Feds narrow field to two bids for U.S. stake in Bicycle Club Casino.

The U.S. government has tentatively accepted two proposals for further study to purchase its 36 percent stake in the Bicycle Club (card) Casino in Bell Gardens.

At the same time, the government rejected several other proposals, including a plan by casino employees to buy out the government.

The local U.S. Marshal's office, which administers the government's stake in the club, did not return phone calls for comment. But casino officials and sources who did not want to be named said the two new potential investors now move on to the next phase of the process in which the government decides what bid to accept.

The government has said it wants to sell its stake in the casino. The price tag has not been revealed but most people familiar with the possible buyout speculate the deal will be worth about $35 million.

A little over one-third of the club's assets were seized four years ago by the Department of Justice, which charged that $12 million in profits from a drug-smuggling operation were used to finance the club's construction in 1984.

A federal court jury in Florida found one of the initial investors in the club was involved in a drug-running network that laundered money from the smuggling operation through different bank accounts and paper corporations.

As a result of the prosecution, the U.S. Marshals Service took over that investor's share -- 36 percent -- of the club in 1990. No one now in club management or among current investors was part of the government's investigation.

Casino officials and sources said they didn't know what investors had been picked by the federal government to move on to the next stage. But among the proposals offered to the government were buyout plans by the operators of Hollywood Park in Inglewood, and the Harrah's and Circus Circus gambling casinos, said the sources.

Officials at Hollywood Park race track did not return a phone call for comment. A spokesman from Harrah's said it is against company policy to comment on speculation and a representative from Circus Circus said he was unfamiliar with any plan to invest in the Bicycle Club.

The proposed plan by the club's 2,100 employees to buy out the government was disclosed last May and received tentative approval from the Bell Gardens City Council, which will have to approve any new ownership. Bell Gardens, which licenses the club, gets about $10 million a year in tax revenue from the club.

The Bicycle Club is a card casino that allows betting among players in card games. Unlike casinos in Las Vegas, players do not bet against the house and games like blackjack and roulette are prohibited.

The facility is on Eastern Avenue next to the 710 (Long Beach) freeway and boasts annual revenue of about $100 million from restaurant and bar tabs, and seat rentals. Seat rental fees are the basic source of revenue and are the charge players must pay to get into a card game.

The club, which is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, has an annual profit of about $25 million, according to club officials.

Two limited partnerships, Park Place and LCP, about equally own the balance of the card club, aside from the government stake.

Meanwhile, the club also is undergoing a management change. George Hardie, who has been the club's general manager and managing partner of the two partnerships for 10 years, has resigned. He said last week that he will pursue other business interests, including politics in Las Vegas. He is currently a Democratic primary candidate for Clark (Las Vegas) County Commissioner. The election will be held Tuesday, Sept. 6.

Hardie said he will act as a consultant for the club but Harry Richard has taken over day-to-day operations responsibility. Richard is the on-site government representative at the Bicycle Club. He was unavailable for comment.