Only three and a half hours left to go in the great state liquor sell-off of 2012. (Here is a quick summary of the convoluted situation, including how the state isn’t actually auctioning the stores, but the right to apply for a license to sell liquor at the stores, blah blah blah.)
The PI has a story about a man who wants to buy all 167 stores—if his bid for all the stores is higher than the individual bids for individual stores put together, he’ll get ’em all. Meet potential new liquor overlord “Dumb Dick”:
One local man has already put in his offer to the state. Richard Gates, who also goes by the name “Dumb Dick,” is offering to buy all 167 of the licenses for a cool $760,000. “Right now I’m the high bidder, if the state wants to sell it to me at that price I’ll take it,” Gates said from the 19th Hole Pub in Bremerton.
The story goes on to show that his sum-total bid is not, in fact, higher than the collected individual bids.
So how are the auctions going? The cheapest store at the moment is in Pasco, going for $20,100.
The most expensive? The liquor store closest to Stranger HQ, at 12th and Pine, which is going for $250,100. The high bidder at the moment is someone named “kang11.” (One of the previous bidders was Seven-ElevenJapanLtd.)
The second-most expensive is on Greenwood Ave, and is currently going for $230,100 to someone named “shindaupple.” And the current high bid for all the stores is old “Dumb Dick” himself, at $4,500,400.
I’m logged in to the auction, so if you’re curious about who’s bidding how much at specific state liquor store, just put it in comments and I’ll look it up for you. (A store number would be helpful, if you can find it.)
Now only 3 hours, 16 minutes to go!
