Luxist

Majestic Star Casinos Files For Bankruptcy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Nov 25th 2009 8:01PM

The tough times for casinos continue. Casino operator Majestic Star Casino LLC filed for bankruptcy this week. The move was an a last ditch move after months of talks to restructure debt failed. Majestic Star owns casinos in Indiana, Mississippi and Colorado. The Majestic's parent, Barden Development Inc, is not part of the bankruptcy. Court documents show that the Majestic Star and its affiliates have assets of $402.1 million and liabilities of $771.1 million as of October 31.

The company has said that increased competition and the ongoing recession are to blame for the company's woes. The two casinos and hotel along Lake Michigan in Gary, a casino-hotel in Tunica County, Mississipi, and a casino in Black Hawk, Colorado are all still open for business.

The company operates two casino boats on Lake Michigan in Gary, Indiana and has been working on getting a land-based casino in Gary. Last summer, Indiana lawmakers voted down a measure to allow this. The Majestic Star owes the city of Gary $7.4 million but the mayor of Gary, Rudy Clay has said he still plans to work with casino owner Don Barden to change Indiana law to allow a land-based casino in the city.

Tags: bankruptcy, casinos, majestic star casinos, MajesticStarCasinos, michigan

Topshop Rents Out Celebrity Dresses For Good Causes

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Nov 25th 2009 6:01PM

London fashionistas will have a chance to wear a celebrity's designer gown courtesy of Topshop. The brand has created the Dress Me Up Campaign which features designer dresses owned by stars like Kate Moss, Freida Pinto, Scarlett Johansson, Naomi Campbell and Dita Von Teese. Later dresses will be auctioned off with all proceeds from the rental fee and the auction going to Topshop's chosen charities Age Concern and Help the Aged.

Tags: dress me up, dress rental, DressMeUp, DressRental, holiday dresses, HolidayDresses, kate moss, KateMoss, topshop

Villa Pelican, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Nov 25th 2009 1:01PM

Today's estate in pricey Montecito, California could actually, even at the high price of $18.8 million practically be considered a deal. After all this beachside home was once listed at $34 million (I also spotted an old listing for $24.75 million). The home has views of the Santa Barbara coastline, mountains and Channel islands all from the privacy of a gated enclave. The property has a historic renovated Monterey Colonial main house with eight bedrooms and a three-car garage as well as a beach cabana, guest house and a fenced in beach area. A second parcel is also available for an additional cost and is home to a pool, patios, fountains and has permits for building a new four bedroom home. The main home is an odd mix, for the most part it has the casual look of a beach house but some rooms have a more formal and luxurious look. You can't beat the location, Fernald Cove is one of the most desired areas in this celebrity-filled town.

Gallery: Villa Pelican

Tags: estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, montecito, villa pelican, VillaPelican

Michelle Obama's Naeem Khan Gown

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Nov 25th 2009 4:02AM

Michelle Obama wowed the crowd at the first official Obama administration state dinner last night. To welcome Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and his wife, Gursharan Kaur the first lady wore a gown by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan. The strapless gown was decorated with sterling silver sequins in a floral pattern on a nude silk chiffon dress. The Mrs. O website reports that it took three weeks of work by 40 people to create the dress. The work was done in Naeem Khan's family workshop in India. Mrs. Obama accessorized the dress with drop earrings and gold and diamond bangle bracelets.

Tags: Michelle Obama, Michelle Obama Fashion, michelle obama style, MichelleObama, MichelleObamaFashion, MichelleObamaStyle

Big Diamonds Bring Big Prices at Christie's

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Nov 25th 2009 2:01AM

More big diamonds and big prices were seen at the Christie's Geneva auction on November 18. A 62.30-carat, D flawless diamond sold for $8.051 million amid a sale which sold 82 percent by lot and 93 percent by value. Aleks Paul of Essex Global Trading in New York paid $130,000 per carat for the 62.3-carat, Type IIa flawless diamond. Paul was on a buying spree, he also submitted the top bids for two natural color diamonds, bidding $2.68 million for a diamond ring by Wolfers that paired a 3.30-carat, rectangular-cut, fancy intense blue diamond with a 3.90-carat E, VS2 diamond estimated at $580,000 to $740,000. He also spent nearly another $2.68 million on a fancy vivid, fancy intense and fancy blue diamond clasp, circa 1950, which had been estimated at $500,000 to $650,000. He has a history of buying or trying to buy important stones. Last year he was the underbidder against Laurence Graff for the Wittelsbach diamond.

In the same sale a 65.20-carat fancy intense yellow, cushion-shaped diamond pendant sold for nearly $1.04 million and a 4.42-carat fancy intense, square-cut green diamond ring sold for $783,000. The largest recorded fancy grayish-yellowish-green "chameleon" diamond in the world, cut into a 19.13 carat briolette and mounted as a pendant, sold for $987,000, setting a new world record price for a chameleon diamond.

