Posting date: July 14, 20,23, 04h16.
Last updated: July 14, 2023 at 04:16h
Aruze Gaming, a manufacturer of electronic gaming devices for casinos, will shutter its Las Vegas headquarters in August, eliminating 100 jobs in the process.
The company filed a notice with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, noting those changes will take effect on Aug. 18. Aruze’s office closing and layoffs are announced about six months after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for Nevada. Aruze, based in Japan, said that operations would continue as normal after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Upon the Chapter 11 filing, Japan-based Aruze said operations would continue as normal.
The bankruptcy filing indicated Aruze owed over $20 million to secured creditors.Tumultuous Times for AruzeKazuo Okada is Aruze’s lone shareholder. The Japanese investor is a former Wynn Resorts shareholder (NASDAQ:WYNN). The gaming device maker was involved in a legal dispute with Wynn Resorts that same year. Wynn paid the Japanese firm $2.4 billion as a result of Wynn’s forced liquidation of its Aruze stake. It was a dispute in which the casino operator paid the Japanese firm $2.4 billion stemming from the forced liquidation of Wynn’s Aruze stake.
Earlier this week, a court in the Philippines issued an arrest warrant for Okada relating to his physical takeover of the Okada Manila integrated resort last year.
Japan-based Universal Entertainment — the parent company of Okada Manila — and its affiliates are currently mired in a testy legal rift with a US-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that is attempting to take Okada Manila public.
Those scenarios aren’t directly related to Aruze’s struggles, but they paint a picture of volatility within Okada’s business portfolio.
Small Dose of Bad News for Nevada Employment Picture
One hundred lost jobs isn’t a massive number, but news of the elimination of positions at Aruze comes as Nevada’s broader employment picture struggles to regain pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.
At the end of the May, the state’s unemployment rate was 5.4%, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. This is not only above the national average but also the lowest percentage of all the states and Washington DC. The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported that the unemployment rate in Clark County was 5.6% as of the end of may. As of May 31, only two Nevada counties, Lyon and Nye, had higher unemployment rates.