Oak Street acquires Washington Macau Casino from Maverick Gaming

According to county records, Maverick Gaming recently sold Macau Casino, a casino property in Lakewood, Washington, to Oak Street Real Estate Capital.

The Chicago-based real estate investment firm agreed to acquire the property for $22,1 million on September 2, but the deal was not recorded until September 20.

Maverick was founded in 2017 by a group that included Justin Beltram, a former vice president of slots at Bellagio and Marina Bay Sands, and Eric Persson, a former global senior vice president of slots at Las Vegas Sands.

After selling one of its casinos, Maverick now operates 18 card rooms in Washington State. There are additional properties outside of Washington, including four in Colorado and 10 in Northern Nevada.

With a 10,747 square foot building on 2.8 acres, Macau Casino was initially purchased by Maverick in 2019 for $6 million. The company acquired the property from a casino owner whose gaming licenses were revoked following a three-year investigation by the Washington State Gambling Commission into allegations of loansharking and money laundering.

Following a number of complaints about alleged misconduct at Macau Casino and Tukwila properties, the commission and the Tukwila Police Department began an investigation in 2016 on the property.

The commission also claimed that a casino employee frequently brought large bags filled with cash into the casinos and allegedly handed over the money to alleged “accomplices” to “buy-in on games.”

“They would play for a brief period of time before cashing out for $100 bills,” the commission’s representative said in a statement. “The suspect also loaned cash and chips to casino patrons and charged exorbitant interest rates on the loans.”

Previously, it was reported that Maverick was contesting tribal rule over Washington Sports Betting due to an alleged state monopoly. However, the lawsuit was halted in March as a result of Maverick and Washington’s demand that the state be removed from the case.