acceptance process and approval by the court.
AUDRE (Automatic Digitizing and Recognition), founded in 1983,
is a designer and developer of automatic document conversion
software. The company designs, develops and markets a line of
proprietary applied intelligence-based software systems. AUDRE's
products are used to convert engineering drawings, technical
publications and maps to computer intelligent formats.
CONTACT: Cambridge Capital Holdings, Miami,
Steven Scheinberg, 305/358-1007
or
News Media Information, Los Angeles,
Tim Kent, 310/442-0599