THE DAILY BEAST: Casino Tied to Dem Congresswoman Wants to Keep Its COVID Loan Money
First, Susie Lee bailed out her family’s gaming company by helping them get millions in PPP loans.
Now, the Daily Beast reports Lee’s family business is “arguing that taxpayers should pick up the full tab for the $5.6 million government-backed cash infusion that kept them afloat.”
It’s clear Susie Lee is trying to squeeze as much money as she can out of the federal government before she loses in 2022.
In Case You Missed It…
Casino Tied to Dem Congresswoman Wants to Keep Its COVID Loan Money
Sam Brodey
The Daily Beast
December 8, 2021
In the year since COVID-19 dealt the gambling industry an awful hand, many companies have seen their luck improve.
That’s proven to be good news for Rep. Susie Lee, a Nevada Democrat—politically as well as personally.
Last year, Lee notched a major win for her Las Vegas-area district by successfully pushing for casinos to gain access to the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which doled out loans to businesses hit hard by the pandemic.
That move in turn extended a lifeline to Lee and her family. Full House Resorts—a gaming company run by Lee’s husband that the congresswoman personally has a direct financial stake in—applied for and received millions of dollars worth of those loans, The Daily Beast reported in June 2020.
Full House has recovered nicely since then. But in a new twist, the casino is now arguing that taxpayers should pick up the full tab for the $5.6 million government-backed cash infusion that kept them afloat.
According to a new report filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it applied for loan forgiveness to the Small Business Administration and believes it will qualify.
If so, Uncle Sam would be granting a windfall to a business whose value on the New York Stock Exchange has tripled from pre-pandemic levels. And this spring, the company—which operates five resort properties in Nevada, Colorado, Mississippi, and Indiana—expanded one of its Colorado properties with a $3.4 million purchase that included a “boutique hotel.”
That windfall would save Full House’s shareholders a good chunk of change. And Lee herself is a major shareholder in the company: in her most recent official financial disclosure form, she reported millions of dollars of stock and stock options in the company, stored in a variety of investment accounts.
In May 2021, Lee announced that she and her husband, Daniel, were getting divorced. Her August 2021 financial disclosure lists a number of jointly held investments in Full House, but also a stake of at least $1 million—and as much as $5 million—of stock in the company that is solely owned by her.
Lee’s office told The Daily Beast last year that she was aware her husband’s company applied for PPP loans, but that she was uninvolved in business decisions.
In response to questions for this article, a spokesperson for Lee said the congresswoman “is not involved in any aspect of Full House’s business or decision making. She had no influence over the decision to file for PPP loan forgiveness, and, of course, has no say over whether or not that application is approved.”
Full House did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
…
Read the full story in The Daily Beast, here.