Eric Persson and Justin Beltram founded RunItOneTime LLC, doing business as Maverick Gaming, in 2017 after more than 30 years of combined gaming-industry experience at Las Vegas Sands, Bellagio, and Marina Bay Sands. Persson is also known as a high-stakes poker player. According to the first day declaration, Persson held 57.9% of the parent company's common stock and served as CEO.
The company's strategy centered on acquiring underperforming gaming assets and making operating changes. In Nevada, the Wendover properties that Maverick acquired had previously generated approximately $4 million in annual EBITDA; under Maverick's ownership, these properties produced in excess of $17 million in annual EBITDA. The company also doubled EBITDA at its Elko properties within the first year of ownership. These results were followed by an expansion financed through $306 million in debt across multiple loan facilities.
Property portfolio. By the petition date, Maverick Gaming operated across three states and multiple gaming formats. The Nevada holdings included the Wendover Nugget and Red Garter casinos in West Wendover, along with Maverick Casino & Hotel Elko, Gold Country Casino, and High Desert Inn in Elko. Colorado operations centered on the Grand Z Casino & Hotel, Dragon Tiger Casino, and Z Casino in Black Hawk and Central City. Washington operations comprised 17 operating cardrooms—licensed poker and table game facilities operating under state card room regulations—plus eight non-operating properties that had been closed to consolidate gaming revenue.
EGads! fabrication business. Maverick's portfolio also included EGads!, a Las Vegas-based casino fabrication business acquired in 2020 for approximately $11 million. EGads! was one of Maverick's more profitable segments: net revenue grew from $22.1 million in 2022 to $33.2 million in 2024, with EBITDA rising from $4.9 million to $10.6 million over the same period. The business was later sold through the bankruptcy auction.
Persson's majority ownership carried through the restructuring. The transaction support agreement treated him as the majority shareholder and made his entity the stalking horse bidder for select poker operations.
The company's debt load at filing comprised multiple tranches with varying priority levels—a structure detailed in the first day declaration and resulting from a broad restructuring in April 2024.
| Facility | Principal Amount | Priority |
|---|
| First Out Term Loans | $77,000,000 | 1st |
| Second Out Term Loans | $214,726,510 | 2nd |
| Third Out Term Loans | $202,257 | 3rd |
| Term B Loans | $13,925,702 | 4th |
| Total Secured Debt | $305,854,469 | |
The prepetition credit facility was secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of the debtors' assets. In addition to secured debt, trade claims outstanding as of the petition date totaled approximately $14.7 million.
April 2024 restructuring. The April 2024 Fourth Amendment to the prepetition credit agreement attempted to address the company's financial challenges by: (a) converting the existing $55 million revolver into fully funded First Out Term Loans, plus $10 million new money and $12 million consideration for lenders' agreement; (b) exchanging the then-$258 million term B loan into Second Out Term Loans at a 15% discount and Third Out Term Loans at a 10% discount; (c) permitting paid-in-kind interest on Second Out and Third Out Term Loans through December 2024; (d) loosening financial maintenance covenants; and (e) extending maturities to June 2028. Approximately $14 million in existing term B loans held by non-consenting lenders retained their existing position behind the Priority Term Loans.
Blue Owl Master Lease. Between 2022 and 2023, as revenues declined, Maverick sold multiple Washington and Nevada properties to affiliates of Blue Owl Capital Inc. for approximately $205 million in aggregate through sale-leaseback transactions and leased them back under a master lease arrangement. The transactions occurred in four tranches: $110.3 million in September 2022 for Coyote Bob's, Casino Caribbean (Yakima), Crazy Moose (Pasco), Great American Everett, and Macau Casino Lakewood; $47.3 million in October 2022 for Great American Tukwila, Gold Country Inn, Maverick Casino Elko, and a Mobil gas station in Elko; $40.5 million in June 2023 for Riverside Casino, Chips Casino, and Palace Casino; and $7.0 million in July 2023 for All Star Casino, for a combined $205.1 million.
The Blue Owl Master Lease carried an initial 40-year term with optional 20-year renewal periods. As of the petition date, total rent payments under the lease were approximately $17.8 million annually. The lease was later restructured through a post-petition rent-deferral settlement, discussed below.
