WV Lottery offers mixed solution to keep Greenbrier casino open

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) — The West Virginia Lottery has offered an alternative to the proposals from Sen. Jim Justice (R-West Virginia)’s legal team, suggesting a “flexible” ownership arrangement to keep the Greenbrier Casino open.

The Greenbrier’s license is currently under review, putting the Justices’ critical $500 million financing agreement with Kennedy Lewis in jeopardy.

Writing to Acting Director David Bradley, Steve Ruby, attorney for the Justice family, wrote: 

“Given the time constraints created by that litigation and by the enormous costs of continued delays in closing, we must close the transaction tomorrow. We would welcome a temporary agreement to continue operating the casino between closing and Lottery approval.

We similarly would welcome an emergency meeting, which would be appropriate under the circumstances, to confirm Lottery approval by tomorrow.

Absent one of those resolutions, however, we remain obliged to close the transaction tomorrow and cease operations at the casino, in which case we request approval as soon as possible thereafter so that casino operations may resume and casino employees can go back to work.“

You can read that letter and other previous responses between the Justices’ counsel and the Lottery, in full here.

In Bradley’s latest response, delivered the morning of the deadline, he reiterated that West Virginia State Code dictates that any new management must be cleared by the Commission before it can “perform any duties or exercise any powers of the position related to [the casino].”

The proposal from Ruby would change the majority interest of the Greenbrier and the casino to Kennedy Lewis and therefore “cannot be completed without a properly noticed meeting and vote of the Commission.”

The next Commission meeting is August 26, well past Friday’s deadline.

Bradley went on to tell Ruby that unless he can provide a “sufficient plan” to bar the new Kennedy Lewis board members from decision-making or wielding authority, approval will have to wait for the next meeting.

Bradley also shut down suggestions of an emergency meeting.

“I do not believe it is appropriate or ethical for the Lottery Commission to agree to circumvent the public’s right to fair notice of the meeting simply because your client decided that it could no longer wait until our next scheduled meeting, which is 12 days away,” he wrote to Ruby.

https://www.wowktv.com/news/wv-lottery-shuts-down-justices-plea-for-flexibility-over-greenbrier/