Hi Gang,
I've been enjoying catching up on the thread and following leads you guys have turned up to research.
If you don't mind my asking,Terry,whats the career change all about??Are you sticking with retail?
SBAM sounds interesting,we should all keep our ears to the ground on that one,Marshall!Ah,another restaurant stock!
Any word from CBC,Brent?Thanks for the FTSP info.
The TOWV/GND front seems to be improving. TOWV brought in D,L&J to advise on possible debt restructuring (they are also participating in this new RAIN offering) and the new TOWV pres is busy jump starting strat by reducing room rates (he claims they are now almost 100% full) and lowering the house precent ("If you are gambling any place else,you are not particularly smart,"Schuetz said,"because I will offer the greatest value in gambling that's ever been offered on the planet.") Talk like that warms my heart!
Poured over the 10Q and then called Robinow this morning.He was a mite testy but then so was I.Still it left me with a slightly foul taste in my mouth and a few more druthers about just how many years I'm going to hold on to the stock.Points of interest:
1)Strat pushed back to 3Q of '97 and only if there's a change of location for the Cafe.Robinow claims they are closely monitoring the state of affairs there.To the biggie,Robinow insisted RAIN does not have any investment (stock,debt,etc) in TOWV and he sounded as if he'd been asked that question several times before.The total RAIN would lose if there was no Strat Cafe would be about 250K in design costs according to Robinow.
2)The trademark issue with the PTO should be favorably resolved within the next month or so and an anouncement forthcoming.
3)The 10Q more or less stated that the current cash would only see RAIN through the '97 expansion so I asked him what the gameplan was for financing beyond then and he changed the subject by saying "we're already committed to 6 beyond '97(I think he meant in '97) and there could be more" (I think they teach them that in CFO school,throwing bones to distract when you don't care to answer the question) "More depending on what,if you have the money?"I ask."No",Robinow replies "depending on what kind of deal they offer us"So I'd say your right ,Jim,look for some more announcements of openings soon.When I asked about Eurodisney or Japan,he paused and said "We're negotiating with a lot of people right now"
Some intuitions and nagging questions:
1)Things will be happening fast and furious at RAIN and maybe a little bit rockily as well.The testiness began from the get go when I asked him about the scheduled openings.So I think maybe the schedule might be a little out of kilter in the near term but with big future announcements overshadowing it.Just a hunch.
2)The question of G,A & D expenses rising while the capital we're drawing interest on decreases could bring down net income some.So far this year interest income has more or less matched G,A&D expenses.Otherwise we'd have no earnings this year.Of course G,A&D should decrease significantly as a percent of revenues throughout '97But currently it is a major factor.Milo and Bat, have you gone over the full 10Q yet?If not how bout doing some number crunching and posting your insights.
3)Has anybody been to RAINs headquarters.It would be interesting to see if it passed the Peter L. test.
4)Does anybody else find RAINs volatility before important announcements somewhat unsettling?Like being the last one to hear about the party.
5)For the short term I think rapid expansion will bode well for the price but long-term I like to see (sans Strat ) the next 4 or 5 openings go off on a reasonably timely basis or I'm going to have serious doubts about where RAIN will be 2-3 years down the road.
Anyway,Lyle's back on the offensive unlike what the MF GND strand claimed before I left.
I really enjoyed reading this thread when I got home!!Thanks to all!!
The RAIN is afoot!!
Dennis |