Angelo Gordon Lease. Separately, in September 2021, Maverick sold the land under the Wendover Nugget Hotel & Casino, Red Garter Hotel & Casino, Grand Z Casino Hotel, and Johnny Z's Casino to affiliates of Angelo, Gordon & Co. for approximately $93 million, entering into a 20-year sale-leaseback arrangement with four optional seven-year renewal terms. Annual rent payments under the Angelo Gordon Lease totaled approximately $8.5 million. The debtors later sought and obtained court approval to assume the Angelo Gordon master lease as part of the bankruptcy process.
Capital gains tax liability. The sale-leaseback transactions also generated approximately $26 million in capital gains taxes for tax years 2022 and 2023. The company sought to address these liabilities through an offer-in-compromise submitted to the IRS in October 2024, making eight payments before the petition date.
Maverick attributed its financial distress to tribal gaming competition, sale-leaseback obligations, and operational setbacks.
Tribal gaming disadvantage. Maverick's Washington cardrooms faced competition from tribal casinos that operate with tax-exempt status and fewer gaming restrictions, allowing them to invest in facilities and promotions while non-tribal operators like Maverick bear full tax burdens and regulatory constraints. State gaming restrictions on card rooms—prohibiting slot machines, roulette, craps, sports betting, and consumer credit—do not apply to tribal casinos. Since 2020, several key tribal casino competitors expanded operations into parts of Washington where Maverick operated. Maverick filed a lawsuit against the federal government challenging aspects of tribal gaming regulation. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear that challenge in October 2025, leaving the tribal gaming framework intact.
COVID-19 and Colorado operational setbacks. The pandemic and associated restrictions hampered Maverick's growth during its early expansion phase. Washington cardrooms were closed for multiple months following shelter-in-place mandates; when allowed to reopen, the company was required to operate outdoors in parking lot tents, and once indoor operations resumed, 25% of casino walls were required to remain open-air for circulation, reducing customer traffic and revenue. Beginning in 2022, a series of operational problems in Colorado added to the company's challenges: a slot system upgrade disrupted slot machine operations for weeks, "free play" offers under the customer loyalty rewards program reduced profitability for four to five months, and a newly created sports betting operation generated nearly $1 million in losses before the program was terminated. The March 2022 reopening and expansion of competitor Monarch Casino Resort Spa in Black Hawk diverted higher-end business that had accounted for much of Maverick's slot and table game revenue.
Minimum wage pressure. The Tukwila, Washington market experienced minimum wage increases of 46% between 2022 and 2025, compared to 15% for the remainder of Washington State, adding labor cost pressure to Maverick's key revenue-generating Washington properties.
Financial deterioration and rent default. EBITDA declined 68% over two years, falling from $52.1 million in 2021 to $18.5 million in 2022 and $16.5 million in 2023. S&P Global Ratings characterized Maverick's capital structure as "unsustainable" and flagged the absence of an independent board and Persson's combined roles as majority owner and CEO. S&P downgraded the company to 'D' from 'CCC' in May 2024. By April 2025, Maverick ceased rent payments under the Blue Owl Master Lease; as of the petition date, the company owed approximately $5.9 million in unpaid rent to Blue Owl, with an additional $1.5 million coming due on August 1, 2025.
Negotiations with the ad hoc group of secured lenders began in earnest in January 2025, as Maverick's management simultaneously pursued third-party financing opportunities. The ad hoc group delivered a term sheet proposal on February 23, 2025, but the company's financial position continued to deteriorate. Events of default occurred in May 2025—the prepetition agent declared an Event of Default on May 12 and a covenant default followed on May 15—and standstill agreements allowed negotiations to continue until the parties reached agreement on June 25, 2025.
Special committee. In June 2025, the company formed a special committee comprising two recently appointed independent directors, Lawrence Perkins and Tobias Keller, to evaluate strategic alternatives. The special committee concluded that no viable third-party capital sources were available on the timeline necessary to maintain operations as a going concern.
Cardroom closures. Simultaneously with the bankruptcy filing, Maverick announced immediate closure of four Washington cardrooms: Dragon Tiger Casino (Mountlake Terrace), Palace Casino (Lakewood), Silver Dollar (Renton), and Roman Casino (Seattle).
