Aruze Gaming to Shutter Las Vegas Office, Cut 100 Jobs

Posted on: July 14, 2023, 04:16h. 

Last updated on: July 14, 2023, 04:16h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Aruze Gaming, a manufacturer of electronic gaming devices for casinos, will shutter its Las Vegas headquarters in August, eliminating 100 jobs in the process.

Aruze Gaming
Aruze Gaming advertises one of its slot machines. The company is closing its Las Vegas office and laying off 100 workers. (Image: Aruze Gaming/Casino.org)

The company filed a notice with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, noting those changes will take effect on Aug. 18. Beyond that, details are scant. News of Aruze’s office closing and layoffs comes about six months after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the State of Nevada.

The maker of the Rock Paper Scissors Instant Win slot machines counts BetMGM, Circa Las Vegas, and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which operates Hard Rock International, among its US-based clients. Upon the Chapter 11 filing, Japan-based Aruze said operations would continue as normal.

The bankruptcy filing indicated Aruze owed over $20 million to secured creditors.

Tumultuous Times for Aruze

Kazuo Okada is Aruze’s lone shareholder. The Japanese businessman is a former investor in Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN).

In 2018, Aruze was slapped with a patent infringement suit. That same year, the gaming device manufacturer was engaged in a legal skirmish with Wynn Resorts. It was a dispute in which the casino operator paid the Japanese firm $2.4 billion stemming from the forced liquidation of Wynn’s Aruze stake.

Earlier this week, a court in the Philippines issued an arrest warrant for Okada relating to his physical takeover of the Okada Manila integrated resort last year.

Japan-based Universal Entertainment — the parent company of Okada Manila — and its affiliates are currently mired in a testy legal rift with a US-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that is attempting to take Okada Manila public.

Those scenarios aren’t directly related to Aruze’s struggles, but they paint a picture of volatility within Okada’s business portfolio.

Small Dose of Bad News for Nevada Employment Picture

One hundred lost jobs isn’t a massive number, but news of the elimination of positions at Aruze comes as Nevada’s broader employment picture struggles to regain pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

At the end of the May, the state’s unemployment rate was 5.4%, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. That’s not only well above the national average, but also the worst percentage among all states and Washington, DC.

The loss of jobs in Clark County isn’t helpful. That county’s unemployment rate was 5.6% at the end of May, noted the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Just two Nevada counties — Lyon and Nye — had higher jobless rates as of May 31.