Wife Slapping: UFC President Dana White's Public Spat With Anne Stella White Reveals Chilling Connection to Organized Crime

 By: Rich Bergeron

From Left to Right: Teresa Fertitta, Lorenzo Fertitta, Anne Stella White and Dana White

"Aren't you afraid you're gonna get whacked?" 

      This is a question I used to get asked all the time. Most people who found out what I was doing with this site thought that prospect was a natural occupational hazard of covering the Fertittas and their involvement in intentionally bankrupting Xyience. 

     The reality was I never got a single threatening phone call and never felt like there was a real target on my back. However, I did always take precautions to make sure the Fertittas would never find out where I lived when I was stuck in Las Vegas for two years fighting their attempts to profit off their destruction of Xyience. This involved some creative evasive measures. Exiting the courthouse and getting home without a tail each time I appeared against them was an adventure in itself. 

     Why was I so confident nothing horrible would happen to me? The regulated nature of the casino industry requires near spotless records to be maintained by all license applicants and license holders. The Fertittas would not risk injuring me or killing me and having it even appear to be linked to them. Their empire would be at stake if they gave my reports credence by making me disappear. If they maintained any obvious illicit relationships with anyone connected to organized crime, they could lose their casino licenses. So, even the most inconsequential ties to "the Mob" would have to be kept very close to their vests and top secret to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

     So, what does any of this have to do with Dana White and his wife getting in a slap fighting spat in Mexico while drunk and emotional? Bear with me. It's a fairly long story that starts with a yearbook photo I acquired of Anne Stella from when she was at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas:

  

      The photo above links to my Pinterest account where I also have pictures of Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta from their common years at Bishop Gorman. All these years after I connected with a Bishop Gorman classmate who sent me these pictures, the story has finally come full circle. 

      The Bishop Gorman nexus perhaps explains everything about the way the UFC operates as a business today. It is so much more relevant now than it was back then, because I have made a new discovery from a 7-year-old interview I conducted with June White, Dana White's mother. June and I covered a very wide range of topics, but a recent review of that audio uncovered a crucial detail I neglected to follow up on until this past week. 

(105) UFC President Dana White's "Family" Mob Connection Exposed in 2011 June White Interview - YouTube

It relates directly to who Anne Stella White really is and reveals a perfectly good reason why all the alleged affairs Dana White's been implicated in never resulted in a divorce. It's not just because they've known each other since they were 12. 

June White (L) and her son Dana White (R)

The Real Anne Stella White Story and Why We Don't Know It Already

     The news media scrambling for dirt on Anne keeps harping on racy details of her "joke" of a marriage to Dana that June White reported when promoting her tell-all book on her son. June also claimed Anne gave Dana a severe black eye on their honeymoon. These writers relaying Dana's mother's commentary have some of the "family" drama pegged, but they have absolutely no clue about the most secret backstory Anne Stella has. 

Dana's reputation as a bald bully makes much more sense in light of June White's 2011 family tree report about his wife's father. 

It's no surprise that ESPN reporters were quickly and effectively muzzled on "the slap heard around the world" incident with Dana and Anne.  

      I specifically discussed the concept of "UFC nut-huggers" with Dana White's mother. If you're not familiar with the term, it refers to people who will never utter a bad word about the premiere MMA organization. On top of that, some of them are actually paid to post all kinds of complimentary stuff on social media about Dana, UFC business, UFC fighters, and UFC events. I'm not talking about just publicists, either. Some paid posters are even encouraged to verbally squabble with doubters and detractors of the organization. I saw it firsthand while posting links to content here at Sherdog and on other mixed martial arts forums. June White successfully sued over one particular woman linked to her son who trolled her viciously online after June's book went public. June even informed me that my book on representing yourself in court helped her out in some key areas. 

       So it did not surprise me one bit when Dana White's most recent scandal had more people defending him than demanding his resignation. He even had loyal UFC fighters standing up for their boss. 

     "She hit him first" was the most common refrain. She threatened the reign of their king, so the spin had to be that this was all her fault. It's as if these fighters, fans and devoted UFC media only watched the first part of the video where Anne slapped Dana and Dana slapped her back once. I don't think most of these "nut-huggers" bothered to acknowledge the second and third slap from Dana. It appeared something was thrown at Dana's head to ultimately stop his continued assault after that. Much of the final moments were blurred by darkness and the entire violent scene blending into the crowd. 

     You know what else is in the dark? Anne Stella's background. Here are a couple of articles that claim to tell you everything you might want to know about the wife of "The Baldfather:"

      Who Is UFC President Dana White’s Wife, Anne Stella White? - Sportsmanor

      Everything You Need to Know About Dana White’s Wife Anne Stella White - EssentiallySports

     It appears that there are a lot of unknowns about Anne and her family. She's kept her past top secret somehow. June White knew the real reason why she had to do that. She told me 7 years ago that Dana's father-in-law was connected to the Chicago mob. For some reason, I never followed up on that tip until a week ago when the Mexican slap-off became a viral story.

Married to the Mob 

      Anne Stella's father was not just any old mafioso. Much like the Station Casinos founder Frank Fertitta Junior (Frank III and Lorenzo's dad), Robert Frank Stella, now deceased, was reportedly involved in a massive skimming operation connected to certain casinos in Las Vegas. Historical accounts and FBI evidence show "Bobby Stella" was quite literally a "bag man" who managed the Stardust Casino and often carried out the skimmed cash in a paper grocery bag. 

     This passage from a lengthy article explains the Stardust skim from an insider perspective:

     "Johnny Rosselli later named other Stardust “supervisors” brought in for good measure: “[Sam Giancana] sent Al Sachs and Bobby Stella to help [Drew]. Dalitz’s got Yale Cohen to watch his end. But Sam’s got a sleeper in there, Phil Ponti, a made guy from Chicago. A real sharp operator.”

     When the Stardust finally opened for business on July 2, 1958, it proved well worth the effort. After the grand opening, attended by guests of honor then senator and future president Lyndon Baines Johnson and his trusty sidekick Bobby Baker, the money began arriving in Chicago almost faster than it could be counted. “They’re skimming the shit out of that joint,” Rosselli later told Fratianno. “You have no idea how much cash goes through that counting room every day. You, your family, your uncles and cousins, all your relatives could live the rest of their lives in luxury with just what they pull out of there in a month. Jimmy, I’ve never seen so much money.” Coming from a man who had lived through the phenomenal profits of the bootlegging era, this speaks volumes about the lure of Las Vegas.

      The last part of that snippet above is ironic considering the fact that the Fertitta brothers lived their entire lives in luxury thanks to their father's casino industry legacy. It's certain that Frank Fertitta Junior did not just cross paths a few times over the years with Bobby Stella. Fertitta and Stella were intimately involved in the casino skimming efforts popularized in the movie "Casino" starring Robert Deniro and Joe Pesci. Fertitta's Wikipedia page explains: 

     "...he [Fertitta] worked as a dealer, pit boss, baccarat manager and general manager at properties including the Stardust; Tropicana, Circus Circus, Sahara and the Fremont in downtown Las Vegas." 

