Closure of Washington State’s Riverside and Great American Casinos as Maverick Gaming eliminates additional 238 positions.


Stricken Maverick Gaming is shutting down two more Washington State cardrooms and letting go of 238 employees as the casino operator downsizes its operations during Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Riverside Casino and Great American Casino, both located in Tukwila, just south of Seattle, are set to close on November 1, as per Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices filed with Washington state on August 31.

The closures will result in 142 job losses at Riverside and 96 at Great American.

These closures are part of a series of shutdowns by Maverick, based in Kirkland, Washington, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2025 following an expansion of its Washington cardroom business that was financed by debt.

Since June, five Maverick cardrooms have either closed or are scheduled for closure, affecting over 400 employees.

The Silver Dollar SeaTac Casino closed on June 30, leading to 65 layoffs. This was followed by the closure of Crazy Moose Mountlake Casino in Mountlake Terrace and Silver Dollar Mill Creek Casino in Bothell on July 31, impacting another 123 workers.

Spending Spree

Maverick made significant acquisitions in Washington after the US Supreme Court overturned PASPA, the federal ban on sports betting, in 2018. In total, it acquired 24 cardroom venues, with 19 purchases occurring in 2019 alone, making it the largest nontribal gaming operator in the state.

The company had anticipated that Washington legislators would legalize commercial sports betting, but instead, a 2020 law limited sports betting to tribal casinos, including mobile betting only on tribal lands.

In 2022, Maverick filed a lawsuit against Washington state and the federal government, arguing that the tribal exclusivity in sports betting constituted an unconstitutional monopoly. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed.

Highly Leveraged

Maverick’s rapid expansion left the company heavily leveraged, and rising interest rates increased the burden of servicing its debt. Additionally, its Washington properties faced competition from tribal casinos.

Four cardrooms – Dragon Tiger Casino in Mountlake Terrace, Palace Casino in Lakewood, Silver Dollar Casino in Renton, and Roman Casino in Seattle – were closed around the time of the bankruptcy filing.

On August 31, the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas granted the debtors a fourth extension of their exclusive period to submit a Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

Maverick continues to operate gaming establishments in Washington, Nevada, and Colorado.

Philip Conneller has been covering the gaming industry for Casino.org for eight years, reporting from locations like Las Vegas and Macau. Currently, he focuses on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation.

Philip was the original features editor for poker’s Bluff Magazine and contributed to launching Bluff Europe. His work has been published in various publications including ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star. Additionally, he has contributed to iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites.

His news articles for Casino.org/news have been referenced by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, among others.

Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit and has had the unique experience of unintentionally playing Elton John’s piano on separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic.

He pursued a writing career due to his lack of skill as a pianist and currently resides outside London with his family, where he worrie about the fortunes of Arsenal FC.

Contact Philip at [email protected].



Source link