• Washington Post, Monday, May 18, 2009 11 AM

Coal baron James C. Justice II reached an agreement with Marriott International Friday for control of the historic Greenbrier hotel, avoiding a battle in federal bankruptcy court in Richmond, Va. The resort's new owner is enormous and boisterous, stands 6-foot-7 and weighs enough that he calls himself a "fat hog," reports Michael S. Rosenwald. "These people haven't seen anything quite like me," he said the other day over a sandwich and fries at the resort.

But why did he bother outmaneuvering Marriott to acquire a business he knows nothing about -- taking on more than $100 million in bills? He says it had nothing to with the state recently approving casino gambling at the resort: "That's just bull snot."

He says he did it for the Greenbrier employees and the people of White Sulpher Springs, Va., his home town. Like many small towns, they harbor resentment toward corporate America, which has brought Wal-Marts and other big-box stores to town and -- in the view of some residents -- sucked local businesses dry, Rosenwald writes.

"I won't be the guy who thinks with the standard hotel mentality," Justice promises. "This place can't be run that way."

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