      Again, an obituary tells the hidden story behind the very close relationship between the Stella and Fertitta families. The "Memories and Condolences" section of Frank Junior's "Legacy" page contains the following entry left by Robert and Roberta Stella:

     "Our thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Fertitta and her devoted family always. You are all very special to us."

Mafia Mentality Permeates Dana White's UFC Management Style

      Restrictive contracts, rewarding extreme employee loyalty and routine intimidation tactics utilized by Dana White over the years in his role as UFC President now make so much more sense. They call him "the boss" for a reason. You have to "put on a show" to make it in the UFC long term. In other words, as a mob boss would say, "You've gotta be a good earner." You have to be the kind of fighter that puts eyeballs on the brand and asses in the seats if you want to get Dana's admiration and a good return on your investment in training. 

     Organized crime has always been hovering in the background for the entirety of White's reign over what is widely considered the most powerful mixed martial arts league on the planet. It makes the James Krause betting scandal seem tame now in comparison. I interviewed Krause in 2016 for a now-defunct podcast. He was one of the few outspoken fighters involved in the UFC, but only because he always knew he had to diversify his income. 

     Another fighter who graced the Octagon more than a few times joined our podcast back in 2010. It was just before what turned out to be his last fight in the UFC, which he lost by knockout to Brad Tavares. "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni was involved in a horrific domestic violence incident in Mexico recently. Baroni allegedly murdered his girlfriend after she confessed to cheating on him with another man. 

     Baroni, known for his abrasive attitude and balls-to-the-wall fighting style, was on his absolute best behavior during our chat. I asked him one last question about Dana White's rule over the UFC when we talked back then. "It's his money, it's his show, and he's the boss," Baroni said. 

      We also can't neglect to mention the double standard involved in the "slap heard around the world." The "do as I say, not as I do" mantra fits the scenario perfectly. White has thrown people out of the UFC for getting wrapped up in incidents of domestic violence. Yet, his own example of the same behavior is treated much differently. There has been no formal punishment at all despite White admitting publicly he has no excuse for his actions. 

      There's no doubt in my mind that this debacle is something Dana White will effortlessly bounce back from. The organizational underboss has all the job security a guy could want due to his popularity and pull. However, things might have been drastically different if his father-in-law was still alive when Dana slapped Bobby Stella's beloved daughter down in a drunken rage. Who knows what Anne's dear old dad would have done in this situation if he were still walking among us. I imagine the penance Dana would have to pay in that case would have been much harsher. Instead, look for this news story to drop off the radar and fade into oblivion while Dana continues with "business as usual."  

Smoking Gun Evidence that Bergeron Case Was Unfounded in Law or Fact

The above email chain dates back to the beginning of the $25 million Xyience lawsuit filed against me in Las Vegas District Court back in 2007 by Attorney Jamie Cogburn. These exchanges came from an email recently sent to me by the brother of Xyience Founder Russell Pike, who is currently incarcerated due to a conviction for tax evasion. I will be publishing a large cache of other insider emails in the near future.

At the time these emails originated, Pike was working feverishly to get more investors to come in to keep Xyience viable. My reports were making those efforts nearly impossible. The lawsuit described investors willing to enter into financing with Xyience, but only if my articles were removed from the Internet. As soon as the case resulted in a preliminary injunction against me, Russell Pike sent a representative out to deliver copies of the injunction order to local investors. This rep wrote the following statement in an affidavit I filed in my counterclaim:

The Fertittas always denied through their attorneys that they had anything to do with the suit against me, but it's obvious from this testimony that they forced Xyience's hand. Dana White didn't end up investing anything, but before Fertitta Enterprises went through with their loan package they did get White's approval.

This email chain will be the main exhibit in a new case against Attorney Cogburn in Nevada. There will be much more to come on this front in the days and weeks ahead. Stay Tuned. 

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Hardy's UFC Life Xtended Due to Xyience Sponsorship Deal

By: Rich Bergeron

Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy is a true Xception to the so-called "three strikes rule" often used to Xpell fighters from the UFC when they suffer three straight losses in the octagon.

Hardy's losing effort in the main event of UFC Live 5 against Chris "Lights Out" Lytle was his 4th loss in a row, something Dana White usually responds to by releasing a fighter as quickly as possible. Yet, when Hardy went down in the third-round by submission, the decision to keep or cut Hardy was left out of the Baldfather's hands. Instead, Lorenzo Fertitta saved the day for Hardy with a single tweet. The MMA media quickly set about analyzing and criticizing the UFC for not letting Hardy go, but none of the major outlets seemed to be able to figure out the real reason (see image at left) Dan Hardy is being retained as a UFC fighter. None of the pundits in either the print or television sports media bothered to take a moment to ask, "Why did Lorenzo Fertitta make the call to keep Hardy instead of Dana White?"

The fact is, Dan Hardy's Xyience sponsorship is what really kept him from getting cut. See that UFC label on the Xenergy fruit punch can above that Hardy is prominently featured on? There's got to be at least hundreds of thousands of those cans either in circulation or yet to be distributed by Xyience. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that Xyience is owned by Fertitta Enterprises, and the Fertitta brothers are of course the majority owners of the UFC. Xyience-sponsored fighters are company men in more ways than one. They can do no wrong, especially in this case where Hardy is literally the face of Xyience's popular Xenergy brand. Another Xyience-branded fighter claimed recently that about 85-percent of MMA fighters are using performance enhancing drugs.

Hardy's fight against Chris Lytle turned out to be a landmark last fight for Lytle, who told Hardy at the weigh in that he intended to retire after the match. Lytle specifically told Hardy he wanted to make it a good battle to go out on, which obviously called for plenty of toe to toe action. Hardy obliged and tried to outbox a former pro boxer, which didn't work out in his favor despite a few bright spots. The whole fight just seemed too happy and magical for Lytle when the smoke cleared. Stories after the fight centered around Lytle ending his career on a high note. Other fighters were forced to take notice and told to try to follow Lytle's example of how to retire properly. It seemed Hardy was in a lose-lose situation going into the fight. If he beat Lytle up he'd spoil the legend's leaving the league on good terms. If he lost he risked getting cut, or at least that's what he must have imagined his fate would be. Hardy actually seemed surprised that he wasn't voted off the island after the loss, and he hinted at his own possible retirement in promising to take some time off to reinvent himself.

John "Doomsday" Howard was quick to call foul at the three strikes rule causing him to lose his job when Hardy was allowed to stick around after losing four consecutive fights. The double standard even led Howard to challenge Hardy on YouTube. Howard's last three fights were long battles against Matt Brown, Thiago Alves, and Jake Ellenberger. If Howard had been sponsored by Xyience, would he still be working in the octagon? Maybe so, but after the cut it's a bad idea for him to call out a company man like Dan Hardy and expect the UFC brass to bite.

