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Two Biggest Locals Casino Companies Bet On Las Vegas

The two biggest locals casino companies in Las Vegas are getting bigger.

Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming spent nearly $1 billion between them to acquire four properties. Boyd bought Aliante and the two Cannery casinos while Station purchased the Palms.

The moves show faith in the locals casino market and the future of Southern Nevada’s economy.

Two of Boyd’s purchases — Aliante and the Cannery location on Craig Road — give the company a foothold in North Las Vegas, which is counting on the Faraday Future car plant and other industrial development to spur growth.

John Knott with the CBRE Global Gaming Group told KNPR's State of Nevada that the moves by the two gaming companies are "excellent" and a sign of the region's continuing recovery from the Great Recession.

He said Boyd's moves really secure its top stop in North Las Vegas. While, the move by Red Rock Resorts, which was previously Station Casinos, puts it into the tourist market for the first time.

“Now, they have the ability to offer something to people that they maybe haven’t seen in the past,” Knott said.

David McKee is the managing editor at Huntington Press. He said Wall Streets' opinion of the Las Vegas market is that it is improving incrementally. 

“There’s not going to be a dramatic but a steady upward growth,” he said.

He pointed to the construction industry as an example of an industry that is growing but diversifying. 

“I think this is a reflection of several positive economic indicators,” McKee said.

McKee also said that the market is getting better and previously mothballed projects like Durango Station, which would be on the southern beltway and Durango Drive, are back on track. He also said Red Rock Resorts is working on a mixed-use project that would include a casino where its Wild Wild West Casino stands on Tropicana Avenue.

Scott Roeben writes about all things Las Vegas in his blog Vital Vegas. He said the moves in locals casinos will also be good for locals.

“Locals especially like new things," he said, "New places to go knowing that one of your favorite companies is moving into a new hotel. It’s great because they know their loyalty cards are going to work. They know they’re going to get their perks.” 

Along with adding the Palms to its lineup of properties, Station, which recently changed its corporate name to Red Rock Resorts, also is investing in an upgrade of the 19,000 slot machines at its Southern Nevada casinos.

 

John Knott, CBRE Global Gaming Group;  Scott Roeben, covers gaming at VitalVegas.com;  David McKee, managing editor at Huntington Press

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With deep experience in journalism, politics, and the nonprofit sector, news producer Doug Puppel has built strong connections statewide that benefit the Nevada Public Radio audience.