Sen. Wakai's Affiliate Included in Lobbyist's Bankruptcy; LLC Reportedly Established to Lobby for Gambling in Hawaii Omitted

According to Court Documents filed in the Elizabeth Hata Watanabe bankruptcy case, she owes High Impact Communications located in Honolulu, $3,841.45, noted as a claim for general business services billed in 2010.

HighImpactPR.com | Testimonials

High Impact Communications is a Honolulu public relations firm owned by Glenn Wakai.  Watanabe is featured on the firm’s website: “Testimonials” page. 

“High Impact Communications has been there for me every step of the way. I could not be more satisfied. Glenn’s media strategy and crisis management plans have been key to my profitability. He is quick to respond to requests, takes an energetic approach to projects, and is such a joy to work with.”

- Liz Watanabe, Business Owner

It’s unclear what purposes Watanabe, or her affiliate(s), retained Wakai to provide.  She had closed down her failed O Lounge nightclub (EHW, LLC) and a short-lived restaurant operation (EHW-II, LLC) prior to 2010 but had organized a tax-exempt nonprofit, the Hata Foundation, to raise funds for other charities; and in 2010, that nonprofit was affiliated with Hawaii’s Big Deal: Poker Tournament, a reality TV show that aired on KHON Saturdays during Fall 2010.

Hawaii Sen. Glenn Wakai (D-15th)

As it turns out, Glenn Wakai, a Democrat, also serves as Hawaii State Senator, representing the voters of District 15: Kalihi, Moanalua Gardens, Salt Lake, Aliamanu, Foster Village, Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Pearl Ridge and ‘Aiea. 

Previously, Sen. Wakai served eight years in the State House of Representatives. He is the current vice-chair of the Senate's Committee on Economic Development and Technology, and is a member of the Committees on Ways and Means, and Agriculture.

Wakai was also a TV news reporter affiliated with KHON-FOX2 and KHNL News 8.  He formed High Impact in 2007.

According to the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii website, Wakai was to host the “Stars of Hope” fundraiser for Watanabe and the Hata Foundation in January 2011. Individual tickets were $100; tables of 10 seats $1,000; and sponsorships at $2,000. A blog associated with the Star-Advertiser notes that Sen. Will Espero was also Watanabe’s guest at the event; although there's been disclosure of any gift or payment to Espero.

Limited Liability Company Established &
 Managed By Elizabeth Hata Watanabe 

April 1, 2011, Watanabe reportedly organized and registered Citizensfor a Better Way, LLC (CFBW), with the Hawaii Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs (DCCA).  About April 2, she registered with the Hawaii Ethics Commission as a lobbyist for CFBW. Watanabe has not previously been registered as a lobbyist. CFBWs mission: Say No to Taxes…Yes to a Single Casino in Waikiki.  By all indications, Watanabe is partnering with career lobbyist John Radcliffe on this effort; but to what extent, is unclear because both have been mysterious and dishonest about details to date.

So, in her original Bankruptcy filing, Watanabe reported owing Sen. Wakai's firm  $3,841.45 but failed to inform the Bankruptcy Court of her affiliation with CFBW, a group she registered with DCCA about six weeks before filing bankruptcy. It's worthy of noting that Watanabe is the only member of CFBW and its Manager. On May 31^st, about two weeks prior to filing bankruptcy, Watanabe, as manager of CFBW, made payments of nearly $40,000 related to “Advertising Media” expenses.  It’s not clear what, if anything, Wakai’s PR firm might have received.  Watanabe and Radcliffe have yet to truthfully disclose where that money came from and to whom it was paid.

Oddly, CFBW failed to report any payments to lobbyist Watanabe as part of its required disclosures for the period ended April 30, 2011; although, as noted above, she is registered with the Ethics Commission.

During Hawaii’s 2011 legislative session, Radcliffe and Watanabe pushed for approval of SB 1247, a bill that would have allowed one commercial casino to be developed in Waikiki at the Aloha Tower and Marketplace.  

As a member of the Senate Ways & Means Committee, Sen. Wakai voted to approve SB 1247, moving it forward in the legislative process. 

