Gaming, Hotels & Hospitality

Latham & Watkins serves hotel, resort and gaming clients in all industry segments and throughout the world. We believe our practice for these clients is one of the most diverse and sophisticated of any firm; in fact, Latham has handled some of the most important acquisitions, syndications, financings, insolvency matters and disputes of recent years. In the past five years Latham attorneys have been involved in more than $170 billion in finance and M&A transactions in the gaming and hospitality industries. 

Practice Breadth

• Mergers & Acquisitions. Latham & Watkins has represented many of the world's largest hospitality and gaming companies in some of the industry's largest mergers, acquisitions and spin-offs. Latham has provided counsel in numerous significant recent M&A transactions in this industry including the $27.8 billion acquisition of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. by a consortium of private equity firms and Deutsche Bank, the financial advisor and lender to Fertitta Colony Partners LLC, in the $8.8 billion acquisition of Stations Casino.
• Corporate Finance. We have been involved in numerous financing, syndication, joint venture and management transactions for our hotel and gaming clients. In the gaming industry, we have been involved with more than $43 billion in financing transactions over the past five years.  We have extensive experience in secured construction financings, high yield and equity financings, restructuring transactions including spin-offs, debt tender offers and concurrent refinancing transactions, and bank financings.  Latham serves as designated underwriters counsel to numerous investment banks financing companies in this industry.
• Workouts, Bankruptcies & Restructurings. We have represented participants in a number of recent workouts and bankruptcies involving hotel and gaming companies. Recently, we have been quite active in representing hotel chain and financing institution clients in disputes and restructurings with financially troubled developer-owners throughout the United States.
• Litigation. Our Litigation Department has handled numerous cases involving the specialized issues of lodging companies, including disputes regarding management contracts, joint ventures and financing arrangements. Our attorneys handled construction defect and construction contract cases for Host Marriott Corporation and Marriott International, Inc. for the former J.W. Marriott Hotel in Century City and represented Red Lion Inns in Costa Mesa and Santa Barbara in connection with contractor and subcontractor claims relating to two approximately 300-room hotels with claims exceeding $30 million.
• Land Use. Our premier land use and environmental practices have frequently been tapped by hotel and resort clients to solve problems in development and other transactions. This expertise has been employed in urban, planned community and coastal developments which include hotel properties.