Billionaire investor Carl Icahn will be the so-called stalking-horse bidder for the bankrupt Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino resort after Penn National Gaming dropped out.

Icahn’s Nevada Gaming triggered a bidding war in court yesterday, leading to its offer of $156.5 million, including the assumption of some debt. Penn stopped bidding at $145 million, including $50 million in debtor-in-possession financing, after its initial offer of $101.5 million.

The 63-story Fontainebleau, about 70 percent complete at a cost of $2 billion when it filed for bankruptcy in June, sits on about 27 acres at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. It will cost about $1.5 billion to finish, Penn has estimated.

Fontainebleau’s sellers last week asked US Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol in Miami to auction the casino on Jan. 21. Penn’s loan offer required the money be used to ‘stabilize’ Fontainebleau’s buildings, which are partly exposed. Icahn’s bid now sets the minimum for others to beat.