It shouldn’t come as a surprise, really. If the big companies like Harrah’s Entertainment, MGM Mirage and Station Casinos are struggling to keep revenue up during the recession, why should the smaller casino operators be any different?

The answer is that they are not. A group of earnings reports from properties like Planet Hollywood, Hooters Casino and Black Gaming (operator of casinos in Mesquite) shows these companies facing the exact same problems as every other operator in the state.

Planet Hollywood, for example, said it is having a hard time generating enough cash flow to cover its commitments, including payments on an $860 million loan. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company noted that without a capital contribution from owners, a third-party investor or restructuring its debt, the property won’t be able to make its working capital and debt obligations through the end of the year.

Hooters Hotel is also treading water after posting a second quarter loss of $5 million. The property is in default on $144.5 million in debt, but it is engaged in negotiations with Wells Fargo Foothill about restructuring or selling the property.

Similarly, Black Gaming is in default on $205.8 million in debt, but it is also in discussions with its debtholders and Wells Fargo Foothill. The operator of the Oasis, CasaBlanca and Virgin River casinos in Mesquite posted a new loss of $4.8 million in the quarter.

The number is an improvement from the $20.3 million loss posted the same time last year. The company saved money through aggressive cost-cutting measures at the Oasis that included using the 900 hotel rooms for convention and overflow business only.

While a number of operators are staring bankruptcy in the face, Herbst Gaming could emerge from Chapter 11 protection before the year ends. Ballots were issued to creditors asking them to approve a reorganization plan. Ballots are due September 15 and a hearing is scheduled for October 28 and 29 in Reno.

The plan gives creditors 100 percent of the equity of the reorganized company as well as a $350 million new senior secured bank loan to wipe out the outstanding debt of $875.9 million.