Banks Sued Over Vegas Casino's Funding

Luxury hotel operator Fontainebleau says that what's not happening in Vegas is the banks' fault.

The chic chain has filed a $3 billion lawsuit against Bank of America(BAC Quote), JPMorgan Chase(JPM Quote) and several other banks, alleging they reneged on $800 million in financing for the resort company's Las Vegas Strip casino project.

And the lawsuit threw in a bailout dig to boot.

The complaint alleges that the lenders notified Fontainebleau Las Vegas on April 20 that they had purportedly "terminated" their commitments under an $800 million revolver loan, "ostensibly based on 'one or more' unspecified 'Events of Default,' " but without outlining any detail or specifics of an Event of Default."

According to the lawsuit, "In fact, there has been no Event of Default, and there is no contractual basis whatsoever for the Revolver Banks' breach of their clear and unambiguous obligations. The purported termination is nothing more than the Banks' baseless attempt to walk away from the Project and abandon their obligations."

The $800 million loan is in addition to more than $2 billion in debt and equity that Fontainebleau Las Vegas has already borrowed and invested to build what is expected to be a landmark casino-resort on the Strip.

"We are not asking for anything special, merely that the revolver banks fulfill the commitment they made to fund this project," said Jeff Soffer, executive chairman of Fontainebleau Resorts. "We need them to live up to their promises so that we can complete a landmark project that will help revitalize tourist visitation to Las Vegas."