Listen to “Triage Should Guide Reckoning the Greenbrier’s Casino ‘Review” on Spreaker.
Triage is a core principle of emergency medicine. Practitioners are trained to assess a situation, determine what matters most and take the steps necessary to stabilize the patient.
The players in the latest plot twist of what is now called “As the Greenbrier Turns” would be wise to take a similar approach.
A few conclusions are inescapable:
• The Justice family chose to expose its business operations to significant financial leverage. Decisions have consequences, and consequences are indifferent to good intentions. For better or worse, those decisions have contributed to a downward spiral of missed tax payments, repossessions and lawsuits.
• Senator Justice and Governor Morrisey are not pals. Tension exists, along with the possibility that Justice could challenge Morrisey or campaign for his inevitable primary opponent. Even the best among us are susceptible to human nature. Is there a political motivation behind the Lottery’s response to the Greenbrier’s casino-license request? That is impossible to know. Assuming Lottery’s positive and pure intent is better than not, and deserved; but neither is expecting the state to ensure that not even the appearance of impropriety enters the process.
• Kennedy Lewis should not be held responsible for any sins — real or perceived — that belong to the Justice family. The firm deserves the benefit of the doubt from every state agency exercising oversight over the Greenbrier’s fate, especially given the revelation that Kennedy Lewis will control 51 percent of the operation. This statement in no way implies Kennedy Lewis will not receive such.
Those conclusions aside, debating who is right, who is wrong and who deserves blame misses the larger realities at play — most notably the 90 people whose jobs are now in jeopardy.
Assuming Kennedy Lewis is calling the shots — and 51 percent ownership generally puts one in the driver’s seat — the obvious conclusion is that the firm wants the resort. By its nature, the company is comfortable with risk. It seeks to profit by acquiring distressed assets. An entity at home with high-stakes investments is likely willing to proceed with the purchase even if the casino issue remains unresolved.
Whether Kennedy Lewis keeps the resort, sells it later or installs new management to generate its return, the firm is preparing to deploy capital. It is probably unwilling to leave its projected upside indefinitely at the mercy of the Lottery’s timeline – justified as it may be – especially when the patience of a federal judge may be growing slim.
That means closing the casino, even temporarily, may be less of a threat or negotiating tactic than a straightforward business decision communicated to all involved as an inevitable reality of closing the deal.
Is that the state’s fault or problem? No. It is simply the reality confronting everyone involved. Reason says Kennedy Lewis doesn’t want to lose the deal to Omni or anyone else. Closing it removes Omni from the picture and allows Kennedy Lewis to execute its business plan. Plain and simple.
Practically, however, the state should not consider the review question in a vacuum. Could provisional approval be issued while the Lottery and Kennedy Lewis work through the requirements for a permanent transfer and review approval? That is a reasonable question — and a reasonable course of action to explore — to ease the minds of those employees who are truly on the chopping block, even if only temporarily.
Then there is the revenue at stake. And it’s not just gambling taxes.
Many organizations hold their annual meetings at the Greenbrier. The casino is one of the amenities they weigh against those offered by competing resorts. Without it, some may move their business elsewhere or not give the resort that first chance that translates into continued business. That would be bad for the resort, its employees, the surrounding community and the state. Everyone loses.
When a situation is messy, complex and consequential for employees, triage helps reveal the proper priority and the best course of action.
That priority should not be concerned with which corporation did what, which owner failed to pay which taxes or which politician might benefit. It should be the employees whose livelihoods hang in the balance along with the viability of the Greenbrier.
That means finding an equitable way to keep the casino open as Kennedy Lewis closes and assumes control.