Maverick Gaming is no longer owned by a single company. After RunItOneTime LLC, doing business as Maverick Gaming, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 14, 2025, its 26-property portfolio was broken apart in court-supervised sales. The core assets went to the company’s secured lenders for $62.5 million, and co-founder Eric Persson used a separate entity to buy back the poker operations and the Z Casino in Colorado for $28 million. Before the filing, Persson held roughly 57.9% of the equity and co-founder Justin Beltram held about 12.8%.
Ownership Before the Bankruptcy
Maverick Gaming was founded in 2017 and operated as a private company, so its shares never traded publicly. Eric Persson controlled roughly 57.9% through the parent entity RunItOneTime HoldCo Inc. Justin Beltram held approximately 12.8%. The rest was split among other stakeholders whose identities were not publicly disclosed, since private companies do not file shareholder reports.
That concentration let the founders move quickly on acquisitions without a board of outside directors or quarterly reporting obligations. It also concentrated the risk. When the debt load became unsustainable, the pain fell on the founders and their financial backers rather than a broad shareholder base.
Who Eric Persson and Justin Beltram Are
Persson served as CEO and drove the company’s expansion strategy. Before Maverick, he was Global Senior Vice President of Slots at Las Vegas Sands Corporation. He holds a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and grew up in Hoquiam, Washington, which shaped the company’s heavy footprint in the state. He is also known in the poker world as a regular on high-stakes livestreamed cash games.
Beltram served as Chief Operating Officer and handled day-to-day operations. His earlier roles included Vice President of Slots at both the Bellagio in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. His job at Maverick was to make newly acquired card rooms and smaller casinos run on a single operating playbook.
How Chapter 11 Split the Company Apart
On July 14, 2025, RunItOneTime LLC and 67 affiliated entities filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The case moved fast. Auctions for different segments of the portfolio began in September 2025.1Kroll Restructuring Administration. RunItOneTime LLC – Restructuring Administration Cases
The core asset package was approved for sale to the company’s secured lenders for $62.5 million. A separate auction held on September 19, 2025 covered the poker operations and the Z Casino in Colorado, and Eric Persson’s bid of $28 million prevailed there.1Kroll Restructuring Administration. RunItOneTime LLC – Restructuring Administration Cases
The result is that Maverick Gaming as it existed before July 2025 no longer operates as one company. The 26-property portfolio was broken up, with different buyers taking different pieces. Some Washington locations closed entirely during or after the proceedings, and layoffs at individual sites affected more than a hundred employees.
What Eric Persson Still Controls
Persson did not walk away empty-handed. Through a separate entity, he won the auction for the poker segment and the Z Casino in Colorado for $28 million, effectively repurchasing part of what he had built. He is the only pre-bankruptcy owner who emerged from the sale process still holding an operational piece of the former portfolio. The remaining properties, including the Nevada casino hotels in Elko and West Wendover and the bulk of the Washington card rooms, passed to the secured lenders or other buyers.
The Portfolio That Was Sold
At its peak, Maverick operated 26 properties across three states, with approximately 2,500 slot machines, 320 table games, 1,200 hotel rooms, and 30 restaurants. The Washington properties were mostly commercial card rooms, a segment where Maverick had become the dominant operator.
The Colorado properties came through Maverick’s 2019 acquisition of CC Gaming LLC, which added the Grand Z Casino Hotel and Johnny Z’s Casino in Central City, the Z Casino in Black Hawk, and a convenience store on Highway 119.2Maverick Gaming. Maverick Gaming Announces Acquisition of CC Gaming LLC In Nevada, the company ran the Maverick Casino & Hotel, Gold Country Inn & Casino, Red Garter Hotel and Casino, and Wendover Nugget Hotel & Casino. None were Las Vegas Strip properties. The business model was built on local and regional markets.
The Debt That Forced the Sale
Maverick’s rapid growth was financed largely by HG Vora Capital Management, a New York-based private investment firm that began backing the company in 2019. HG Vora financed the CC Gaming acquisition and supported the continued expansion across Washington and Nevada.2Maverick Gaming. Maverick Gaming Announces Acquisition of CC Gaming LLC
By 2021, the company owed HG Vora approximately $365 million. That debt was refinanced through Deutsche Bank, and HG Vora’s direct operational involvement reportedly diminished, though the firm bought into a portion of the new financing. HG Vora reportedly encouraged Maverick to pursue sale-leaseback transactions, which convert owned properties into leased ones to raise cash.
The debt was never brought under control. By the time of the bankruptcy filing, the company’s obligations were reported at approximately $306 million, a figure well above what the eventual asset sales produced.
Why Every New Owner Had to Be Approved
Buying a piece of a gaming company is not like buying any other business. Every state where Maverick operated required new owners to pass extensive background investigations before receiving a gambling license. In Washington, the State Gambling Commission runs criminal and financial background checks to determine whether an applicant is suitable to hold a license.3Washington State Gambling Commission. About Our Licensing Process
Anyone with a substantial interest in a gambling business must submit to a full financial background investigation, and the licensing unit may involve local, state, federal, and international authorities. Investigators can request corporate documents, purchase agreements, financial statements, and fingerprints.4Washington State Gambling Commission. Gambling License Certification Program
Washington law gives the Gambling Commission broad authority to deny an application or revoke an existing license if an owner fails to disclose material facts, obstructs an investigation, or cannot prove qualification by clear and convincing evidence.5Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.46.075 Nevada and Colorado run parallel licensing regimes. Each buyer that emerged from the Chapter 11 sales had to clear that investigative process before taking operational control of the properties it acquired.