Robert Rowling at the Omni PGA Frisco near Dallas, 2024. Trevor Paulhus for ForbesThe billionaire family behind Omni Hotels says it’s just a lender to Justice’s historic Greenbrier, which would fit nicely into its portfolio of golf resorts.Could Senator Jim Justice’s days as owner of the storied Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia be coming to an end? In late March the Dallas-based Rowling family, which owns Omni Hotels, paid $289 million to publicly traded Carter Bank & Trust to acquire the first lien debt on the Greenbrier and other Justice assets. This could be a big step toward Omni acquiring the entire resort with its 710 rooms and four golf courses. In 2024, Carter Bank had threatened to auction off the Greenbrier to pay down Justice’s debts, just months before the former governor of West Virginia was elected as U.S. Senator representing the state. Justice promised to keep up with payments of more than $2 million per month. Despite his political successes, the former coal billionaire has a long history of defaulting on his debts. In addition to the $200 million he now owes Omni, Justice is on the hook to other lenders for at least $500 million more.Blake Rowling, 42, CEO of TRT Holdings, which owns Omni, says he and his father Bob, 72, “have had an admiration of the Greenbrier forever. It’s one of America’s greatest resorts.” “We love the place,” says Rowling, who cautions against jumping to conclusions. This is an investment; ownership is not changing hands yet. “We’re just a lender right now. We might just get paid off on the note,” says Rowling. “We will be working with Senator Justice to see what we can do.” Omni has a successful history of reviving fading golf resorts including ones in Amelia Island, Florida; La Costa in San Diego; and Barton Creek in Austin. Omni, which owns 50 properties across the country, is the rare vertically integrated hotel chain, both owning and operating its properties, most of which are owned 100% by TRT. Forbes pegs Robert Rowling’s net worth at $8.8 billion. MORE FOR YOUThe larger-than-life, 6-foot-8-inches Jim Justice who inherited a small fortune from his father and owned dozens of companies at one point, made his debut on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans in 2011 after selling his company’s West Virginia coal interests to a Russian firm, but he fell out of the billionaire ranks in 2021 when the extent of his indebtedness became evident. Calls and messages left at his and his assistant’s numbers were not returned. The history of the Greenbrier dates back to 1778 when pioneers would gather to "take the waters” of White Sulphur Springs. The Old White Hotel attracted Northeastern city dwellers during the summer, and both sides occupied the hotel at different points during the Civil War. It was purchased for $150,000 in 1910 by Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, which rebuilt the hotel with the grand central edifice that still stands today. During the Cold War, the Federal government built a nuke-proof bunker for political VIPs under the hotel. PGA legend Sam Snead was golf pro there for four decades. But the railroad, renamed CSX, was a distracted owner. In 2009 when CSX filed for bankruptcy, Justice bought the property for $20 million. Carter Bank put up most of the money to allow Justice to close the deal, and continued to extend credit. Bad luck hit in 2016 when historic floods destroyed Greenbrier’s golf courses. Two reopened a year later but the Greenbrier course lost 6 holes and was reconfigured by Jack Nicklaus into a 10-hole loop. Justice became governor of West Virginia in January 2017. That April, Carter Bank founder and Justice friend Worth Carter died. At the time Justice was the bank’s biggest creditor, personally owing the bank $740 million. Jim Justice at the Greenbrier, 2019. Jamel Toppin for ForbesSeeking a new lifeline, Justice in subsequent years borrowed another $780 million against his Bluestone Resources coal mines from now-defunct London-based financier Greensill Capital. Justice handed over $226 million of that to Carter Bank to pay down his balance, now roughly $200 million. After more defaults and litigation, Justice still owes the creditors of Greensill some $700 million. Meanwhile Omni (which Bob Rowling bought in 1996 with $500 million in proceeds from selling oilfields) has plenty of recent experience rehabilitating golf resorts. Omni bought Amelia Island, Florida out of bankruptcy in 2010 for $67 million and put another $150 million into renovating the entire resort. To rehab its Oak Marsh course, designed in 1972 by Pete Dye, Omni hired Dye’s protege Beau Welling. At La Costa, near San Diego, Omni brought in renowned designer Gil Hanse to remake the North Course. It now hosts the NCAA Division 1 championships. At Barton Creek in Austin, Texas, Omni renovated all four courses (including one by Tom Fazio), built a new clubhouse and a 250-room tower for $200 million. Barton Creek will host a PGA event in November. Greenbrier could use Omni’s experience. It previously hosted a PGA event, but that was canceled in 2020. It hosted LIV Golf tournaments in 2023 and 2024, but LIV opted not to renew those as well. Closer to Greenbrier, Omni has invested $170 million since 2013 into The Homestead, an hour away in Hot Springs, Va. The property features the oldest first tee in continuous use (1892). Blake Rowling does not think that adding Greenbrier to its portfolio would cannibalize Homestead’s business. On the contrary, he says, they can benefit from adding regional scale and expanding tour packages: "The pie gets bigger." 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