April 03, 2012--Aliante Station hotel-casino in North Las Vegas posted a $573,000 profit during the final two months of 2011 after emerging from bankruptcy, its owner says.

The 202-room property is equipped with 2,007 slot machines, 36 table games and amenities such as bingo, a sports book, a nightclub/showroom, restaurants and a 16-screen movie theater complex.

It was spun out of the Station Casinos Inc. bankruptcy and is now owned by investors that had invested in its debt.

However, it's still managed by Station Casinos.

The property opened in November 2008 during the worst recession in memory and lost -- on paper -- $528.5 million in 2010.

That loss came as accounting rules required Station Casinos to write down its value by $466.5 million because the recession had reduced its ability generate profits in the future.

Developed at a cost of $662 million as a joint venture between Station Casinos and the Greenspun family, owner of the Las Vegas Sun and its sister business publication, VEGAS INC, the Aliante Station land and improvements are now worth only about $65 million on paper.

With $373 million of its debt extinguished in the bankruptcy, leaving it with just $43.2 million in debt, Aliante Station can generate profits because its payments for principal and interest on its debt have been slashed.

Aliante Station's annual report says net revenue for all of 2011 came in at $70.4 million, up from $65.3 million in 2010.

For all of 2011, it earned $365.6 million, which includes a one-time gain of $373 million for the extinguishment of that portion of its debt.

The property said in its annual report that casino revenue increased 7.1 percent in 2011 to $52.9 million thanks to successful marketing programs that boosted slot revenue 7.9 percent.

It said food and beverage revenue increased $900,000 to $13.5 million thanks to an increase in the number of food and beverage guests. The improvement was attributed to targeted marketing, price decreases at selected restaurants and conversion of an Italian restaurant from leased to owned status.

Its hotel last year reported a 90 percent occupancy rate, up from 85 percent. The average daily rate of $80 was up from $78. In all, hotel revenue came in at $6.1 million last year, up 8.6 percent from 2010.

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