That total includes Craig Road Development, whose interest is "based upon discussions we are having with the US Army Family Morale and Welfare Command to acquire a Las Vegas resort for DOD military and veteran personnel," the company states in its letter of interest to the judge dated Nov. 30. The company states in the letter that its partner in the investment would be Heroes Property Group LLC, for which no information was immediately available. Tentative plans call for spending $800 million to finish the resort as "one of three Department of Defense resort properties in the US," the letter states. The partnership's stated anticipated capital structure "targets senior financing of approximately $300 million, $650 million in subordinated debt and $200 million of equity." Its planned management structure is for "the remaining members of the Fontainebleau senior management team…to continue with Fontainebleau under the same terms and conditions as currently in place."

The DOD agency of which Craig Road speaks, however, is actually called the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command, and while Craig Road Development did not respond to a request for comment, William Bradner of the Family and MWR Command did respond. The Army currently operates four resort-style hotels on behalf of all the military services that are called Armed Forces Recreation Centers--in Hawaii, Korea, Germany, and Orlando, FL—and a fifth is currently under development on the Mid-Atlantic coast. "We have no plans at this time to participate in the purchase or operation of a facility in Las Vegas," he wrote.

That still leaves at 16 others, however, including a group of mechanical contractors who claim to be owed more than $450 million for their work to date on the project and want to be able to submit a bid based on what they are owed. The bankruptcy judge this week denied their motion to have a determination made as to the priority and extent of their liens for the purpose of facilitating said credit bid, saying there is not sufficient time to determine the status of all liens prior to the sale. He also granted a motion to stay proceedings in the case so the contractors could appeal rulings against credit bidding but is requiring the group put up $200 million in cash and bond to cover the value potentially lost by the Fontainebleau estate should their efforts ultimately interfere with the sale. At issue is whether they or the lenders on the project are in first position to be repaid with any proceeds from the auction.