The irony is almost too rich: Downtown Reno casinos,
worried to a frazzle about the effects of Indian gaming,
may see one of downtown's properties under the
ownership of an Indian-controlled corporation.
But some big questions money, for one remain
to be answered before Indian gaming comes to Arlington
Street.
Here's what's happening:
Last week, Indigenous Global Development Corp. of
San Francisco announced that it has a letter of intent to
take over ownership of the Sundowner Hotel Casino.
Publicly-held Indigenous Global Development Corp.,
in turn, is 51 percent owned by United Native Depository
Corp. That's a financial holding company organized
under the jurisdiction of the Navajo nation.
In its brief announcement last week, Indigenous
Global Development said it plans to spend more than
$10 million to renovate the 20-story Sundowner.
The company's announcement didn't, however, detail
the price or terms of its deal to purchase the Sundowner
and didn't explain how it would finance the
renovation project.
Company officials didn't return phone
calls seeking more information.
The most recent Securities and
Exchange Commission filings by
Indigenous Global Development Corp.
leave some questions about the company's
ability to swing the deal.
As of March 31, the last time it reported
to the SEC, the company had $57,323 in
cash and had lost $683,058 in the previous
nine months.
Its filing with the SEC questioned, too,
whether Indigenous Global Development
Corp. would be able to stay in business
unless it was able to find financing.
At the time of its last SEC filing, the
company appeared to have some mild interest
in the casino business, but it was more
interested in building electric power plans
in the West.
It figured that its status as a minorityowned
business would give it leg up in
financing the power plants.
Indigenous Global Development Corp.
also has approval from the city government
of Pittsburgh, Calif., to undertake a downtown
renovation project. The work, with a
price tag of $16 million to $20 million, is
projected to begin next spring.
In its SEC filing, the company acknowledges
that it doesn't have any experience
managing casinos, but it expects to use contractors
and joint ventures to oversee operations.
United Native Depository Corp., the
largest shareholder in the company, also
owns Navillus Associates LLC, one of two
finalists to redevelop Treasure Island in San
Francisco Bay. Navillus has said it hopes to
use the minority status of United Native
Depository Corp. to gain a competitive
advantage in the bidding for Treasure
Island.
The common stock of Indigenous
Global Development Corp. has been trading
between 8 and 15 cents in the over-thecounter
bulletin board market.