Hardy's good fortune didn't end with Lorenzo's decision to keep him around. He also netted a $65,000 fight of the night bonus. Hardy's loss by submission also gave Lytle the chance to bolster his retirement fund with $130,000 in bonus money, adding a submission of the night bonus to his half of the fight of the night honors. Looking back it all just seems too perfect, almost as if the fight was fixed.

Only Hardy's genuine disappointment gave the impression that he really did do his absolute best to win the fight. He even hinted in his post-fight commentary that he was glad the UFC was going to give him "one more fight." Just in case he loses that next opportunity to prove himself he let it be known he was going to take his $65k back to the UK and go on hiatus for a while. This, of course, will give Xyience plenty of time to sell off their remaining fruit punch "collector cans" of Xenergy featuring Dan Hardy's face on them.

The boxing game helped coin the phrase "tomato can" to represent an easy opponent to beat. Dan Hardy's losing streak is starting to make "Xenergy can" sound like the best MMA equivalent of that label. He might even cause other Xyience sponsored fighters to refuse to have their faces plastered on future Xenergy cans for fear of the whole streak representing a Xyience curse akin to the Madden NFL and Sports Illustrated cover curses that plagued other sports teams and players in the past. Whatever happens next, look for the preferential treatment of Hardy to persist as long as fruit punch Xenergy is still on store shelves.

FTC INVESTIGATION OF UFC IS NO RUMOR

By: Rich Bergeron

The three letters that changed the mixed martial arts landscape and put the sport on the map in the first place are U-F-C. Not only do those three letters stand for Ultimate Fighting Championships, but they also have been used by many fans to represent and encompass the entire sport of MMA. All too often I've heard even small-scale local shows that have no affiliation with the UFC referred to by patrons as "UFC fighting." Across the world MMA is also known as "Ultimate Fighting."

These realities were present long before the parent company of the UFC purchased the outfit's most powerful competitors, yet it seems that Zuffa's always been intently focused on maintaining and improving their top-dog status in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Over the years this juggernaut has grown from an obscure, barbaric, and controversial outfit into a widely accepted and heralded business model working on gaining world MMA domination by any means necessary.

No pinnacle Zuffa reaches ever seems to be enough, and the initial $2 million investment in the company by Frank Fertitta III and his brother Lorenzo Fertitta has since been paid back more than 1,000 times over. Three little letters started it all, though they were three letters the Fertittas and their friend Dana White never actually created themselves. The UFC actually started as someone else's vision, someone who didn't have the friends or partners with the tens of millions of dollars it would take to turn the fledgling, struggling sport into a ruthless, all-powerful business.

Three other letters are now looming large to threaten the UFC's complete supremacy and question how the Zuffa banner came to corner the entire market. Those letters are FTC, and they stand for Federal Trade Commission. There have been some articles and blog posts in recent days speculating on supposed "rumors" of an FTC investigation regarding potential anti-trust violations and monopoly concerns that could target the UFC's parent company Zuffa, LLC. Let's put the rumors to rest right now and stop the speculation once and for all.

The Federal Trade Commission has plenty to be concerned about regarding Zuffa's business practices. Sources I speak to regularly confirmed to me last week that the FTC already started an intense investigation into Zuffa and will likely come up with sufficient evidence to file a complaint. Even though it seems that it's mainly boxing industry insiders being blamed for dumping on the UFC's parade, Dana White's openly complained that some of his loudest pugilism-oriented critics are simply copycats and "cry-babies:"



Ariel Helwani, the masterful interviewer who may well be the most recognized MMA reporter on the planet, also broke the story regarding the Zuffa buyout of Strikeforce. During the exclusive one-on-one session with Dana White that helped the UFC explain the Strikeforce purchase, Helwani managed to get White to say the words "business as usual" a total of ten times. This all seemed like Deja Vu to many of the MMA media members who are not on Dana White's top ten list of go to guys he calls to get the word out on a big development.

White's hollow Strikeforce promises sounded strikingly similar to what he said would happen when Zuffa purchased PRIDE from that ciruit's Japanese owners. Instead of holding "Superbowl" events featuring UFC fighters facing PRIDE vets, Zuffa wound up dissolving PRIDE amid a torrent of controversy and legal wrangling. The really dedicated MMA journalists out there like Zach Arnold of Fightopinion.com are not out to please the Zuffa brass enough to get exclusive access. They simply want to educate the fan base and keep them in the loop about what's actually happening behind the scenes rather than simply spouting what White and the Fertitta brothers may want you to hear.

Notice how Dana White would not answer Helwani's question about the government's interest in Zuffa's business practices. Helwani, to his credit, made sure White addressed the question but didn't go far enough to press him for a yes or no about whether White's been approached by anyone in the government. Whether Dana's been given the third degree by investigators or not, the fact is the FTC has a long list of potential avenues to travel down in their investigation. Officials from that agency are already interviewing key witnesses to contract issues and other antitrust and monopoly concerns that continue to play second fiddle to the burgeoning debate about New York state's refusal to regulate mixed martial arts.

My own piece of the pie relating to Xyience shows beyond any reasonable doubt that Zuffa's principals have been using Xyience sponsorships and the intimate relationship with their sponsor to perpetrate insider dealing. The Xyience stable of UFC fighters is expanding rapidly, and since Fertitta Enterprises is the actual owner of Xyience at this point the company policy actually forbids sponsorship of any other league or sport. Though the company is still embroiled in an ongoing bankruptcy litigation steaming toward a trial date later this year, some of the UFC's top level fighters sport the Xyience brand proudly and seem to get preferential treatment for doing so. Meanwhile, a bevy of fighters sponsored by Xyience prior to the bankruptcy are conspicuously absent from the current company roster of marquee fighters. Misrepresenting the strength of Xyience is also an issue at the heart of a senior secured credit facility that allowed the UFC to borrow the money to acquire PRIDE in the first place.

There are multiple reasons for the FTC to look into Zuffa's conflicts of interest regarding the Fertittas' ownership of Xyience. At the same time this intriguing sponsorship push by the reorganized Xyience is taking place, other sponsors have been locked out of the UFC cage for one reason or another. If certain fighters are perhaps being forced to enter into sponsorship agreements to gain special treatment from Zuffa brass or forced to drop other sponsors that compete with preferred sponsors like Xyience, the FTC and the Justice Department should take a close look at this unhealthy scenario. It's called "tortious interference" when a business inserts itself into a contract unfairly and/or exerts undue influence to make or break a contract. Looking back through the UFC's history it's not hard to find multiple examples where fighters were forced into making certain agreements to appease the bosses. One example is Dana White's ultimatum to the UFC organization's fighters forcing them to sign over lifetime rights to their likenesses to a video game manufacturer or be fired. If that isn't textbook tortious interference, I don't know what is.

The UFC did not gain top-dog MMA league status through acquisition alone. They also sold a slice of the business to an Abu Dhabi entity that has endless financial resources. Additionally, the Zuffa brass employs an army of lawyers in numerous venues who seem to be retained in order to sue competitors for even the slightest appearance of impropriety. Few brave souls who sued on their own or counter-sued have been able to gain much ground filing suit against Zuffa, though, especially in light of the Fertitta family's influence on the Nevada judiciary and political landscape.