Transaction support agreement. The June 25, 2025 transaction support agreement between Maverick, its majority shareholder Eric Persson, and lenders holding approximately 78% of First Out Term Loans and 70% of Second Out Term Loans outlined terms for a pre-negotiated restructuring. The TSA segmented the company's business into three categories: PokerCo (Aces Poker Lakewood, Aces Poker Mountlake Terrace, Caribbean Casino, and Caribbean Cardroom), slated for a 363 sale with Persson as $13 million stalking horse; LeaseCo (properties subject to the Blue Owl Master Lease), for which the parties would negotiate a lease amendment or modification; and MainCo (the remaining businesses, interests, and assets), to be sold under section 363 via lender credit bid or converted to equity under a plan. The agreement also contemplated a licensing arrangement under which Persson's entity would receive a non-exclusive license for certain intellectual property in exchange for $100,000 plus a revenue-sharing arrangement entitling the debtors to 25% of adjusted EBITDA from poker partnerships using the IP for three years.
DIP facility. The DIP motion proposed new money DIP loans plus a roll-up of First Out Term Loans on a 2-to-1 basis. The interim order authorized $8.5 million in new money DIP loans, and the final order raised the aggregate new money DIP loans authorized to up to $46.51 million, funded in three tranches: $8.5 million on an interim basis, an additional $10.5 million on a further interim basis, and up to $27.51 million more upon the final order. Key terms included:
| Term | Details |
|---|
| New Money | Up to $46.51 million (aggregate: $8.5M interim + $10.5M second interim + up to $27.51M final) |
| Roll-Up | First Out Term Loans at a 2:1 ratio (2x new money DIP loans funded) |
| Interest Rate (New Money) | Term SOFR + 12.50% (2.00% floor) |
| Interest Rate (Roll-Up) | Term SOFR + 12.50% (1.00% cash / 11.50% PIK) |
| Default Rate | +3.00% per annum |
| Maturity | 9 months from initial closing |
| Fees | 3% structuring + 4% upfront + 3% backstop (new money only) |
The court entered the interim DIP order on July 16, 2025, a second interim order on August 6, 2025, and the final order on August 27, 2025. Under the DIP final order, prepetition secured parties received replacement liens, a superpriority administrative claim junior to the DIP claims, and cash payment of professional fees as adequate protection for the use of cash collateral.
The sale process divided Maverick's assets into segments for different bidder pools.
Sale motion and bidding procedures. The August 1, 2025 sale motion outlined a bidding process that led to a September 19, 2025 auction, approximately 67 days after the filing. The court entered the bidding procedures order on August 28, 2025. Ahead of the auction, a prospective bidder objected to the bidding procedures, arguing the debtors had not provided the due diligence necessary for outsiders to compete.
Auction results. The September and October 2025 auctions produced winners across multiple asset tranches, as detailed in court notices for the PokerCo and Z Casino segments and additional selected assets:
| Asset | Successful Bidder | Amount | Backup Bidder |
|---|
| PokerCo Assets | Maverick Gaming LLC (Persson entity) | $28 million | TIL Gaming Bidco ($27M) |
| Z Casino | Alter Domus (DIP Agent) | $26.25 million credit bid | 101 Gregory Street ($25.6M) |
| Core Assets | Existing Lenders | $61.1 million credit bid | None |
| Four WA Card Rooms | Norwest Gaming Group, LLC | $500,000 | None |
| Roman Casino | Norwest Gaming Group, LLC | $1 million | Existing Lenders ($100K credit) |
| EGads Business | Maverick Gaming LLC | $1.4 million | None |
| High Desert Inn | Existing Lenders | $150,000 credit bid | None |
| Epstein Gaming (Goldie's) | TIL Gaming Bidco LLC | $500,000 | None |
| Sonoma Software/IP | TIL Gaming Bidco LLC | $100,000 + $1.08M note | Maverick Gaming ($720K note) |
Founder buyback. Eric Persson's entity won the $28 million bid for PokerCo assets, and a separate Persson-affiliated vehicle acquired the EGads business, repurchasing a subset of the company's casino and cardroom operations through the bankruptcy process—an insider transaction examined in detail below, alongside the Teamsters Local 117 challenge it drew.
