%1

The Mavericks surfing competition, the nation’s premier big wave event, has been canceled this year after organizers were sued by its sponsor and filed for bankruptcy, event representatives said Friday, the New York Times reported. Held half a mile off Half Moon Bay in Northern California, the annual one-day contest features two dozen professional surfers competing on one of the world’s most dangerous surf breaks, where waves can reach 60 feet. The event, officially known as Titans of Mavericks, takes place between November and March after a 48-hour notice is given when conditions are right, aligning clear weather and majestic swells. The cancellation comes one week after Red Bull, Mavericks’ broadcaster and only sponsor, filed a lawsuit against the event’s promotional and management groups, Cartel Management and Titans of Mavericks, for breach of contract, seeking $400,000. In its bankruptcy filings, Cartel faces claims of about $1.9 million and Titans of Mavericks faces more than $776,335, according to court records filed on Tuesday.

Bankruptcy Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar yesterday approved the restructuring plan for Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s operating unit, paving the way for the operator of the Caesars Palace Las Vegas and other casinos to emerge from chapter 11 protection later this year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Judge Goldgar yesterday confirmed the chapter 11 reorganization plan for Caesars Entertainment Operating Co.(CEOC) two years after the casino operator sought court protection. The plan, which will cut CEOC’s $18 billion debt load by about $10 billion, is the culmination of hard-fought negotiations among the company, its creditors, parent Caesars Entertainment and the parent’s private-equity backers — Apollo Global Management and TPG. At the heart of the plan is a settlement of CEOC and its creditors’ legal claims against parent Caesars and its private-equity backers related to a series of disputed asset transfers in the months leading up to CEOC’s Jan. 15, 2015, bankruptcy filing. In return for settling the claims, which an independent investigator said could be worth up to $5.1 billion, Caesars and its owners will contribute more than $5 billion to the CEOC financial restructuring.

After filing for bankruptcy protection in November, the Big Apple Circus is now putting its assets up for auction, the New York Daily News reported yesterday. Buyers can put in bids by a Feb. 3 deadline and the court-ordered auction is expected to be held Feb. 7. The one-ring circus said its debts amounted to $8.3 million, against assets of $3.8 million, in its chapter 11 filing. The circus' woes began after the 2008 financial crisis, legal documents show. At its height, the circus earned $18 million in the 2007-2008 season, performing over 350 shows in eight cities and towns. Read more. 

In related news, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus announced that the show is closing later this year, after nearly a century-and-a-half run, a move that may signal the final act of an entertainment tradition embedded in American culture proved itself an enduring family entertainment, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. In recent years, the show struggled with sagging ticket sales, rising costs and opposition from animal-rights groups. Kenneth Feld, the 68-year-old chairman and chief executive of Feld Entertainment, the circus’ parent company, said that 462 employees, covering two touring Ringling shows and administrative staff, will be affected by the shutdown. Feld also said that the circus has about 85 animals, but that his company would assure they have new homes after the shows end in May. Read more. (Subscription required.) 

Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s main operating unit has cleared the way for the casino operator to exit bankruptcy protection with an agreement that ends the last objection to its reorganization plan, lawyers told a U.S. judge on Friday, Reuters reported. The U.S. Trustee had objected to the reorganization of Caesars Entertainment Operating Co Inc., the subsidiary that filed an $18 billion bankruptcy in 2015, because of legal protections for the non-bankrupt parent. The objection by the U.S. Trustee was a cloud over next week's trial to approve the Caesars unit's plan to cut $10 billion of debt and emerge from its two-year chapter 11 bankruptcy. A last-minute deal with the U.S. Trustee removes that threat. Details of the agreement would be filed later, Joe Graham, a lawyer for the bankrupt unit, said at a hearing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. Judge Benjamin Goldgar said that if the issues were resolved, "you can present an order and I'll sign it."