by The Editors on September 30, 2013
Eneliko “Liko” Smith, the man behind The Block snowboard hotels and the ensuing legal problems that arose regarding unpaid taxes, is back in the winter sports game while apparently continuing to work on the launch LV Air, an airline serving Las Vegas, Nevada.
Smith claims to have purchased Traverse City, Michigan’s Sugar Loaf Resort and plans to transform the 560-acre property into a “snowboarders’ Mecca” titled The RoK At Sugarloaf.
“This is the single biggest challenge of my life, I’m fortunate I was able to find partners that not only understand the risks involved at Sugar Loaf but also the complexity of reopening a resort that has been shuttered for over 10 years,” says Smith. “The key is getting down to bedrock on what’s required and then taking massive action…I will not let this resort waste away on my watch,” he says. “The residents and children in the region deserve a resort that will compete with others worldwide and The Rok is going to do just that.”
Some locals had been worried about Smith’s past issues, however, Smith promises “that tax payments will never be an issue again” because he “learned from that mistake.” The upside is we just may get another snowboarding reality TV show out of the deal. And that always was the best thing about The Block. For the official press release, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on April 20, 2010
Eneliko “Liko” Smith, the Las Vegas-based hotelier who got into both financial and legal trouble in South Lake Tahoe with The Block chain of snowboard-themed hotels is reportedly planning to spend about $10 million to purchase Leelanau County, Michigan’s “long-shuttered Sugar Loaf Resort,” according to a story in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Oddly, it appears that few locals knew of unpaid-tax charges against Smith in California’s Eldorado County.
Leelanau County Commissioner Melinda Lautner wonders how plenty of red flags went unnoticed as Sugar Loaf’s owners and some county officials touted Smith as an ideal buyer. . . “I’m greatly concerned that there are people in our county that were this far along in agreements and plans, etcetera, and hadn’t even Googled the guy,” she said. “I’m kind of stunned.” . . . Still, Lautner said, concerned county officials won’t have much say in the matter if Smith doesn’t opt to use brownfield dollars or other public incentives. . . . “On a totally private deal, the county has absolutely no involvement,” she said. . . Commission Chair Mary Tonneberger agrees. . . . “I don’t think we have the ability on a private sale to examine the financial status of the buyer,” she said.
County offices apparently received many emails questioning the sale. The guy certainly keeps business rolling no matter what.
[Link: Traverse City Record-Eagle via Transworld Business]
by The Editors on December 15, 2008
City of South Lake Tahoe officials swarmed Marc Frank Montoya’s The Block Hotel last Thursday (December 11, 2008) and shut the place down until the hotel can pay up on more than $100,000 in back taxes it owes the city.
Customers who occupied the hotel (Thursday) were allowed to stay, but the hotels will remain closed until the TOT is paid,” City Attorney Catherine DiCamillo said Friday. . . . The Block failed to pay TOT between January 2007 and January 2008, and owed penalties and interest from September and December 2006, according to the police statement. . . . Managing partner of the hotels — 37-year-old Las Vegas resident Eneliko Smith — appealed Vuletich’s decision to City Manager David Jinkens, who upheld the finance director’s decision on Nov. 21.
Smith said that the back taxes had not been paid because “financial records detailing the unpaid takes were lost.” Nice of the city to close the hotel right before the holidays, but it shouldn’t have been a surprise to Smith as he was arrested in September over the same issue.
The biggest bummer is for all the shreds who invested in this place and trusted Smith to run the business.
[Link: Tahoe Daily Tribune]
Eneliko “Liko” Smith, the man behind The Block snowboard hotels and the ensuing legal problems that arose regarding unpaid taxes, is back in the winter sports game while apparently continuing to work on the launch LV Air, an airline serving Las Vegas, Nevada.