The Fertitta family and their Station Casinos chain provides regular political campaign donations, and Nevada is a state where many judges are elected to office rather than appointed. The Nevada wheels are thoroughly greased in favor of the UFC due to the Fertitta connection and their generosity to the campaigns of judges, including the first judge to oversee my own case brought by Xyience. Judge Timothy C. Williams was endorsed for the bench by Station Casinos, which also helped distribute election pamphlets on his behalf. It's no surprise Judge Williams was recently over-ruled by an appeals court in another case which had the potential to damage a Station Casinos entity. Not even Mark Cuban's money could stop Nevada from favoring the Fertittas in the case of Randy Couture's contract dispute that Cuban attempted to assist with. Cuban's now a bondholder on the UFC's Senior Secured Credit Facility that paid for the PRIDE purchase and provided huge dividends for Dana White and the Fertitta Brothers.

Initial reports regarding the FTC's potential to come after the UFC seem to focus exclusively on antitrust and monopoly concerns stemming from the Strikeforce purchase. The reality is there are countless bigger picture issues, and the FTC and Justice Department won't hesitate to explore the possibility of filing a major, comprehensive complaint that considers various charges that go far beyond the Strikeforce deal. Some witnesses are being interviewed for hours at a time by a panel of investigators and interrogators who want to know the whole story behind Zuffa's operations, and that tells me these government employees are serious and committed to going full circle on this effort. They won't simply stop at inquiring about the issues currently being aired in the "lamestream" MMA media. Consider the FTC's stated powers by law:

The Commission may" prosecute any inquiry necessary to its duties in any part of the United States" (FTC Act Sec. 3, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 43) and may"gather and compile information concerning, and to investigate from time to time the organization, business, conduct, practices, and management of any person, partnership, or corporation engaged in or whose business affects commerce, excepting banks, savings and loan institutions * * * Federal credit unions * * * and common carriers * * *." (FTC Act Sec. 6(a), 15 U.S.C. Sec. 46(a)).

Odds are there will be plenty of dirt to dig up through talking to the people who know where all of Zuffa's bodies are buried. Though the FTC will likely never publicly admit they're taking a hard look at Zuffa before a complaint drops, it can't be a coincidence that so-called "rumors" are being spread about their curiosity. Where there is smoke there is fire, and if the FTC goes after Zuffa with all of their resources it will only be a matter of time before the resulting inferno burns Dana White's bald head and the rest of the company brass. For once they might be in a situation where their political campaign donations and lobbying efforts won't help in the long run. For once their opponent across the courtroom won't have less money to spend pressing their case. Whether it becomes a civil case or a criminal one--or both--remains to be seen, but a case will most surely materialize in due time.

The only problem seems to be that whatever happens as the saga unfolds, it seems exceedingly impossible to conceive a scenario in which any complaint will result in any actual accountability shown by the Zuffa powers that be. Perhaps the company will pay a hefty fine or a select few high-level co-conspirators will get into a bind with potential criminal charges, but slick lawyers with huge retainers will make sure to save the day either way. Whatever changes might be mandated due to the crackdown will likely make minimal difference since so much of the damage has already been done. Only in a perfect world will we see any public congressional hearings or any corporate crooks in silver bracelets.

What's far more likely is fighters will continue to be screwed by Zuffa management into conceding better benefits and pay days in order to stay under the UFC/Strikeforce banner. Rather than rely on fair compensation from the league, these cage warriors will continue to rely on sponsorships for day to day expenses for training and costs of living. Many of those sponsors will also continue to be forced to jump through hoops and pay out of deep pockets to be in a position to even approach and deal with Zuffa's stable of combatants. Dana White will go right on calling his critics "idiots" and be seen as an everyman who speaks his mind and tells it like it is. He'll keep denouncing unions and making moves to prevent his fighters from ever considering creating their own union, which they may need now more than ever. But...the real journalists who come from the kind of background that only leads to blacklisting for truth-telling will always know the real story too many others are afraid to tell for fear of losing access. That tale casts Dana White and his cronies in a light that makes Don King look like a saint.

I, for one, hope the FTC proves me wrong.

UFC and Station Casinos Facing New Battles

By: Rich Bergeron

The UFC and Station Casinos have both been making headline news over the past few weeks. The two entities typically keep their operations wholly unique without any major overlap. Yet, in many ways these two companies with brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III at the helm have been suffering from some of the same woes. While the brass at Station Casinos grapple with local Culinary Union workers and a massive National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Complaint against the casino chain, the UFC recently held a fighter summit at Red Rock Casino (A Station Casino property) and announced measures that appear designed to make sure a fighter's union never materializes. The unspoken message to the MMA practitioners in attendance seemed to say to all of them that the one thing UFC definitely doesn't stand for is Union Friendly Company.

As far as Station Casinos and their union troubles, it seems that they literally have no defense in the NLRB case. Casino brass recently brought back two employees fired for union organization efforts in what looks like a clear surrender, potentially opening the door to further appeasement efforts. Culinary Workers Union President Geoconda Arguello-Kline pointed out recently that the "We love Locals" motto of Station Casinos comes across as slick and disingenuous due to how the company's been treating their union-friendly staff over the years. Arguello-Kline explained, “It is truly alarming that a company which claims to love locals has had the federal government step in to ensure that workers are not retaliated against for exercising their rights under federal labor laws.”

Culinary Local 226 has been anything but quiet about their concerns, and their president seems to have a point about the casino chain's company slogan hiding the real issues related to attempts to unionize. After all, the most recent union protest on March 24, 2011 inspired a response from the company that included rolling out a chain of three "We Love Locals" billboard trucks to mask a 1,000-member, two-mile march from union headquarters to Palace Station. 100 of those 1,000 "Locals" were arrested for trying to block the entrance of the casino during the protest.





Whatever happens with the NLRB complaint, it seems highly unlikely that any company executives responsible for the anti-labor climate at Stations will leave their offices in handcuffs. Like the fat cats on Wall Street who saw their companies pay fines their personal, irresponsible behavior inspired, the most culpable company employees at Station Casinos will probably get off with no real punishment at all. Ths is despite the fact that the original 166-count complaint featured charges of threats, intimidation, interrogation, surveillance, bribery, discouragement, discrimination, discipline and even physical assault to thwart workers efforts to form a union. Yet, any resolution of these disturbing issues is most likely to involve the company being forced to pay fines and institute changes that will make it easier for workers to organize without repurcussions and retaliation.

Station Casinos was once labeled as one of the 100 best companies to work for by Fortune Magazine. Yet, despite the union issues and a highly contentious bankruptcy process, the Fertitta brothers remain high on another important list. Both Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III had no trouble making the Forbes list again this year with both said to be worth around a cool billion. Though they slipped a few spots in the heirarchy of that rich list, the favorable outcome to the bankruptcy put nearly all of their financially-stressed properties back under their control. They even went on a hiring spree and launched a huge giveaway of cars and cash before instituting reorganization plans revealing they might not even end up paying for most of what they gave away to generate business.

