Gardena council to hold new meeting on Larry Flynt's casinos

Larry Flynt bought the gaming license for the former Normandie Casino on Rosecrans Avenue this month for an undisclosed price. Flynt, who already owns the nearby Hustler Casino, planned to spend at least $60 million over the next four years to renovate the aging facility and also renamed it Larry Flynt’s Lucky Lady Casino.

But Flynt threatened to shut down the casino and sell the license after the Gardena City Council voted last week to give the Lucky Lady some tax breaks only if Flynt paid the city at least $800,000 a month from both the Hustler and the Lucky Lady.

Previously, casinos had to contribute 12% of their monthly gross revenues to the city. In 2014, the Hustler and Normandie, the only two casinos in Gardena, paid the city about $9.5 million.

Evan Roosevelt, a spokesman for the Flynt Management Group, said the objection “wasn’t the amount, it was the monthly guarantee.”

After the meeting, Flynt threatened to campaign against City Council members in the next election, according to the Daily Breeze. (The seat held by Paul Tanaka, the former sheriff’s department official recently sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in obstructing an FBI investigation into deputy jail abuses, is already empty and will be filled via a special election or council appointment.)

The Gardena council is holding another meeting Wednesday night to consider a new proposal, which does not include the $800,000 monthly minimum stipulation.

“We’re optimistic” the revised measure will pass, Roosevelt said.

The Normandie Casino had been owned by the Miller family since 1947, but several members pleaded guilty this year to shielding several high rollers from federal reporting requirements and were ordered to sell the casino.

The Normandie Casino had experienced financial difficulty, especially after the Hustler opened in 2000. Gardena officials would not say how much each casino paid individually, but a recent report noted that "the Normandie Club has continued to struggle financially, with some periods of recovery."