Tags: auction, christies, diamond, diamonds, geneva, jewels

Shaquille O'Neal, Art Curator

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Nov 24th 2009 10:01PM

Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal likes to wear a lot of hats. Actor, musician, sheriff, Twitter star and now art curator? O'Neal is curating a gallery show for New York's Flag Art Foundation titled "Size DOES Matter." The exhibit ponders the question of idea of scale in contemporary art and features some big names in the art world including Chuck Close, Jeff Koons, Andreas Gursky, Kehinde Wiley and many more. The show is scheduled to open in February at the Flag Art Foundation's exhibition space in the Chelsea neighborhood.

O'Neal told Bloomberg News that his turn as curator was "a little harder than I thought it would be." The exhibition will feature 52 artworks, five are special commissions, many others are loans from private collections and museums. The choice of Shaquille O'Neal as curator should attract additional attention for the show. Writer James Frey, famous and also infamous for his bestselling book "A Million Little Pieces" is writing an essay for the exhibition catalog.

Tags: art exhibit, ArtExhibit, flag art foundation, FlagArtFoundation, shaquille oneal, ShaquilleOneal

Will Carl Icahn Rescue The Fontainebleau?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Nov 24th 2009 8:00PM

I've been following the fate of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino resort for a while now. It looks like the stalled project may have a new savior in the form of billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Icahn's Icahn Nevada Gaming LLC will be the opening or 'stalking horse' bidder in an auction of the resort after Penn National Gaming Inc. dropped out. Bloomberg News reports on the bidding war in court which led to Icahn offering $105 million, plus $51.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing besting Penn's offer of a total of $145 million. This means that the Icahn bid will be the one to beat.

The planned complex on the Las Vegas Strip is about 70 percent complete. It filed for bankruptcy in June and may cost around $1.5 billion to finish. Fontainebleau's sellers have asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol in Miami to auction the casino on January 21. Penn National Gaming had planned to finish Fontainebleau with an unidentified partner and to use the company's database of casino customers to help fill the casino with consumers. Icahn has a history of buying bankrupt casinos (including the Stratosphere in Las Vegas) and selling them for big profits. His entry into the fray may increase interest in the January auction and help ensure that someone eventually buys the casino and finishes the project.

Tags: carl icahn, CarlIcahn, casino, fontainebleau, las vegas, las vegas strip, LasVegas, LasVegasStrip

New Zealand Yachts In Receivership

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Nov 24th 2009 7:04PM

Hard times continue to hit the yacht industry. New Zealand Yachts located in Whangarei, New Zealand recently went into receivership. The yacht company came to Whangarei in 2001 and promised to create 1000 jobs. The company did a lot of refits on existing yachts but hadn't ramped up into much production of new yachts. The New Zealand Yachts website includes renderings of many planned yachts including the Wavepiercer shown above.

New Zealand businessman Allen Jones, who had built a large car-washing business in the United States, founded the company, but later returned to the US. HIs son, Damon Jones, was the company's marketing and sales manager. The receiver said the company still operates a first-class refit yard and has the potential to attract yacht work from around the world.

Tags: new zealand, new zealand yachts, NewZealand, NewZealandYachts, receivership, whangarei

Willow Road, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Nov 24th 2009 1:01PM

Today's home is one of the most expensive listings in Massachusetts. This home is in the pricey Boston suburb of Weston. The Arts & Crafts-inspired home was built in 2003 and designed by renowned architect Jeremiah Eck. This huge home spans over 33,000 square feet and has a slate roof, belltower-like chimneys, and a stone and mahogany facade. The six-bedroom home is on 13.5 acres that are adjacent to the Weston Country Club. The rooms are huge but the home manages to maintain a certain cozy feel through the use of dark wood, simplified lines and plenty of windows. Many of the rooms on the main floor are double-height with very high ceilings. The lower level seems to include wine storage and a hot tub room. This home is listed at $24.5 million.

[Thanks, Dan!]

Gallery: Willow Road

Tags: estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, massachusetts, massachusetts real estate, MassachusettsRealEstate, weston

Win A Balsam Hill Christmas Tree!

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Nov 24th 2009 8:01AM

The holiday season is upon us and it's time to trim the tree. To help one lucky reader get in the holiday spirit, Luxist is giving away a BH Noble Fir tree from Balsam HIll. The 56-inch tree has sturdy branches which have been crafted to mimic the look of real branches. The gray-green color match the look of natural trees and the branches are designed to support the weight of ornaments. The tree comes complete with Candlelight™ LED clear lights. Unlike traditional LEDs, the Candlelight LEDs provide a warm soft glow just like traditional lights while offering energy savings. The tree has a classic teardrop profile with open, slightly downward-sloping branches for the perfect symmetrical Christmas silhouette. Nothing to water, no need to worry about needles dropping everywhere and no bare patches to turn toward the wall. To win tell us why you need a little extra holiday magic this year.

Some other important details:
* To enter, leave a confirmed comment below.
* The comment must be left and confirmed before Tuesday December 1, 2009 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
* You may only enter once.
* One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
* One winner will receive the Balsam Hill Noble Fir, valued at $829.
* Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.

See complete rules here.

Tags: balsam hill, BalsamHill, christmas tree, ChristmasTree, giveaway, luxist giveaway, LuxistGiveaway

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