It's hard to believe this is the same company that at one point planned to build a $10 billion development featuring three hotels and casinos at the site of the Wild Wild West motel and casino on Tropicana Avenue and Interstate 15. (concept photo at left)

The project also reportedly included a possible plan to place an arena on site. The concept was even championed by a Deutsche Bank official, which is ironic considering that's one of the same institutions now left holding the bag for a great deal of the casino chain's massive debt load. That huge amount of Station Casinos debt that led to the company's bankruptcy was racked up and steadily growing out of control long before the "Viva" resort plans hit the presses. Just acquiring the target land area for the proposed--and now likely doomed--development cost the Fertittas $335 million over a ten-year span.

Considering the completely irresponsible handling of the company's business by the Fertitta Brothers, it's no surprise that their lenders are now challenging the family's buyback of Green Valley Ranch for $500 million, which would eliminate $378 million in debt. It seems to be perfect timing considering the UFC, owned by the same Fertitta brothers, is flying high enough to help out with some of the big ticket buybacks of these highly-distressed properties. The UFC's success has been so pronounced that there was even enough cash flow to buy the next best fight league on the market. To keep the UFC gravy train flowing, though, it's going to take more than the acquisition of a major competitor like Strikeforce.

To really take heed of the lessons learned by Station Casinos' union struggles and bankruptcy, the Fertittas will have to focus more on saving money than spending it when it comes to operating the UFC. Though there is no current fighter union taking shape at this point, some recent decisions made by UFC brass indicate that it's something the organization seems concerned about. It can't help that one of their Strikeforce stars, Nick Diaz, is working on scheduling a boxing match with Jeff Lacy this fall. So, fighter payment is sure to take center stage as a contentious issue that must be dealt with soon if the Fertittas and Dana White intend to avoid the formation of any union.

The UFC took the first step in the union-prevention direction by announcing a new accident insurance offering designed to assist fighters who suffer injuries during training. The news came at a time when the injury bug hit the league square in the face after two marquee fighters (Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard) wound up having to pull out of their main event fight scheduled for UFC 130. Frankie Edgar's broken ribs and Gray Maynard's busted knee will be taken care of under the new plan. Prior to the additional coverage being offered, fighters were only insured by the league for actual fight injuries. Outside of training injuries, fighters will also enjoy benefits if they are involved in non-training accidents that require medical treatment.

Still, other developments in the sport recently seem to point to a potential need for even more coverage for unforseen health circumstances fighters may face. Bryan Baker's proposal to his girlfriend at a Bellator event recently paled in comparison to the news of what he had to fight through to get to that point. A Dave Meltzer report in the wake of the engagement story sweeping the Internet also revealed Baker's battle with Leukemia and how he concealed the cancer diagnosis through three competitive fights. Brock Lesnar's bouts with Diverticulitis are also making waves lately, and the condition led Lesnar to back out of a planned match-up with Junior Dos Santos. Though many reports since the latest TUF coach fight was called off speculate on whether this could lead to Brock's retirement, nobody seems to be asking whether or not the UFC should be helping him with his medical bills. If they expect him to toe the company line in his post-fight speeches and keep him from making any return appearances with the WWE, what's so outrageous about expecting the league to step up and take care of his health woes? Of course, Lesnar might not be the best example since he is such a huge draw and one of the most well-paid fighters in the UFC. He's not likely struggling to pay his outside health insurance premiums, and it's not as if he's forced to turn to Obamacare to get by. Still, if it can happen to a guy like him who's been an athlete nearly all his life and is the picture of fitness, it can really happen to anyone. If the new plan doesn't cover these types of unforseen circumstances, it is probably only a matter of time before that type of insurance will prove essential.

Providing all fighters comprehensive health and dental benefits is just one way to stave off the formultion of any fighter's union. Another method utilized recently by Dana White involves demonizing union efforts and painting the Culinary Union's parent company (UNITE HERE) as the enemy to furthering the acceptance of the sport in a key state. White made headlines recently after calling attention to "union idiots" in New York spending money to oppose MMA's regulation there. UNITE HERE is lobbying against the sport in New York state due to multiple issues unions typically work to address on behalf of their members. A memo, put out by UNITE HERE members and mentioned in the above-linked story, points to problems specifically caused by the "near monopoly" the UFC created by purchasing Strikeforce.

Fighter pay and contract issues do seem to be legitimate reasons for UNITE HERE's opposition to MMA, though the Station Casinos case against the Culinary Union is also clearly an indirect contributor. The UFC and Station Casinos often neglect to keep their businesses from overlapping, so it's no coincidence Red Rock Casino hosted the most recent fighter summit that sought to quell many of the issues calling attention to the potential need for a fighters' union. It's also no coincidence that the same Fertitta brothers who don't seem to want their casinos to become union shops are also concerned enough to make moves that give the impression that they care about their UFC fighters as much as any fighters' union would.

The official UFC response to UNITE HERE's opposition (see above-linked article) cites the many union-friendly companies who are both employed by and benefit from UFC events and business practices. This is the "ultimate" height of hypocrisy that seems to be saying on one hand it's OK to support unions under certain circumstances while on the other hand the UFC brass makes every effort to avoid a fighters' union penetrating the organization and the UFC's majority owners don't even mount a defense to a sweeping civil indictment of their union-busting tactics at Station Casinos.

New York Assemblyman Bob Reilly was already a staunch opponent of MMA's regulation in New York state before hearing Dana White's "union idiots" chatter after UFC 129. Since Reilly admittedly received many donations over the years from various unions, he was obviously offended by White's union bashing and attempts to link the Culinary Union issue to the regulation debate. The fact is, since White's tirade against the Culinary Union the UFC brass seem much more concerned than they ever were before about unions, their power to negotiate, and the concept of losing the battle against union related issues plaguing their organization to the point where a fighters' union becomes inevitable.

One issue also plaguing the UFC of late has nothing to do with unions, but it could prove to be more damaging to the league than contract or insurance issues could ever be. Chael Sonnen's recent indefinite suspension by the California State Athletic Commission calls attention once again to the Steroids issue that cast a pall over other sports like Baseball in recent years. The prosecution of Barry Bonds illustrated that the government takes the issue of lying about steroid use seriously enough to spend more on that case than it has in pursuing many perpetrators of massive fraud on Wall Street. A recent report citing the United States Anti-Doping Agency's criticism of the UFC's drug testing policies raises some serious questions. Situations like Chael Sonnen's pathetic "hyper Gonadism" excuse for injecting 4 times the legal limit of Testosterone before his fight with Anderson Silva would have and should have encouraged a more involved investigation by the UFC itself if they indeed were intent on keeping Steroids out of the league. Instead, it appears that the UFC's casual attitude toward Sonnen's attempt to find a loophole to break the rules forced the CSAC to attempt to right that wrong for them.