Core asset sale approval. The bankruptcy court approved the $62.5 million core asset sale to existing lenders, after secured lenders and unsecured creditors reached a tentative deal allowing the transaction to proceed. Final sale orders were entered in tranches: PokerCo assets on September 24, 2025, Z Casino and additional assets on November 13, 2025, EGads assets on November 19, 2025, and final asset sales on November 25, 2025.
Eric Persson's affiliates reacquired core pieces of the business he had built and put into bankruptcy across the September and October 2025 auctions. The buyer of the PokerCo assets carries the "Maverick Gaming LLC" name that the debtor itself used within the eight years before the petition, even though the debtor now proceeds under the caption RunItOneTime LLC—a naming overlap that runs through the sale disputes described below.
PokerCo buy-back. On September 23, 2025, Persson signed a declaration in support of the PokerCo sale, attesting that neither he nor the buyer—Maverick Gaming LLC, an entity of which he serves as manager—controlled or exerted undue influence over the debtors, and that the $28 million purchase price, structured as $25 million in cash and $3 million in non-cash consideration, resulted from arm's-length negotiations. The court approved the PokerCo sale on September 24, 2025.
EGads! buy-back. A separate Persson-affiliated vehicle, Maverick Specialty Fabrication & Design LLC, a Nevada entity, acquired the EGads! casino-interiors and signage business for a base purchase price of $1.4 million, plus an accounts-receivable adjustment, cure costs, and assumed liabilities, under an asset purchase agreement approved November 19, 2025. The price matched the $1.4 million winning bid noticed after the October 2025 selected-assets auction.
Teamsters challenge. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 117 moved to reconsider the PokerCo sale order on October 8, 2025, arguing the bankruptcy court lacked jurisdiction to rule that the buyer was not a successor or alter ego of the debtors under federal labor law, and that the ruling issued without the fact-specific analysis the NLRB requires. The union's motion described the debtors as "a collection of corporations connected to majority owner Eric Persson" and alleged Persson stated he would avoid hiring union members for more than fifty percent of PokerCo positions to sidestep successorship obligations. The debtors objected, arguing the union had notice of the sale's free-and-clear terms and neither objected nor appeared at the sale hearing, and that the no-successor-liability finding was confined to the sale transaction rather than a blanket, forward-looking shield. The court denied the reconsideration motion on January 26, 2026, leaving the PokerCo sale intact.
Teamsters settlement. The union's separate grievance and unfair-labor-practice charge against the debtors were resolved through a court-approved settlement entered April 9, 2026, granting a single grievant an allowed general unsecured claim of $95,000 in full and final satisfaction of the grievance and ULP charge, with releases binding on the debtors, their estates, the grievant, and the union.
With the September 2025 auction complete, the case shifted from a sale process to a series of post-closing settlements that gradually defined the debtors' remaining liabilities and the path toward a plan.
Blue Owl rent-relief settlement. By December 2025, the debtors owed Blue Owl affiliates Project Evergreen WA LLC and Project Evergreen NV Owner LLC not less than $5,070,165.84 in past-due Master Lease obligations. Blue Owl agreed to defer a portion of monthly base rent across the eleven remaining Master Lease properties—Coyote, Yakima, Pasco, Everett, Gold Elko, Maverick Elko, Tukwila, Riverside, Chips, Palace, and All Star—for twelve months, retroactive to December 1, 2025 if timely approved. The agreed order, entered December 17, 2025, established parallel "Rejection" and "Transfer" procedures: the debtors could surrender a property to Blue Owl within 60 days of a rejection request, or hand operations to a replacement operator within 30 days of a transfer request. The settlement sought $11.5 million in aggregate rent relief.
