Riverside, Great American Casinos to Close as Maverick Gaming Cuts 238 More Jobs

Key Points

  • Maverick Gaming will close Riverside Casino and Great American Casino in Tukwila on November 1, eliminating 238 jobs
  • Five Maverick Washington cardrooms have closed or been earmarked for closure since June, affecting more than 400 workers
  • Maverick blamed tribal casino competition, rising labor costs, and industry headwinds for financial pressures leading to its bankruptcy

Stricken Maverick Gaming is closing two more Washington State cardrooms and laying off 238 workers as the casino operator continues to shrink its footprint amid Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Riverside Casino and Great American Casino, both in Tukwila, just south of Seattle, will close November 1, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices filed with Washington state Monday (August 31).

The closures will mean 142 jobs lost at Riverside and 96 at Great American.

They’re the latest in a string of closures by Kirkland, Wash.-based Maverick, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2025 after a debt-fueled expansion of its Washington cardroom business.

Five Maverick cardrooms have now closed or been earmarked for closure since June alone, affecting more than 400 workers.

Silver Dollar SeaTac Casino shuttered June 30, causing 65 layoffs. That was followed July 31 by the closures of Crazy Moose Mountlake Casino in Mountlake Terrace and Silver Dollar Mill Creek Casino in Bothell, affecting another 123 employees.

Spending Spree

Maverick went on a spending spree in Washington shortly after the US Supreme Court struck down PASPA, the federal prohibition on sports betting, in 2018. It acquired 24 cardroom venues — 19 in 2019 alone — becoming the state’s largest nontribal gaming operator.

The company was effectively betting on Washington lawmakers legalizing commercial sports wagering. Instead, a 2020 law restricted sports betting to tribal casinos, including mobile wagering, which is permitted only on tribal lands.

Maverick sued Washington state and the federal government in 2022, arguing that the tribal exclusivity amounted to an unconstitutional monopoly. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed.

Highly Leveraged

Maverick’s rapid expansion left it highly leveraged, and rising interest rates increased the cost of servicing that debt. Meanwhile, its Washington properties faced competition from tribal casinos.

Four cardrooms — Dragon Tiger Casino in Mountlake Terrace, Palace Casino in Lakewood, Silver Dollar Casino in Renton, and Roman Casino in Seattle — were closed around the time of the bankruptcy filing.

On Monday (August 31), the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas granted the debtors a fourth extension of their exclusive period to file a Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

Maverick continues to operate gaming properties in Washington, Nevada, and Colorado.

Philip Conneller
Philip Conneller Senior Reporter

In Philip Conneller’s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation.

Philip was the original features editor for poker’s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites.

His news stories for Casino.org/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others.

Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John’s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic.

He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist.

Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC.

Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.

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