Buffalo Thunder’s Bond Woes

Gaming’s still good at the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in Santa Fe, N.M., but not quite good enough to make an upcoming $11 million bond payment, according to tribal officials.

This isn’t the first payment the resort, which opened in 2008, has failed to pay. Buffalo Thunder also missed a $245 million financing payment earlier this year, but apparently worked out a deal with bondholders.

“We’re still at a point where we’re not able to make the payment,” Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. George Rivera told the Santa Fe New Mexican. “We’re basically still recovering from last fall’s downturn.

“We are able to keep people employed and keep the doors open, but as far as the big profit expected for investors, that part won’t be seen on the scale that was expected.”

Rivera added the resort has streamlined operations and said despite the current economy, hotel bookings and gambling revenues have increased.

Buffalo Thunder isn’t the only casino in the country feeling the pinch.

Foxwoods Resort Casino in New Haven, Conn., recently failed to make a full payment on its debt, leading to a default and a credit-rating downgrade.