Tyler Tygart, chief of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, advocates more stringent testing for steroids, and he points out that the UFC brass is engaging high-powered lawyers to argue against blood testing. The different regulatory bodies in the many locales the UFC travels to often have exclusive rules when it comes to testing for performance enhancing drugs. Some venues allow the UFC to do their own testing, which could create a look-the-other way climate for certain cards. Essentially, the UFC brass could decide to accept or act indifferently to PED use in the name of getting more exciting performances out of their fighters. There are already accusations that cards in Nevada (Where the UFC's parent company Zuffa and Station Casinos are both based) offer far less stringent testing than states like California. It seems that far more fighters who are caught in positive drug tests after fights are nabbed outside of Nevada even though the UFC has gone to great lengths to promote a high number of cards in their home state. Former Nevada State Athletic Commission officials are entrenched in the UFC, including Lorenzo Fertitta, who is one of the company's majority owners and also a former commissioner.

If any major government investigation on PEDs infiltrates UFC fighter circles and takes aim at Nevada in particular, the results could be extremely damaging. Union concerns and fighters like Nick Diaz turning to boxing for a better payday could wind up being small potatoes if that happens. The sad fact is the UFC brass, particularly the Fertittas, are used to both getting their way in their home state and throwing money around to get their way when they need to solve problems away from home. Once a major investigatory agency decides to dig deeper and refuses to allow money to trump justice, all the corrupt and subversive tactics the league's bigwigs have been getting away with could all come crashing down on their heads.

Don't forget the recent busts involving online casino giants like PokerStars.Com, which the UFC's majority owners just made a huge deal with not long after taking over Strikeforce. Strikeforce once counted PokerStars as a major sponsor, and that relationship opened the door for Station Casinos to negotiate an agreement to work together with PokerStars in lobbying efforts to legalize online gambling in Nevada. When government agencies stepped in and took over the online gambling entities, the Fertittas backed off their deal. The fact that the Fertittas didn't get deeply involved enough to be embroiled in the money-laundering and other accusations facing the online casinos was perhaps their first close call in what could be more major legal issues in the future if the next time they don't happen to be so lucky.

Xyience Temporarily Taps Out

XYIENCE FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

By: Rich Bergeron


Over a month before it became official, Fight News Unlimited reported that bankruptcy was imminent for Xyience. Our article entitled THE ENRON OF MMA exposed some of the reasons why the company is in such dire straits, but the Las Vegas Review Journal dug a little deeper this week and examined the actual voluntary bankruptcy filing Xyience went forward with last Friday.

The official filing comes after an involuntary bankruptcy petition was filed on behalf of several investors tied into a lawsuit against the current Xyience regime. The petition, filed January 3rd, calls into question the Fertitta Enterprises loan and would essentially block any attempted foreclosure by the current controlling interests, and place all the assets under the court's discretion until the fight over the company is finally decided. Zyen, LLC, the company designed by Fertitta Enterprises to handle the $12,000,000 loan given to Xyience last year, filed a NOTICE OF STRICT FORECLOSURE late last year that allowed for only a 90 day window for investors to mount a fight for the company.

The LVRJ Xyience Bankruptcy article, now being circulated across the on-line MMA news landscape, dropped some major bombshells. Yet, there were some major inconsistencies that went to press in the piece, and the overall tone was extremely favorable to the current regime that is attempting to lock out hundreds of the company's initial investors.

One of the most outrageous misrepresentations of the facts reported include the following passage in the article:

"Sattar said the bankruptcy became necessary when the company was unable to raise $7.5 million more from shareholders."

This quote, coming from the lips of the company's newly-crowned president Omer Sattar, is a blatant misrepresentation of the actual situation that gave rise to the bankruptcy. Before Fertitta Enterprises provided loan capital to Xyience, a letter went out by email to a large group of shareholders telling them that if the deal was not ratified the company would go bankrupt. Once the deal was approved by less than half the shareholders, much of the Fertitta investment went right back into a hefty three-year sponsorship extension with the UFC and also helped to pay off past due sponsorship fees of approximately $6.5 million. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal the Fertittas put almost $18 million in total capital into Xyience, and a hefty chunk of that money came out of one pocket only to go right back into another, since the Fertittas are 90% owners of the UFC. Essentially, Xyience would have had double what they needed to stay in operation if they opted not to be a UFC sponsor this year to the tune of $15 million. Even with the extension in place the latest UFC sponsor (Harley Davidson) bumped Xyience from the center of the mat, and now it appears the company paid an absolutely ridiculous price to have their name on a couple cornerpads of the octagon.

The Las Vegas Review Journal is either guilty of extreme bias or sloppy reporting. Don't expect any follow up stories to question any move the Fertittas make. First of all, the Las Vegas Review Journal is partnered with The Las Vegas Sun, which is owned by the Greenspun Family. The Fertittas' Station Casinos partnered with the Greenspun Family on some notable casino developments. Aliante Station and Green Valley Ranch are both joint operations put together by these two major Vegas movers and shakers.

The Las Vegas Review Journal appears to be providing aid and comfort to their business partners in their latest struggle to save face on Xyience. The LVRJ even quoted Sattar's claims of death threats issued to Xyience officials without even contacting either of the men who reportedly made those threats in order to get a response. Ric Klingenberg was accused of making the threats along with his brother David Bergstrom. The dispute arose over a payment owed to Klingenberg's elderly mother, and both brothers were reportedly given the run around while trying to secure a check for $20,000. Reached by phone recently, Klingenberg categorically denied the description of the events Sattar presented in the voluntary bankruptcy filings.

"I went to that office, that part's true, but we didn't storm in there," said Klingenberg. "And we didn't threaten anybody's lives. We did go in and close the door, because, isn't that what you do when you have a meeting?" Klingenberg said Xyience CFO Michael Levy promised him his mother would get paid when the Fertitta Enterprises loan came through. He also said he left Levy a phone message telling him when he would be there to collect the check. Levy reportedly told Klingenberg his mother "was going to have a Merry Christmas" in late December.

"Voices were raised, and everyone was talking at once," said Klingenberg. "We were told to go find Adam Frank, because he was the only one who could authorize a check." He was later told he'd need to get an attorney in order to collect the funds.

Klingenberg also claims that Sattar lied as far as the bankruptcy. "They didn't file bankruptcy, we did," he said. Klingenberg's family trust is the main plaintiff in the investor suit under which the involuntary bankruptcy petition was filed. He explained that the company's hand was forced by their initial filing.

In the aftermath of the bankruptcy announcement, it now appears the bad press and the legal battles mounting have forced the company to now explore the possibility of selling the whole operation. A follow up article in the LVRJ reports that financing has been approved to help position the company for a sale even while the legal battles for control of Xyience rage on.

The Fertittas have not provided any published comment on their tactics regarding Xyience, leaving President Omer Sattar to provide the company's perspective to the public. Sattar is part of a group that came in to run Xyience from a company called Global Cash Access. Questions surrounding insider trading charges and a late filing of GCA's third-quarter report for 2007 followed the departure of the GCA contingent that is now operating Xyience. GCA's stock plummeted in November of 2007 and has yet to completely recover. Station Casinos was one of GCA's largest accounts, so it appears that the partnership between former GCA employees and Fertitta Enterprises stems from that initial connection.