@ Scribd.com: Various Documents Related to the Watanabe Bankruptcy

See also:

• Failed Nightclub Owner is a Shameless Self-Promoter
• Hawaii's 'Citizens for a Better Way' isn't a 'Citizens' Group After-all
• Founder of tax-exempt nonprofit produced 'Hawaii's Big Deal: Poker Tournament,' a reality TV show called the 'closest thing to legalized gambling in The Islands'
• Lobbyists Spent $40,000 Manufacturing So-Called 'Citizens' Group Support for Oahu Casino Scheme
• She Said: Here's what Hata-Watanabe had to offer after a recent visit to TheVerifiableTruth.com

Elizabeth Hata Watanabe's $387,000 Bankruptcy

From the notice published in Pacific Business News, July 7, 2011, Page 33:

Case: 11-01679

Filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Hawaii
June 14, 2011 | Case: 11-01679
Elizabeth C. Watanabe (aka Elizabeth Hata Watanabe)
91-209 Kupiapia Place, Ewa Beach, Oahu 96706
Philip W. Miyoshi, attorney

Subsequent filings in the case (see Scribd.com box below) suggest it is a $387,000 Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

Two other lawsuits are referenced in the court filings:

• Watanabe v. Costco, Case CV08-1-001118, personal injury;  and
• Central Pacific Bank v.  EHW-II, LLC, Case CV11-1-0201, contracts.

Among her various debtors, High Impact Communications, a PR firm owned by Hawaii State Senator Glenn Wakai, for business services provided in 2010.  Hata-Watanabe had closed down her failed restaurant and nightclub in 2008 & 2009 respectively.  In 2010, her affiliate the Hata Foundation, a nonprofit tax-exempt organization which Hata-Watanabe founded and serves as caretaker & Director partnered with a reality TV show that Hata-Watanabe executive produced, “Hawaii’s Big Deal: Poker Tournament.”

Failing to get a second season of “Hawaii’s Big Deal” off the ground, Hata-Watanabe eventually found herself partnering with lobbyist John Radcliffe, a Democrat representing labor and gambling clients, and entangled in a group called Citizens for a Better Way, LLC, in which Hata-Watanabe reported she organized, was the only member and its manager via an April 1, 2011 filing with the Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs. CFBW’s mission: Say No to Taxes…Yes to a Single Casino in Waikiki

Elizabeth Hata Watanabe

In disclosures filed with the Hawaii Ethics Commission and dated May 31, 2011, Hata-Watanabe represented that CFBW had spent nearly $40,000 lobbying for a Waikiki casino during March & April 2011.  She and Radcliffe refuse to disclose where the funds came from and who specifically the payouts went to. CFBW failed to report any payments to Hata-Watanabe.

Radcliffe and Hata-Watanabe specifically sought legislative support for SB 1247.  Senator Wakai had approved the bill February 24, 2011 as part of the Senate Ways & Means (WAM) Committee.

It’s unclear what services Senator Wakai’s PR firm had provide to Hata-Watanabe.  Further, it’s unclear what contact Hata-Watanabe might have had with Wakai lobbying for passage of SB 1247; amd also unclear who received the nearly $40,000 in “Advertising Media” payments made during March & April by Hata-Watanabe’s CFBW group.

Failed Nightclub Owner is a Shameless Self-Promoter

Elizabeth Hata-Watanabe, a self -promoter spins

the truth about her unfortunate circumstances

Oahu resident Liz Hata-Watanabe self identifies as an “entrepreneur” and “philanthropist” – and sometimes she plays the “Mommy” card.  If anything, she’s a self-promoter extraordinaire: a bankrupt  law-breaking spouse of a cop with a track record of little ROI.

Liza Hata-Watanabe was busted for 
serving alcohol to minors & 
hiding ledgers from regulators

Do a simple Google search on Hata-Watanabe (see aliases below) and at first glance, it looks like she is a successful, connected, upstanding business woman who cares about community and kids.  But if one digs a little deeper, it’s clear that underneath all that too-good-to-be-true PR exterior are troubling issues.  This Mommy's a wolf in sheeps clothing!

O Lounge for sale after 5 years in operation
4.11.2009

By Nina Wu

The O Lounge on Kapiolani Boulevard is up for sale after five years in business. Owner Elizabeth Hata Watanabe says it's been a good run, but her priorities have shifted since her second son, now 3 months old, was born.

