Eneliko Sean “Liko” Smith, the enigmatic West Coast hotelier and self proclaimed “extreme sport entrepreneur” who has left a trail of dubious business transactions in his wake, is once again bidding for Sugar Loaf, the long shuttered ski resort in Leelanau County.
A press release posted various places on the Internet yesterday suggests that Eneliko Sean “Liko” Smith is about to acquire Sugar Loaf Resort, the long shuttered ski resort in Leelanau County, Michigan. Smith is an enigmatic former Samoan boxer from Las Vegas whose failed business deals, relationship troubles and run-ins with the law have made quite a splash in the media. He admits that he doesn’t “Google well”.
A breath of fresh air may have descended on Sugar Loaf. Just weeks before snow is likely to fall on the downtrodden Leelanau County ski hill whose chairlifts have sat idle for nearly 12 years, a local resort owner is developing a plan that would open the mountain to cross-country skiing and ice climbing — perhaps this winter.
The Las-Vegas Review Journal reports that Eneliko Sean “Liko” Smith — the enigmatic former Samoan boxer who attempted to acquire Sugar Loaf resort last year — was arrested last night in Nevada for driving under the influence. Liko Smith is being held under a no-bail warrant and could face extradition to El Dorado County, Calif., where he reportedly left behind more than $100,000 in unpaid room taxes.
Following his ill-fated alleged attempt to acquire Sugar Loaf resort in Leelanau County a year ago, Eneliko Sean “Liko” Smith once again finds himself in legal hot water for his role with LV Air, ultra-luxury carrier that was supposed to fly between Las Vegas and New York, and received national media attention when it was announced in February.
Eneliko “Liko” Sean Smith, the Las Vegas boxer-turned-businessman who allegedly sought to acquire Sugar Loaf resort last spring — but found he had neither the money, nor the local support, nor the clean business record to open the long-shuttered ski resort in the middle of Leelanau County — has resurfaced.
Leelanau County’s “elephant in the room”, the long-shuttered Sugar Loaf ski resort, is back in the news following a quiet autumn season after the eccentric Las Vegas boxer-turned-businessman Liko Smith returned to the West Coast empty-handed. Resort owner Kate Wickstrom has been courted in recent months by at least two suitors, including David Skjaerlund, from Owosso, near Grand Rapids.