Archives
- License sought to operate shuttered Casino MonteLago (4-1-2011)
- Casino’s closure brings mixed outlooks on Lake Las Vegas (3-15-2010)
- Lake Las Vegas: A shining lakeside oasis loses its luster (3-1-2010)
- Population dearth doomed Casino MonteLago at Lake Las Vegas (3-1-2010)
- Casino MonteLago at Lake Las Vegas to close next month (2-16-2010)
- Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas to close in May (2-8-2010)
- Current, past owners spar in Lake Las Vegas bankruptcy case (9-21-2009)
The Gaming Control Board today recommended approval for casino operator Intrepid Gaming to operate the shuttered Casino MonteLago at Lake Las Vegas.
The casino is scheduled to reopen May 26 after Intrepid receives final gaming license approval, as anticipated, from the Nevada Gaming Commission on May 19.
Intrepid Gaming is owned by Jon Berkley, former CEO of Las Vegas Gaming Inc., a bingo and keno operator that filed for bankruptcy in March. Berkley said a reopened casino, the "social hub of Lake Las Vegas," was critical to the survival of the secluded resort development some 17 miles from the Strip.
The casino will have 275 slot machines as well as electronic table games. It won't have live dealers -- one of several moves to reduce overhead costs.
In addition to operating with fewer slot machines than the previous owner's 350 machines, it also will have fewer employees.
Regulators said they were heartened by the effort to reopen the casino.
"It's good to see a property that's dark come back to life," Gaming Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli said.
Intrepid must only make lease payments to Village Hospitality LLC, an arm of Deutsche Bank, if the casino is cash-flow positive. Village Hospitality owns the casino building and the attached Ravella hotel.
Berkley said business prospects have improved at Lake Las Vegas as speculators have been replaced by more full-time residents. Executives said they would mail more promotional offers to nearby locals.
The attached hotel, formerly a Ritz-Carlton, wasn't cooperative in promoting the casino among its well-heeled hotel customers. Berkley said that will change under the hotel's new management.
Builders also are constructing new homes in the area, he said.
"We're not going to fail, I promise," casino general manager Marcus Suan told regulators.
Suan leads a mostly new management team assembled to turn around the property. He formerly ran the McCarran International Airport slot concession for South Point owner Michael Gaughan. He also served as Boyd Gaming's senior vice president of slot operations.
Intrepid filed its application for a non-restricted gaming license with the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Feb. 14, three days after Dolce Hotels and Resorts reopened the former Ritz-Carlton next door as the Ravella hotel.
Before Casino MonteoLago closed in March 2010, Casino MonteLago was operated by CIRI Lakeside Gaming Investors LLC, but the company forfeited its license upon closure. The announcement of the casino closure came a week after the Ritz-Carlton said it would be closing its doors because of a lack of funding from Village Hospitality. The casino closure left 170 casino employees out of work.
Casino MonteLago opened in May 2003 and was originally owned by Cook Inlet Region Inc., a corporation owned by members of an Alaskan American Indian tribe.