Continued asset dispositions and operating closures. The debtors kept monetizing non-core real estate into 2026. After compelling performance under a repurchase option covering Poulsbo/Indianola-area property that Justin Beltram was obligated to convey, the debtors closed a sale of that property on February 20, 2026. The Goldie's Business sale to TIL Gaming Bidco LLC closed on March 2, 2026. On June 11, 2026, the court approved the private sale of two vacant Colorado parcels in Gilpin County—39.85 and 1.19 acres held by debtor affiliate Colorado MG 1031, LLC—to G3 Gaming LLC for an aggregate $750,000, sold as-is and free and clear of liens under section 363(f). Although the debtors initially intended to keep all casinos open during the restructuring, that position shifted as the case progressed: Maverick permanently closed its , laying off roughly 65 dealers, servers, cooks, cashiers, and security staff effective June 30, 2026 under a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, after a closure originally scheduled for December 2, 2025 was delayed while the company pursued a possible sale of the property.
Exclusivity extended twice. The court granted a second extension of exclusivity on March 3, 2026, running the exclusive filing period through May 11, 2026 and solicitation through July 9, 2026. Citing continued settlement negotiations, the debtors obtained a third extension on May 13, 2026, pushing the exclusive plan-filing period to August 10, 2026 and solicitation to October 7, 2026.
Global settlement, SBA/PPP resolution, and pending plan. Days after the third exclusivity extension, a May 2026 stipulation among the debtors, the ad hoc group of secured lenders, the DIP and prepetition agents, and the official committee of unsecured creditors resolved the committee's challenge rights and set the framework for a confirmable "Settlement Plan." Under the agreed order entered May 19, 2026, the parties established a $1.6 million chapter 11 Process Cap—drawn from unused critical-vendor and professional-fee budget amounts plus up to $300,000 each from the DIP secured parties and the committee—and a $1.5 million GUC Trust holding cash and certain estate causes of action for general unsecured creditors. In exchange, the committee irrevocably waived its challenge rights under the DIP order and the MainCo sale order, and the DIP secured parties and prepetition lenders waived their own recovery from the GUC Trust or estate-cause proceeds. On June 29, 2026, the court separately approved a settlement resolving litigation with the U.S. Small Business Administration over $11.57 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans that the SBA had denied forgiveness for under Interim Final Rule 7; the SBA agreed to forgive $9.44 million of the loans, while the remaining $2.13 million was fixed and allowed as general unsecured claims against six debtor affiliates, including Red Garter Operator LLC ($566,972) and Maverick Lakewood LLC ($570,370). As of early July 2026, the debtors had not filed a chapter 11 plan or disclosure statement; the found the extension in the best interests of the debtors, their estates, and creditors, tying confirmation of a Settlement Plan to the August 10, 2026 exclusive filing deadline and the October 7, 2026 solicitation deadline.
Key professionals. The debtors retained Latham & Watkins LLP as lead bankruptcy counsel and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as co-counsel, with GLC Advisors & Co. serving as investment banker and Portage Point Partners LLC as restructuring advisor. Kroll Restructuring Administration LLC serves as claims and noticing agent, and Jeff Seery serves as chief restructuring officer of the Maverick debtors.
On the lender side, Ropes & Gray LLP and Porter Hedges LLP represented the ad hoc group of secured lenders, which held over 80% of the company's term loans. The U.S. Trustee appointed an official committee of unsecured creditors on July 25, 2025, eleven days after the petition date, and the committee retained Morrison & Foerster LLP as counsel.
Operational consultant. Days after the petition, the debtors obtained emergency approval to engage Marnell Gaming Management as a consulting and operations-management provider, citing competitive headwinds and the need to stabilize operations ahead of the marketing process. The engagement carried a $500,000 monthly fee plus up to $150,000 in monthly expenses, terminable by the special committee at any time.
Fee escalation. Professional fees climbed steadily through the case. KPMG's first interim application for the period through October 31, 2025 sought $1.21 million in fees, and Hunton Andrews Kurth's second interim application for November 2025 through January 2026 sought $1.17 million. By mid-2026 the professionals were filing third and fourth interim applications—Hunton's third interim, KPMG's third interim, and GLC's fourth interim—reflecting continued plan-and-settlement work.
