Stevens brothers purchase more property on Fremont Street

Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau

The D Las Vegas owners Greg Stevens and Derek Stevens, former Mayor Oscar Goodman and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman react during the unveiling of the Manneken Pis Las Vegas statue at The D Las Vegas on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015, in downtown Las Vegas.

Downtown Las Vegas casino owners Derek and Greg Stevens today announced that they bought more real estate on Fremont Street as they further their plans to develop another casino there.

The Stevens brothers purchased land next to the shuttered Las Vegas Club casino, which they bought in August, that currently houses the Mermaids and La Bayou casinos and the Topless Girls of Glitter Gulch. Granite Gaming Group, from whom the Stevens brothers are acquiring the properties, will continue to operate them until their expected closure on June 27.

A sales price was not disclosed.

The acquisitions give the Stevens brothers an even larger footprint on Fremont Street and significantly expands the space they have available to replace the Las Vegas Club with a new casino. Derek and Greg Stevens also own the D and Golden Gate casinos as well as the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.

Derek Stevens told VEGAS INC that expanding his frontage along Fremont Street was an “obviously very attractive” aspect of purchasing the land. He said he started talking to Granite Gaming Group CEO Steve Burnstine about acquiring his properties months ago, and that has shaped the future of the Las Vegas Club site.

But he has not yet divulged exactly what may be in store for that site or what the timeline might look like.

“This is where we have to go to work, so it would be premature for me to comment on one way or the other,” Stevens said. “Right now, we’re going to be doing some strategic thinking, and some creative thinking, and kind of go from there. But, obviously, the thought process is, with this substantially different footprint, it really lends itself to some substantial new construction.”

Stevens said the new development would still likely include a combination of demolition, renovation and construction.

The Granite Gaming Group properties were purchased by Steve Burnstine, the group’s CEO, from his father Herb Pastor in 2006, according to today’s statement. Burnstine has “forged a good working relationship” with Derek Stevens over the years, and he is excited about the prospects of the development on the properties, the statement said.

Mermaids and La Bayou employees will be offered “priority interview opportunities” for new jobs at the D and Golden Gate, according to the statement.

The Stevens brothers were also awarded the winning bid for Clark County’s Bridger Building on March 15. Derek Stevens said they’ll probably use it for warehousing and office space for their downtown operations.

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