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Eric Persson, owner of Maverick Gaming, plans to buy back eight Washington casinos that were set to close Nov. 30. He says the move will keep the properties open and preserve about 850 jobs.
Persson told KIRO Newsradio last week that he expects the deal to close within three weeks, according to Yahoo Finance’s syndicated MyNorthwest report. That would put completion around the end of October. The casinos will stay open until then, and the new company will rehire employees once the sale is complete, he said.
As of Monday, Oct. 12, the sale had not been reported as closed.
Casinos stay open during ownership change
Persson said the buyback will not interrupt operations. “The building never closes,” he said. Customers should notice little or no difference.
Persson said the closure notices reflect workers’ employment ending with the old company before the new owner rehires them, not the casinos shutting down. He said reports about the notices confused employees and customers, and that the notices should have said a new owner was expected.
He added that he is working closely with regulators and does not anticipate anything that would block the sale.
Eight Washington casinos and 850 jobs affected
The casinos named in the notices are:
- Great American Casino in Everett
- Chip’s Casino, Macau Casino and Palace Casino in Lakewood
- All Star Casino in Silverdale
- Casino Caribbean in Yakima
- Crazy Moose Casino in Pasco
- Coyote Bobs Casino in Kennewick
The notices covered jobs in gaming, food service, security and management, including dealers, cooks, servers, bartenders, cashiers and supervisors.
The eight properties are physical commercial card rooms, not tribal casinos and not Washington online casinos, which the state does not license for real-money play. All gambling at these locations takes place in person.
WARN notices flagged possible new owner
Maverick Washington LLC, a subsidiary of RunItOneTime LLC, sent separate Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letters for each casino to the state Employment Security Department, MyNorthwest reported Sept. 30. Each letter said the company is in bankruptcy proceedings and that the casino’s operator or owner could change as a result.
Christine Wisniewski, human resources director at Maverick Washington, wrote that a new owner could cancel or delay the closure. She said the company would provide updates if that happened.
Persson says new Maverick is separate
Persson disputed claims that his company is in bankruptcy. He said he agreed in July 2025 to transfer assets to his lenders, who then filed for bankruptcy through a separate company. He said Maverick Gaming is not a party to that case and that he has since bought back the Maverick Gaming name.
Over the past year, Persson said he has been buying assets back from the lenders. They include four Washington card rooms, two in Kirkland, one in Mountlake Terrace and one in Lakewood, along with a manufacturing company.
Public reports still describe Kirkland-based Maverick as operating under Chapter 11 protection since July 2025. At the time, Maverick said the Washington State Gambling Commission’s decision to end a petition for centralized cardroom surveillance hurt its ability to compete with larger venues.
Separate notices hit two Tukwila casinos
Persson’s announcement follows notices for two other properties. In early September, Maverick filed notices to close Riverside Casino and Great American Casino on Interurban Avenue S. in Tukwila on Nov. 1.
The Tukwila Great American is a different site from the one in Everett. Riverside announced 142 layoffs and Great American 96, for 238 workers in all, MyNorthwest reported.
Persson said he understood two additional properties are being sold to another buyer, with that deal expected to close in about a month. He said three other properties were already sold to a different buyer. He did not name any of those locations.