"It's gotten tough," she said. "Any business is a 24/7 job, and this type of industry requires someone to be there."

Unlike other clubs, Hata Watanabe said there are no other partners or investors.

The 9,764-square-foot O Lounge space is listed for sublease at $10,740 a month, including two large bar areas and a full kitchen.

"The O Lounge does very, very well with our fundraisers and charitable events," said Hata Watanabe. "We have private bookings until the end of the year that we're going to accommodate, and by selling, I'm able to pass this on to someone else."...

The Truth is...

(see a comprehensive compendium of Honolulu Liquor Commission actions)

O Lounge Nightclub

• Hata-Watanabe’s (EHW, LLC) O Lounge had repeatedly been cited and fined by the Honolulu Liquor Commission (HLC) for serving alcohol to minors.  Repeatedly!

• Hata-Watanabe’s O Lounge had been the subject of increasingly more punitive action by HLC after repeated offenses including numerous instances of serving minors.  And at the time the article referenced above was published, her liquor license had been suspended and she was on probation.

• Hata-Watanabe failed for four years to make the O Lounge books available for inspection by HLC.  This would imply that since she originally opened the O Lounge doors, she had likely never allowed inspection of the books.  What was she hiding?  She certainly wasn't running a Studio 54 scam?

• Hata-Watanabe made the decision to shutter the O Lounge because she had a suspended liquor license, the possibility of a revoked license and pending HLC inspection of her books which she feared.  That she says she put the O Lounge on the market was a silly PR smoke-screen to protect her carefully crafted image.  She was covering up the severity of her failed circumstances as the operator of a night club.

Harbor Court Bistro

• Hata-Watanabe (EHW-II, LLC) applied for and obtained a temporary liquor license for a certain class of operation (restaurant) at Harbor Court Bistro which she'd previously opened and then once she had the temporary license in hand, took liberties to operate the space at Harbor Court Bistro in a way that required a different class of license (nightclub).  She knew what she was doing. (Star-Bulletin Blogger unknowingly document the very incident that got Hata-Watanabe in trouble with HLC)

• Hata-Watanabe's temporary liquor license at Harbor Court Bistro was terminated/revoked.  Yes, residents of the building in which the Bistro was located signed a complaint/petition urging HLC to revoke or deny the license but the fact that Hata-Watanabe/O Lounge was already under escalating scrutiny by the Honolulu Liquor Commission had to be a contributing factor. Perhaps someone even encouraged the residents' petition to substantiate termination and avoid further adjudication.

• Hata-Watanabe made the poor business decision to open the Bistro without a liquor license in hand. Reportedly she had invested half-a-million dollars in the Bistro before she had a license.  One must wonder how she explained that to investors who must have taken a bath. All the publicity Hata-Watanabe captures for herself suggests she's a smart business person; then consider the circumstances in which someone with the experience she claims and her conservative GOP credentials puts the cart before the horse.

Officer Kevin T. Watanabe

Of particular note, while Liz Hata-Watanabe was serving liquor to minors and hid her financial books from the Honolulu Liquor Commission, her husband Kevin T. Watanabe was a 20+ year veteran officer with the Honolulu Police Department.

For reference, these are some off the aliases for Liz Hata-Watanabe: Elizabeth C. Watanabe, Elizabeth Hata Watanabe, Elizabeth Hata-Watanabe, Elizabeth H. Watanabe, Liz Watanabe.

Pacific Business News articles featuring Hata-Watanabe:

• PBN names Forty Under 40 winners
• O Lounge owner will renovate, reopen Ocean Club  [Never Happened]
• Honolulu's Harbor Court gets new restaurant [opened without obtaining a liquor license]
• Harbor Court restaurant to open next month [Didn’t have a liquor license]
• Bistro’s liquor license denied after residents complain [and in light of other violations]
• Scoops: Who’s moving, buying, opening, changing, winning  [Hata-Watanabe must wait a year before applying for any type of liquor license]
• Harbor Court Bistro to close [claims she invested $500,000 in the restaurant and was losing $15,000 per month]
• Owner puts O Lounge up for sale [the possibility of a revoked license and pending HLC investigation closed it down]