Although the UFC continues to operate as the top dog in the Mixed Martial Arts industry, this latest debacle with Xyience and some other recent developments point to a rocky future for the pioneers of the sport. While other leagues are constantly looking for ways to co-promote major events, the UFC continues to refuse to even acknowledge that any other league competes with them. Their lawsuit against Randy Couture is also looming as a large distraction. On top of that, Tito Ortiz is planning to leave the organization after his next fight according to mmapayout.com. While Ortiz has never been one to hold his tongue about his frustrations with Dana White, he has also never been as popular as he is now with MMA fans. As the boyfriend of Pornstar Jenna Jameson and a contestant on the celebrity edition of the Apprentice, Ortiz is at the height of his fame right now. Wherever he goes from here, that league is sure to benefit from his star status while other UFC fighters will take note and might decide to follow his lead when their own contracts run out.

The UFC seems to be having enough growing pains without their principal owners getting heavily involved in a company with such a horrible reputation. Much of the mainstream MMA press reporting on this story of Xyience going bankrupt have just now started asking questions about what's really going on. The question on everyone's mind seems to be: "Why would the Fertittas want to buy into their own sponsor?" We're talking about a huge , profit-driven company here. Fertitta Enterprises is not the kind of outfit you'd expect to touch Xyience with a ten-foot pole. Yet, here they are up to their necks in debt and tied in to the point where they seem to be more willing to cut their losses than actually rebuild the brand. So, what's the motive. Well, you simply have to go back in time a bit to find the answer. We put together an in-depth report over a month ago that outlined how this day would come.

The truth is, the Fertittas never intended to restore the dignity of the company and save the day for the shareholders who built Xyience. If that was their plan, they'd be front and center in the press talking about it. Instead, they're hiding behind straws put in place to act as the fall guys. If they really wanted to clean the slate and keep the company in full operation, they would have tried to secure more financing a long time ago. They would have put the company first. Instead, they immediately signed a contract extension with the UFC as soon as they put their money in. The whole thing just stinks.

This whole bankruptcy fiasco has nothing to do with not having the money to prevent it. If they don't have it, they can certainly get it. The real reason they decided to file bankruptcy is so they can lock out an estimated 380 shareholders who built and sustained this brand even while fraud and corruption were tearing the company apart from within. Just when these folks were told their payday was on the horizon and there could be an IPO as early as this month, these investors are now forced to reclaim their interest in the company through litigation that could last years. Some of them have lost their life savings.

I have run into a lot of MMA fans who read my stories and other stories about Xyience's issues and ask, "Who cares?" They wonder why it's a story at all and who's the victim. The Enron, Tyco, and Worldcom scandals have tempered the American public to such an extent that we seem to expect this kind of back room underhandedness and duplicity. In one case I found a thread where one fan actually praised the Fertittas for the way they rigged their own loan by investing in Xyience.

Yet, there is so much about this story that people should care about. Let's just go back in time again to when Xyience was at the height of its popularity. All kinds of fighters were raking in big sponsorships. GNC agreed to take on a wide array of Xyience products. The Xyience commercials were a viral video hit because of the sexy models drinking Xenergy in them. Hundreds of investors had the feeling that they could depend on this thing becoming really big. Xyience was a big ticket sponsor at a time when fighters were getting paid chump change compared to boxers. Most fighters are still reliant on sponsors, and they will be until the sport gets sanctioned in more states and becomes more of a mainstream draw. In the wake of this huge scandal that now enters Chapter 11 (pun intended), it's clear there's no other sponsor that's going to equal what Xyience was doing in the beginning. Harley Davidson is not out sponsoring all kinds of fighters. You won't find the Lumber Liquidators logo on any fighter's shorts.

The bottom line is a lot of people got screwed so the Fertittas and Dana White could get themselves a fat dividend check. They laid waste to PRIDE first, and now they're focused on Xyience. Every step of the way they've lied to the public about what they were going to do. They said they were going to keep PRIDE going only to let it completely dissolve with no hope for ressurection. Investors in Xyience were told that the Fertitta deal was the only option and they had to do the deal or watch the company go bankrupt. They did the deal, and the company is still going bankrupt. The Xyience mouthpieces working on behalf of the Fertittas said they were going to reorganize Xyience and keep the brand going only to now come out and announce plans to sell it. It's sad that some people out there are willing to chalk all that up as good business sense.

In the end UFC fighters continue to get paid a fraction of what they should for the risks they take. Some great organizations rose and fell because of greed. Honest investors were shafted because the rich wanted to get richer. And we wonder why the economy is in shambles. Look around. People constantly get away with this kind of shady behavior simply because so many of us shrug our shoulders and say, "Who cares?"

As for who's the victim here, it's anybody and everybody who thinks there's nothing wrong with this picture. It's all the folks who choose to look the other way because great fights are still getting made. It's all the legions of brainwashed sheep who refuse to open their minds to the possibility that they're being lied to. It's all the screwed investors and all the fighters being used while their bosses are raking in all the big money. If this kind of behavior is allowed to go on unchecked, everyone loses.

THE SILENT MAJORITY STEERS XYIENCE TO FORECLOSURE & BANKRUPTCY

"The Silent Majority"

Zuffa, Xyience, and Fertitta Enterprises

By: Rich Bergeron

They live in the lap of luxury. There are yachts, homes worth tens of millions of dollars, and all the other perks of big business. The Fertitta family falls under the definition of the term "magnates" when it comes to the casino territory. Steeped in a rich history and estimated to be worth billions by some, what they control is an empire of free enterprise, with virtually all of it now under private labels. They are 90 percent owners of Zuffa, LLC, otherwise known as the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Xyience has been their biggest ticket sponsor lately, and if Xyience fell there would be trouble. What these men now seem to be planning to do has the potential to produce voluminous amounts of federal and state litigation launched against them. Now in a position to bring Xyience to a screeching halt, a group of private funders with a heavy Fertitta Enterprises interest orchestrated a takeover that is coming to a crescendo now just a month before some investors were told the company would be going public.

Xyience is said to be fast approaching a foreclosure on the Xyience loan offered to the company by a "group of private investors" that included Fertitta Enterprises. Bill Bullard, the GM of Fertitta Enterprises, also subsequently became the Manager of Zyen, LLC, which he used as the on-paper entity that would take ownership of Xyience in the event of a foreclosure. Dana White and Adam Frank publicly stated the advantage of signing the extension in the hopes of growing both companies. In actuality, the writing on the wall points to Zuffa playing the name game to avoid being outed as the real name behind the company's new money. Zyen, a whole new company sounding just like Xyience without the last two letters, was put in place to follow the yellow brick road from there to complete insolvency and foreclosure. It was all designed to work best if Fertitta Enterprises was not directly connected to the investment/loan/capital infusion finalized between a "private investment group" and Xyience in early October.

