Just a few days ago, it was announced that Larry Flynt had plans to purchase the Normandie Casino, a venue located just a short distance from Flynt’s Hustler Casino located in Gardena. Now it seems that Flynt feels as if he is being treated poorly and may back out of the deal if city officials continue to proceed with a new gaming tax.
Flynt has stated he feels like he is being treated like a second class citizen after announcing he had plans to purchase the card room. The officials of the city council in Gardena have decided they are going to change the municipal tax obligations of the venue, something that Flynt is not happy with.
The city has plans to replace the 12% standard gaming revenue tax with a monthly payment from both the Hustler Casino and Normandie Casino of $800,000. To try and appease the casino owner, the city did offer a discount for amount at 12% if the revenue for a single month is over $2m.
Late last week, Flynt spoke with the city council stating he was prepared to walk away from the purchase, leaving hundreds without a job. Flynt has already been working on rebranding the property, which would be known as Larry Flynt’s Lucky Lady Casino.
Flynt stated that the Normandie Casino was a piece of junk that would need as much as $17 million spent on refurbishments. Flynt feels as much as $60 million will need to be spent during a four year time frame for expansion of the venue as well as promotion. The planned upgrades would be a boost to the property taxes provided for the city so Flynt feels that there is no need for this tax change.
Apparently any argument by Flynt fell on deaf ears as the city council voted in favor of the new tax plan with a vote of 3 to 1. After the vote, Flynt warned that unless the decision was changed, he has plans to dedicate his time to getting the people replaced because they are not good for the city or for himself.