user: Sale of Plaza Hotel had to happen

A likely sale of the Plaza Hotel would mark one of the shortest ownership reigns of an iconic Manhattan property ever. But the “nightmare” crisis facing Mumbai-based Sahara Group, which bought the Plaza last November, made the offering all but inevitable.

As we wrote Monday on nypost.com, Sahara is trying to sell the Plaza, the Dream Downtown Hotel and London’s Grosvenor House. The Times of India, citing three sources close to the situation, reported that Sahara has already received a $1.6 billion offer from an unidentified Mideast group.

Sahara, led by mega-billionaire Subrata Roy>, bought a 70 percent stake in the Plaza just last November from Israeli-owned Elad for $600 million. It also bought the Dream Downtown from Vikram Chatwal’s Hampshire Hotels for $200 million. In 2010, it bought Grosvenor House from Royal Bank of Scotland for $726 million.

ut, “Almost from the day Sahara bought the Plaza, they had financial and legal problems outside the US,” said a New York hotel industry insider who was surprised they’d gone largely unnoticed here.

Sahara is under siege by Indian securities regulators who said the company sold $4.8 billion in bonds in violation of national laws, and by Bank of China which holds nearly $1 billion in debt on the three properties.

Sahara’s woes have been widely described as a “$5 billion nightmare” in India and in Europe. But New York coverage has focused on Sant Chatwal’s Hampshire Hotel Management’s heavily publicized contract to run the Plaza’s Oak Room, Oak Bar and Palm Court — a deal Elad made before the sale to Sahara. Hampshire has tapped famed chef Geoffrey Zakarian to oversee the project.

The Plaza is managed by Fairmont while Hampshire continues to manage the Dream Downtown, but there’s no telling what effect a change of ownership might have on either company’s role.

CBRE Hotels vice-president Bradley Burwell, a hotel sale broker not involved in the Sahara offering, said both New York inns were doing well on the operating level. He noted that Sahara had smartly consolidated the several ownership entities which Elad had carved out of the hotel — including condo units for each of the restaurants and the subterranean food hall — “into a single ownership entity.”

Burwell wouldn’t predict what the new owners would do, but said he would “assume” they’d want to operate the Plaza their own way — possibly with new management.

A different hotel industry source noted, “I’m sure Chatwal had ambitions to one day displace Fairmont as operator of the Plaza” — and now both will be working for new bosses.

That source noted, however, that Fairmont has a safety blanket in that Saudi Prince Al-Waleed, a minority owner of the Plaza, is also part-owner of Fairmont.

The Plaza has 280 guest rooms, many fewer than the original 800 after Elad converted much of the building to luxury condo apartments. The Dream Downtown has 315 rooms.

A rep for Sahara said Tuesday morning the company has “only received an offer for Grosvenor House. An offer doesn’t essentially mean that the properties are for sale. In fact, Sahara is looking for more acquistions internationally.”

A Fairmont rep said, “Fairmont has a long-term management agreement with the Plaza Hotel, and we are not involved in any potential sale discussions and as such do not have any further details.” Chatwal didn’t get back to us.

summary: A likely sale of the Plaza Hotel would mark one of the shortest ownership reigns of an iconic Manhattan property ever. But the “nightmare” crisis facing Mumbai-based Sahara Group, which…

Jonas Valanciunas fouls LeBron James incredibly hard

Updated MAR 06, 2015 3:19a ET

Jonas Valanciunas made LeBron James mad Wednesday night.

James retaliated on the scoreboard after Valanciunas tackled him on a drive late in the third quarter.

James scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth and matched a season high with 14 assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on to beat theToronto Raptors 120-112.

Valanciunas was called for a flagrant-1 foul after he took down James on the play that drew a loud cheer from the sellout crowd of 19,800.

"The game is more important than trying to deliver a hard foul," said James, kicked in the groin by Houston's James Harden on Sunday. "It's the old elementary school house rule that the second guy always gets caught. You just relax and play the game."

James bristled when Valanciunas offered to help him up, and later when asked about his response.

"Why would I need his help (getting) up?" James asked. "My teammates will come get me. That's all that matters."

The foul was upgraded to flagrant following a video review.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him, I was just trying to stop him from dunking," Valanciunas said.

James has taken some notably tough fouls lately. There were some flagrants in the Cavaliers' recent game against the Rockets, including Harden foot-nudging him in the friendlies.

It feels like this all coincides with the addition of Kendrick Perkins in Cleveland. As soon as LeBron gets himself a recognized NBA bodyguard, he starts taking more hits — not that James wasn't getting knocked around before.

There probably aren't two players in the league who get fouled harder than James and Blake Griffin, and there's a reason for that: They're so big and they move so fast.

Historically, guys that size who move at that speed get knocked around. It's part of the gig. And when you're as tremendous a finisher as James, people would much rather send you to the line than give you the layup or tomahawk slam or whatever other thing you'll do to ensure the ball goes in the hoop. Thus, you see plays like Valanciunas' when the last line of defense gets caught flat-footed. Just don't let Jonas play linebacker.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

summary: LeBron James has been getting beaten up lately. Add Jonas Valanciunas to the list of his enemies.

Hillary Clinton on the road to Iowa as Marco Rubio enters race - live

The 2016 presidential election need not be a circus that only Americans enjoy (or loathe) – gamblers of all nationalities can get in on the drama too.

To that end, bookmakers William Hill and Paddy Power have published their current odds for declared candidates and the politicians lurking in the wings, who may or may not join the contest.

To win the Democratic primary, both bookmakers have Clinton as an overwhelming favorite, at 1/3 and 1/4 odds of winning the party’s nomination. Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren is a distant second, at 5/1 and 13/2, followed by vice-president Joe Biden, at 20/1 odds.

Republicans, too, have a strong favorite, but the competitors are far closer. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, the third Bush to seek the highest office, has 2/1 odds from both bookmakers to win the nomination. They put Wisconsin governor Scott Walker at 5/1 and 4/1 odds, and at this point the gambling gods disagree. William Hill gives 7/1 odds to senators Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, while Paddy Power hands the more moderate Rubio an edge at 9/2 and his libertarian rival a 6/1 chance.

As for the 2016 presidency itself, both bookmakers agree: Clinton (5/4, 11/10) and Bush (4/1, 4/1) are the titans to beat.

Walker (10/1, 12/1) and Rubio (14/1, 12/1) are outliers by comparison. Biden, Cruz and others hardly rank, at current odds of more than 30/1.

But odds, like polls, are subject to change, and frontrunners have fallen despite seemingly insurmountable leads before. Just ask Hillary Clinton. Or maybe don’t.

summary:

assistant: Hillary Clinton’s 1,000-mile road trip to Iowa under way after Sunday announcement as Republican Marco Rubio enters race with event in Miami set for tonight