Ladbroke Group Plc

Goldrush Casino & Mining Corp. said it is in talks with Ladbroke Group about developing 10 acres of land Goldrush owns on the Las Vegas Strip as part of a future casino hotel. Ladbroke, the British company that owns the Hilton name overseas as well as casinos in Britain, is interested in entering the U.S. casino market. Last week, it completed an agreement with Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Corp. that lets it invest in future Hilton hotels and casinos.

Allegis Corp. on Friday signaled the start of its self-imposed breakup by announcing the sale of its Hilton International hotel unit--which it purchased barely five months ago--to a British hotel and bookmaking firm for $1.07 billion. The buyer is Ladbroke Group, owner and operator of 62 small and medium-sized hotels, mostly located in the United Kingdom. With its purchase of Hilton International, Ladbroke will acquire a network of 91 hotels throughout the world.

Hilton Hotels Corp. and Ladbroke Group are in talks that could produce a merger of much of their hotel operations, Hilton Chief Executive Stephen Bollenbach said Thursday. An alliance between two of the world's largest hotel operators could be as broad as "a jointly owned company that has important pieces of the two separate hotel companies in it," Bollenbach said in an interview.

A British company known more for gambling than hotels announced agreement today to buy Hilton International Co. for $1.1 billion in cash, the latest in a spate of British acquisitions of U.S. companies. Ladbroke Group PLC is buying the 91-hotel chain from Allegis Corp., which wants to sell off its non-airline businesses. The Chicago-based Allegis is the parent of United Airlines, the Hertz car rental system and Hilton International and Westin International hotels.

Hilton Hotels Corp., once it sheds its casinos, could be viewed as an acquisition target by the same companies that bid for Inter-Continental Hotels & Resorts, said CIBC Oppenheimer analyst David Wolfe. Wolfe and several Hilton investors met Wednesday with Chief Executive Steve Bollenbach. The meeting followed last week's announcement that the company is considering separating its hotel and casino operations and buying Circus Circus Enterprises Inc.

The federal government's long and embarrassing role as a major owner of the Bicycle Club Casino, one of California's biggest card clubs, may come to an end with a $25.3-million deal announced Monday to sell the federal share to the American arm of a vast British gambling concern. Federal trustee Frederick S. Wyle said in a brief statement that the U.S.

Next month, the 68-year-old Hotel Sainte Claire in San Jose formally becomes the Hyatt Sainte Claire. Does this mean Hyatt has bought the property? Or has taken over management? No and no. In fact, Hyatt Hotels Corp. owns no hotels. The Sainte Claire will continue to be owned by Hotel Sainte Claire Partners and managed by Mobedshahi Hotel Group of San Francisco.

When weary U.S. travelers make their way up 12,000 feet to Lhasa, Tibet, they come upon the Lhasa Hotel. Holiday Inns manages the lodging facility, but it's hardly a typical Holiday Inn. Guests can ask for oxygen masks if they have difficulty with the high altitude. Then there is the resident farmer who raises pigs, chickens, rabbits and vegetables because the local menu of yak meat and barley is not palatable to many visitors. Meanwhile, the hotel staff is planning endlessly.