State

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A federal judge has approved the sale of a bankrupt resort in West Texas to a Dallas businessman for $13.5 million.

The bid approved Friday by a judge in San Antonio came from Kelcy Warren, co-founder of Energy Transfer Partners LP, a natural gas and propane distributor.

Warren agreed to keep Lajitas, The Ultimate Hideout open for now but he would not say what his long-term plans were for the 25,000-acre resort, which features a golf course, luxury hotel and restaurants.

Located near Big Bend National Park, the resort owes between $18 million and $20 million to creditors.

The Lajitas resort was purchased by Stephen R. Smith, an Austin communications mogul, for $4.2 million in 2000; he then pumped another $100 million into the property in a failed effort to create a secluded desert destination for the rich.