To see more related content, click the "labels" included at the bottom of this post (underneath the social media share buttons) or see these particular posts: 

• Failed Nightclub Owner is a Shameless Self-Promoter
• She Said: Here's what Hata-Watanabe had to offer after a recent visit to TheVerifiableTruth.com
• Really? She's Treasurer of the Honolulu County GOP Committee?
• Hawaii's 'Citizens for a Better Way' isn't a 'Citizens' Group After-all
• Lobbyists Spent $40,000 Manufacturing So-Called 'Citizens' Group Support for Oahu Casino Scheme
• There Can Be No Doubt Detroiters' Hawaii Lobbyist John Radcliffe Created Pro-Casino So-Called 'Citizens' Group'

Really? She's Treasurer of the Honolulu County GOP Committee? Has Anybody Checked the Bank Accounts Lately?

The Website for the Honolulu County GOP Committee lists the group’s Treasurer as Elizabeth Hata Watanabe.  Really?  Do they know Liz’s track record?

Liz, as she’s known in party/club circles, was the owner operator of a failed nightclub, the O Lounge.  Yes that enterprise failed as a business.

While Watanabe did a tremendous job promoting herself and her club among reporters, it would appear that the nightclub was not a financial success.  She shuttered the doors to the night club in the wake of escalating scrutiny by the Honolulu Liquor Commission – for additional insights, review the HLC agendas/minutes in 2008 & 2009 . 

Besides being cited and fined multiple times for serving alcohol to minors, Watanabe apparently hid her books from HLC investigators for four years – pretty suspicious don’t you think?  Especially considering her husband was a 20+ year veteran of the Honolulu PD. 

The adjudications against The O Lounge for three violations of 281-78(b)(1)(A), HRS (selling, serving or furnishing liquor to minors), for violation of Rule 3-84-78.52 (stacking) and for violation of Rule 3-81-17.54(d) (failing to make readily available for inspection its books and records for the last four years).  HLC – 7/24/08

The O Lounge pled no contest and was fined a total of $4,000 for two repeat violations of Section 281-78(b)(1)(A), HRS (selling, serving or furnishing liquor to a minor). The Commission also placed the licensee on probation for six months effective Sept. 11, 2008.  HLC - 9/11/08

[While on Probation] Allegations against The O Lounge were proved, and the licensee was fined $2,000 for a repeat violation of Section 281-78(b)(1)(A), HRS (selling, serving or furnishing liquor to a minor). HLC - 1/29/09

[While on Probation] Allegations against The O Lounge were proved, and the licensee was fined $2,000 for a repeat violation of Section 281-78(b)(1)(A), HRS (selling, serving or furnishing liquor to a minor). HLC – 2/5/09

Reviewed the six-month probationary period for The O Lounge and decided to continue the probation, suspension, age restriction (21 and over) and required that special events be approved by HLC enforcement before the event.  HLC – 3/19/09

As things were about to blow up, she closed down the bar and told her reporter friends that she was going to focus on her roles as a mother and wife, do something more family oriented, maybe a children’s TV program – and instead got herself involved in a short lived realty TV show, Hawaii’s Big Deal Poker Tournament.  That show lasted for several months and she lead people to believe there would be a second season of the show.

 Nothing ever materialized and it’s suggested the show didn’t pencil out.  Or perhaps investors said, “No” or “no more,” to a scam that had no ROI.

Then on June 14, 2011, Elizabeth Hata-Watanabe filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy (Case: 11-01679).

The woman repeatedly allowed alcohol to be served to minors, hid her nightclub’s ledgers from regulators for four years and filed a personal bankruptcy; yet, the good people at the Honolulu GOP Committee think she’s the best person to be their Treasurer?  Somebody better check that organization’s books – if they can find them.  Better yet, somebody better go check the GOP Committee’s bank accounts.