The need for confidentiality is illustrated by the very argument Xyience filed to sue me for $25 million. They say right in that first filing that there were investors ready to put in $15 million, but only if my stories came off the net. This was a simple trade: money for an injunction. This is what the whole case against me was built for. They meant to impugn my character by claiming defamation, never thinking they would actually have to prove any defamation actually happened.

It has since become apparent that after just one missed interest payment from their capital contribution to Xyience, the Fertitta-driven investment group is planning to foreclose on that loan. Leading up to the holiday season there are details leaking out that mass layoffs are taking place.

While the push for foreclosure seems imminent, lawyers are mounting cases.

There are even some people banding together who would never normally even associate with each other. This is how bad the new raw deal is looking to the folks who put all their money on a hope and a dream that now appears as if it may never come true. Months ago, people were cursing me out in commentary I couldn't even print because of the graphic and threatening nature of the stuff. These same people responsible for trying to ruin my reputation by hurling insults at me are now knocking down my door looking for help. They want me to tell them the way out.

It was ironic enough sitting in pretty decent free seats at UFC 78 on Xyience's dime. Now, people are starting to see the light and the truth. It is all starting to make sense. All the dots are connecting. There are certain people involved who you may never read another thing about here, because to me they are past tense. They are now off the grid and in good hands as far as I can tell. Justice is working its magic.

For others, the war has just begun, and it is a pitched battle. Rumbling down the pipeline is another potential class action suit that may contain more shareholders in federal litigation.

The options all seem grim:

On one hand the company could "stay the course" and go to foreclosure, leaving Fertitta Enterprises free to reconstitute the brand however they would like to. That would leave the bulk of the 340 shareholders holding the big liability bag with no gifts in it, just in time for Christmas. It basically punishes the majority for the actions of a minority group of meddlers. This seems to be the point in the movies when the villain kills the hero's dog. All hell breaks loose after that. People get mad.

Another option is to foreclose, but get the Fertittas to let the investors buy back their old company in its svelte debt-free format. This option is slightly better than option A as far as potential for profitability, but as far as rebuilding partnerships, it sucks. All the vendors would get written off and new paths would have to be blazed. It's a heck of a rebuild to undertake. Plus, the current framework of stock holders could be wiped out. They would all have to essentially get the new funder's permission to take part in the new company. Their old stocks wouldn't mean a thing. This may be the most appealing option, but only if the asking price is right.

Finally, there is one more foreseeable option, though it may be the most impossible dream of all impossible dreams. There is the honest way out: fund the company and all its broken promises, too. Knock on doors, say you're sorry, keep the inroads you've made in place, or as many of them as you can still salvage. Pay the debts, settle the suits, make things right. It sucks to even imagine how much money that might take, but think of the damage done and the need for redemption here. This company needs to come out to the public and show it has taken bold new steps into a new and hopeful direction past all the difficulties it has been embroiled in. A statement needs to be made, and a responsible team of leaders needs to take charge while those being investigated need to step aside.

A term being passed around a lot lately is "full disclosure." It is an interesting term. It's business slang for "tell me everything you know." It has its roots in legal terminology, too. A lawyer has to present all his evidence to the other side in the spirit of full disclosure. Full disclosure implies there are no restrictions, that you may speak at will, and that you will tell the whole truth. Xyience has not been operating lately in the spirit of full disclosure. The new board of directors has shown no signs of having nothing to hide.

The Fertitta-driven powder keg is about to blow up here. I cannot enter this situation in any official capacity at this point. There is a $25 million bounty on my head in the Clark County courts. It was put on my head by Xyience. I cannot tolerate taking an inside position to guide Xyience in any way, and definitely not with a lawsuit over my head. Some people are suggesting I buy stock or advise the board, but I am a reporter. I am not a stock baron. I have a hard enough time trying to be my own lawyer. I do want to help Xyience, and what I can be is a conduit of information. There are many people contacting me from all angles of this situation and every direction. I am hearing directly from multiple fronts of the battle underway. Only Adam Frank and Kirk Sanford now seem to be in radio silence mode. I have also not heard from any representatives of Fertitta Enterprises. They have not made a peep publicly about any connection they may have to the Xyience deal. They are all being extra quiet lately as they roll to foreclosure, and the shareholders only have 20 days to block that foreclosure if that's what they choose to do. There is word that Adam Frank will soon be deposed next in a case regarding a land development for a Las Vegas "W Hotel," which is coincidentally the same hotel Kirk and Sanford used to house me when I came to New York City for UFC 78. The case documents filed against Frank are an excellent read.

I have been called everything from a homosexual to a conspiracy theorist. Some people think I wear a tinfoil hat and operate my shortwave radio in a cabin somewhere in the deep wilderness. The fact is, the folks behind the $25 million con-job of a case against me had a pretty crude smear campaign going to respond to the cold hard facts. They played dirty politics, used slimy legal tactics, and never provided one shred of real evidence that any of what I wrote was false. On the basis of the facts, they had no way to dispute any of it.

Now, there are people calling on me to salvage things. I'm just a writer. I tell it like it is and call 'em when I see 'em. I am not Superman. I cannot leap towers of legal bullshit in a single bound. I can't bend a crooked company back to straight. I'm not faster than a speeding conspiracy. I can print the facts as I find them, and that's all I can promise. As far as who CAN save the company. Look no further than the Fertitta family, because that's where the angry shareholders will ultimately look if foreclosure is followed through on in a manner that burns the bulk of the folks who helped put Xyience on the map. They will bring their pitchforks and torches, an army of salivating lawyers with dollar signs gleaming in their eyes, and a mountain of evidence of the fraud taking place. If the buck stops there, pull up a seat, because this one's about to get really interesting, and it could get ugly really quick. And not stage ugly. Not Jerry Springer ugly. We're talking suicide ugly, no retirement ugly, lost house and homeless family ugly. There were people depending on their contribution to pay off. There are still deep questions as to where it all went, but there is one extremely bright light pointing to where it's going.

Look no further than the trophy case at Fertitta Enterprises. To them it's not something to polish and point to every time there's company. Like PRIDE they'll probably take what they need from it and leave the scraps and bones by the side of the road. Either way, it doesn't appear those who bought in early will get any kind of a promising pay out in the end.

At the forefront of this whole raw deal are people who prefer to make voluminous millions in every deal they sign, regardless of how they have to make it. The principle of the most profit for the least cost does not coincide with the idea of providing the greatest good for the greatest number of parties who contributed. The same folks who feed and fuel their impossible wealth with these kind of deals always buy out their problems, pay off their competition, and obscure the facts to get whatever they want. They are ruthless, sharks in the water that smell blood, and a blight on mankind that reveals the true horrors of the excessive airs of some of the most capitalist-minded and money-driven people in America. It is disturbing, disgusting, sickening, and awful all at once to imagine the amount of people who will have to endure a miserable Christmas this year: unsure of their futures, regretful of their past, and having no fun with the present.

If miracles are indeed possible, and if the company stays intact in its current state, Xyience will have to depend on a big one.