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 2017 | Maverick Gaming founded by Eric Persson and Justin Beltram |
| September 2021 | Angelo Gordon sale-leaseback ($93 million) |
| September 2022 – July 2023 | Blue Owl sale-leaseback transactions ($205 million total) |
| April 2024 | Fourth Amendment restructures prepetition credit facility |
| May 2024 | S&P downgrade to 'D' |
| April 2025 | Rent payments to Blue Owl cease |
| May 12, 2025 | Event of Default declared |
| June 25, 2025 | TSA executed with majority lenders and majority shareholder |
| July 14, 2025 | chapter 11 petitions filed |
| July 14, 2025 | Four Washington cardrooms closed |
| July 16, 2025 | DIP interim order entered |
| July 25, 2025 | Official committee of unsecured creditors appointed |
| August 1, 2025 | Sale motion filed (bidding procedures) |
| August 6, 2025 | Second DIP interim order |
| August 27, 2025 | DIP final order |
| September 19, 2025 | Auction held (PokerCo and Z Casino assets) |
| September 24, 2025 | PokerCo sale order entered |
| September 26, 2025 | Sale hearing |
| October 6, 2025 | Selected-assets auction (card rooms, core assets, EGads!) |
| November 13, 2025 | Z Casino and additional asset sale orders |
| November 19, 2025 | EGads sale order; general claims bar date (5:00 p.m. Central) |
|
Why did Maverick Gaming file for bankruptcy?
Maverick filed after accumulating approximately $306 million in secured debt, falling $5.9 million behind on a $17.8 million annual sale-leaseback rent obligation to Blue Owl, and facing competition from tax-exempt tribal casinos in Washington. EBITDA declined from $52.1 million in 2021 to $16.5 million in 2023. S&P Global Ratings characterized the capital structure as "unsustainable," and the company was unable to make debt service payments starting in May 2025.
What is the transaction support agreement?
On June 25, 2025, Maverick executed a TSA with its majority shareholder and lenders holding approximately 78% of First Out Term Loans and 70% of Second Out Term Loans. The agreement segmented the company's business into PokerCo, LeaseCo, and MainCo, with different disposition paths for each segment, and established a framework for DIP financing, sale procedures, and professional retentions.
Did the founder buy back part of the company?
Yes. Eric Persson's entity, Maverick Gaming LLC, won the $28 million auction for PokerCo assets, outbidding TIL Gaming Bidco's $27 million offer, and a separate Persson-affiliated vehicle, Maverick Specialty Fabrication & Design LLC, acquired the EGads fabrication business for a $1.4 million base purchase price. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 117 challenged the PokerCo sale as an insider transaction designed to dodge union successorship obligations; the court denied the union's reconsideration motion in January 2026 and later approved a $95,000 settlement of the related grievance in April 2026.
What was the sale-leaseback situation?
Between 2021 and 2023, Maverick sold properties to Blue Owl and Angelo Gordon and leased them back. The Blue Owl transactions generated $205 million and required $17.8 million in annual rent; the Angelo Gordon transaction generated $93 million and required $8.5 million in annual rent. By April 2025, Maverick stopped making Blue Owl rent payments, accruing $5.9 million in arrears by the filing date. The sale-leasebacks also generated $26 million in capital gains tax liability. In December 2025, Blue Owl agreed to defer a portion of monthly rent for twelve months across the eleven remaining leased properties.
What is the total value of the sales?
Aggregate sale value exceeded $119 million across nine transactions. The largest transactions were the $61.1 million credit bid for core assets, the $28 million PokerCo acquisition, and the $26.25 million credit bid for Z Casino. Additional transactions included sales of Washington cardrooms, the EGads business, intellectual property, and other assets.
Who is the claims agent, and what are the bar dates?
Kroll Restructuring Administration LLC serves as claims and noticing agent in the chapter 11 case, handling case noticing and maintaining the claims register. The bar date notice set November 19, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. Central as the general claims bar date and January 12, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Central as the governmental bar date.
Has Maverick Gaming filed a chapter 11 plan?
Not as of early July 2026. A May 2026 global settlement stipulation among the debtors, secured lenders, and the unsecured creditors' committee established a $1.6 million chapter 11 Process Cap and a $1.5 million GUC Trust for general unsecured creditors, setting the framework for a confirmable "Settlement Plan." The debtors' exclusive plan-filing period runs through August 10, 2026, with exclusive solicitation extended to October 7, 2026.
For related restructuring coverage, read ElevenFlo's Twin Hospitality Group bankruptcy coverage, Tuesday Morning bankruptcy coverage, and Stein Mart liquidation coverage.
