SPARKS — The second largest casino building in Victorian Square has been foreclosed on. The Silver Club, formerly owned by Holder Hospitality Group, is now owned by the bank.

Northern Nevada Asset Holdings LLC issued the notice of foreclosure today, claiming that Holder Hospitality still owes on a $33 million note. The property and all its assets, with the exception of some slot machines, will be auctioned on the Washoe County Courthouse steps on Dec. 23 at 2 p.m.

The foreclosure includes the main casino building with all it furniture and fixtures. However, the notice of foreclosure does not mention the block on C Street that is home to the Silver Club Hotel.

While the dusty, dark downstairs of the Silver Club Casino now houses nothing more than shadows, the third floor is home to the Holder Hospitality Group International corporate offices. According to Holder president Brian Boylan, about 15 employees work on that third floor.

The foreclosure casts a shadow on current talks between Holder and potential property buyers. Boylan said Tuesday that the company was involved in talks with several potential buyers, including Beverly Hillbillies casino developer Max Baer.

“Mr. Baer has looked at the property and expressed interest,” Boylan said. “He met with Mr. (Hal) Holder (the property’s owner) and had a very cordial hello.”

Baer already has approval to build his casino next to a retail complex being built in northern Douglas County about 30 miles south of Reno. Baer owns about 23 acres near the corner of U.S. 395 and Topsy Lane in Carson City where he is planning to build the “Beverly Hillbillies”-themed casino.

But Baer’s spokesman Don Smit says he’s exploring other options because the construction of that retail complex has stalled.

Boylan added that several others had looked at the property and expressed interest in buying. As of Tuesday, however, no offers were on the table.

The Silver Club has been seeking a buyer since April 2008, when it was listed on the market for $15 million. The facility shuttered its doors in January, while still clinging to its valuable gaming license.

The Silver Club has been struggling with bankruptcy since June, when it filed Chapter 11 along with five other Holder hotel and casino properties across Nevada.

Businessman Hal Holder Sr. owns a total of six northern Nevada casinos, five of which are still open. The federal bankruptcy court filings in June automatically stay an order issued in June by a Washoe County District Court appointing a receiver sought by a company holding the $33 million defaulted loan note.

The foreclosure means the casino will lose its currently valid liquor and gaming licenses.

As life in Victorian Square continues around the Silver Club property, Boylan said the Sparks Police Department has effectively kept crime and blight away from the five acres of dormant Silver Club property.

“The police department has done an excellent job of seeing the properties are not abused,” Boylan said. “If there are vandals, police are right there. They have done a great job in all of Victorian Square making sure the properties are not tagged, etc.”

Since the Silver Club closed, Boylan has had to eliminate the jobs of more than 270 employees.

Besides the Silver Club, the properties filing for bankruptcy include the Commercial Casino and Stockmen’s Casino Hotel in Elko, Scoreboard Casino in Spring Creek, the El Capitan in Hawthorne and Parker’s Model T Casino in Winnemucca.

Holder also operates or has operated several other Nevada casinos, although they’re not part of the receivership or bankruptcy proceedings. Holder Hospitality Group put all its Nevada properties up for sale in early 2007, hoping to get more than $200 million, but potential buyers faced difficulty securing credit as the economy worsened.

According to Holder spokespeople, buyers have been interested in the properties but are struggling with Nevada’s slow-moving casino lending.

“We are just like everybody else,” Boylan said. “We wish the economy

was better.”