Japanese billionaire Masao Nangaku beat out three...

Japanese billionaire Masao Nangaku beat out three well-known Nevada names--Hilton Hotels Corp., financier Kirk Kerkorian and former Las Vegas Hilton President Henri Lewin--to buy the troubled Las Vegas Dunes Hotel and Casino for $157.7 million. The Dunes has been on the market since November, 1985, when its parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A key consideration in Nangaku’s bid was the hotel’s location on 163 acres of prime land in the heart of the city’s bustling Strip. Nangaku, president of Tokyo-based Minami Group, is the third Japanese business executive to buy a Las Vegas hotel-casino in two years.