Find related content by clicking on any "labels" located below the social media share buttons at the bottom of this post or consider these selected posts:

• She Said: Here's what Hata-Watanabe had to offer after a recent visit to TheVerifiableTruth.com
• Failed Nightclub Owner is a Shameless Self-Promoter
• Really? She's Treasurer of the Honolulu County GOP Committee?
• Hawaii's 'Citizens for a Better Way' isn't a 'Citizens' Group After-all
• Lobbyists Spent $40,000 Manufacturing So-Called 'Citizens' Group Support for Oahu Casino Scheme
• There Can Be No Doubt Detroiters' Hawaii Lobbyist John Radcliffe Created Pro-Casino So-Called 'Citizens' Group'

MotorCity Casino and Greektown saddled with debt, falling revenues; investors making demands

1.25.09

MotorCity, Greektown deal with bad hands of debt

By Chad Halcom and Nancy Kaffer

Two Detroit casinos are rolling snake eyes in the debt market.

A top ratings service downgraded its outlook for MotorCity Casino's parent company, citing a host of financial concerns. Greektown Holdings L.L.C. has until the end of this week to submit a reorganization plan that can resolve its swelling debts without need for a sale.

An agreement entered in U.S. Bankruptcy Court last month between the troubled Greektown Casino owners and its creditors gives the parties until Feb. 1 to submit a “co-exclusive” plan to restructure and settle its debts.

In other words, if the casino company doesn't submit a plan — with the consent of as many bondholders and other litigants as possible — by the deadline, creditors can submit restructuring plans of their own.

The Detroit City Council expects to meet today in a closed session with its Law Department and Chicago-based law firm Shefsky & Froelich Ltd. to review confidential new documents in the ongoing bankruptcy case, in which Detroit is a party.

A deputy press secretary for Detroit Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. said he believes Greektown will submit a plan by week's end, but an attorney for the casino's creditors said there it might be “difficult” to craft a complete plan with all parties' consent by the deadline.

As late as last week, involved parties were discussing the shape of a reorganization plan, said Robert Gordon of Detroit-based Clark Hill P.L.C. and attorney for Greektown's unsecured creditors' committee.

Greektown, majority-owned by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and the creditors have also had to discuss a few preliminary offers to buy the casino and its assets, which came in earlier this month as part of the proceedings, Gordon said.

“There still has to be some digestion of the proposals that have come in,” he said. “That's why I think there's going to be some possible difficulty or delay in crafting a full plan before the deadline.”

Marian Ilitch-owned MotorCity's fiscal woes were enumerated in a statement posted on Moody's Investors Services' Web site, announcing the downgrade of parent company CCM Merger Inc.'s outlook to negative.

Last fall, CCM owners contributed $25 million in cash equity to enable the business to meet its September debt-to-EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) ratio. Moody's analysts warn that another equity infusion might be required for CCM to meet its year-end debt-to-EBITDA ratio.

CCM's debt limit is currently seven times EBITDA, according to Moody's, but that ratio could increase in 2009 because of a drop in gaming revenue — down 11 percent in December — that could offset earnings from the casino's expansion and lead to negative cash flow.

CCM's owners would have to ask to amend its lending covenants to increase its debt-to-EBITDA ratio or risk becoming noncompliant, according to Moody's.

Greektown may have its work cut out in proving it can resolve debts as it faces falling revenue and lost market share. A 2008 revenue and tax collection report prepared by the Michigan Gaming Control Board shows that revenue fell for all three casinos in December, with Greektown's dropping 12 percent.

MotorCity ended 2008 with $464 million in revenue, compared with $480 million in 2007. Greektown finished with $316 million compared with $341 million last year.

“Nothing before us suggests the industry isn't still solvent. The casinos as a whole showed 1.8 percent revenue growth over the previous year,” said Rick Kalm, the Gaming Control Board's executive director.

Edward Gudeman, president and managing partner of bankruptcy law firm Weik & Associates P.C. in Royal Oak, said Greektown's ability to control its own future likely comes down to showing an ability to make a profit on operations — exclusive of debt.

“If they can't show that in the plan, or the plan fails to execute, the case could be converted to Chapter 7 and be forced to sell,” he said.

Greektown sought bankruptcy protection in May, citing at least $243 million in unsecured debt to 40 unsecured creditors, and has since gained regulatory approval from the Gaming Board to borrow another $100 million more.

A new hotel is expected to open in a newly built tower along Monroe Street next month.

Chad Halcom: (313) 446-6796, chalcom@crain.com
Nancy Kaffer: (313) 446-0412, nkaffer@crain.com