The Shadow
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV (VR) – The Casino Club at The Greenbrier came within hours of going dark before the West Virginia Lottery Commission granted a last-minute renewal of its gaming license, keeping the doors open for guests and members heading into the new fiscal year.
The commission approved the renewal during an emergency meeting held by conference call on June 30, just before the casino’s license was set to expire at midnight. The vote came after resort officials finally turned in a required independent audit that had been due to regulators months earlier.
The close call traced back to a missed internal deadline. State law requires The Greenbrier, as one of West Virginia’s “historic resort hotel” casinos, to submit audited financial statements as part of its licensing process. Lottery officials had set a March 20 deadline for that paperwork, giving staff and an outside accounting firm time to review it before licenses are renewed each year by July 1.
The audit never arrived on time. At a regular meeting days before the deadline, commissioners voted not to renew The Greenbrier’s license until the missing financial statements were provided, even as they approved renewals for the state’s four other casinos: Mardi Gras Casino and Resort, Mountaineer Casino Resort, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, and Wheeling Island Hotel, Casino and Racetrack.
Steve Ruby, an attorney representing The Greenbrier and the Justice family, told the commission the delay stemmed from significant turnover in the resort’s accounting and finance departments. He said staff and outside auditors were working diligently to finish the report before the license lapsed.
When the audit materials finally came in, the Lottery Commission moved quickly, calling the emergency session to review the findings and vote on the renewal before the casino’s authority to operate expired. Commission Chairman Kenneth Greear said he was pleased the matter was resolved without disrupting the casino’s operations or the people who rely on it.
“I’m glad that we’ve come to a good decision and move forward with this and have no impact on the people of West Virginia who are familiar with and take part in The Greenbrier’s activity,” Greear said.
The relief, however, came with strings attached. Chris Lambert, an outside financial consultant with the accounting firm Suttle and Stalnaker, recommended the commission approve the license but also place the casino on financial watch, citing red flags in the audit. Lambert reported that current liabilities across the broader Greenbrier operation jumped from about $90 million in 2024 to roughly $260 million in 2025, leaving negative working capital of about $240 million.
Despite those concerns, Lambert noted the casino itself remains profitable and said he had “no reservations” about recommending it be relicensed. The Casino Club generated about $15 million in revenue against roughly $7.8 million in expenses last year, for a net income of about $6.9 million. The broader Greenbrier operation reported revenue of about $158 million and net income of just over $9 million, a decline from the prior year.
West Virginia Lottery Chief Financial Officer Michelle Painter agreed that closer monitoring was warranted, pointing to the late audit, the staff turnover cited by Ruby, and the working capital issue. Under the financial watch, The Greenbrier will now submit unaudited financial reports to the Lottery Commission every quarter, with the first due between mid-September and early October.
The audit also highlighted a complicated debt picture tied to the resort’s ownership by U.S. Sen. Jim Justice and his family. Lambert noted that loans connected to The Greenbrier matured April 1 and have not been refinanced. Court filings show a debt package once held by Carter Bank & Trust, later acquired by an affiliate of Omni Hotels & Resorts’ parent company, now exceeds $370 million. That entity, White Sulphur Springs Holdings, has pursued legal action, including a request for a court-ordered receiver over the Justice family’s Greenbrier properties.
The Justice family has denied wrongdoing and filed its own suit alleging the debt was acquired improperly. The family has also announced plans to secure up to $500 million in refinancing through Kennedy Lewis Investment Management.
Separately, Lottery officials said the West Virginia Tax Division confirmed The Greenbrier remains in good standing, though court filings show active tax liens exceeding $4.4 million tied to the property.
Ruby thanked the commission for its work on a compressed timeline.
“We’re very appreciative of the hard work on the part of the staff and everybody who has worked with us on getting this process completed on a little bit of a compressed time frame,” he said. “We’re very grateful for the work that the commission and the staff always do.”
For now, the Casino Club at The Greenbrier, operating since 2010 with slot machines, table games, and a FanDuel sportsbook, remains open to guests and members as usual. The renewal follows the standard five-year cycle required under state law, but the added quarterly reporting means regulators will be watching closely as the resort works through its debt disputes and refinancing efforts.
