Bryan Horwath

Story Archive

Showboat Park Apartments rise from the footprint of once-famous casino
Sunday, March 21, 2021
John Hunt grew up in the shadow of the old Showboat casino and got his first hotel job there in the early 1990s, working as a kitchen runner. Some 30 years later, Hunt is now living at the site of the former resort as one of the first residents of the Showboat Park Apartments ...
Rebranded Virgin Hotels Las Vegas has feel of desert oasis
Resort planning quiet opening during pandemic, big party later
Friday, March 19, 2021
The opening of a new or rebranded casino in Las Vegas is typically an over-the-top celebration with fireworks, bands and people lined up to get in. But the ...
Rio to be remodeled, rebranded as Hyatt
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Hyatt Hotels Corp. plans to remodel the Rio’s roughly 2,500 rooms and rebrand the off-Strip resort under the Hyatt brand. The Rio’s gaming, retail, restaurant, spa ...
Rent a Lamborghini in Las Vegas for $1,000 a day
Monday, March 15, 2021
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Las Vegas last year, Cory McCormack’s job with one of the major Strip resort companies became a casualty.
Circa Sports opening at casinos off the Strip, in downtown Henderson
Sunday, March 14, 2021
Circa Sports is branching out in the Las Vegas Valley. The Derek Stevens sportsbook brand will debut books at the off-Strip Tuscany and the Pass, which is expected to be taking bets ...
Rebranded downtown Henderson casino set to open in April
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
The former Eldorado Casino in Henderson is scheduled to open in April, according to a news release. The remodeled downtown property, which will be called The Pass ...
Las Vegas resort operator interested in proposed Chicago casino
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
At least one Las Vegas gaming company has expressed interest in operating a proposed casino in Chicago. Wynn Resorts was among several Las Vegas-based ...
MGM diversity program helps small businesses navigate the pandemic
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
In 2017, Leanne Duong-Ma quit her corporate day job to focus full time on the business she had started four years earlier. Her company, Direct Source Procurement, was growing ...
Delivery Guy: Fieri's Flavortown favorites are fully mobile
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Flavortown is mobile. Restaurateur Guy Fieri has teamed with a company called Virtual Dining Concepts to offer delivery of a select number of menu items from his branded eateries ...
Pandemic deals another blow to poker in Las Vegas
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
When casinos reopened in June after the coronavirus shutdown, a number of poker rooms in Las Vegas remained dark, and it seems likely some will never return to action. The pandemic has wiped out about a third of an already dwindling number of poker tables in Clark County, mostly in ...
Median home sales price in Las Vegas hits record high
Monday, March 8, 2021
The Las Vegas Valley existing home market continues to be unflinchingly in seller’s territory. Aldo Martinez, president of the Las Vegas Realtors trade group, said there was less than a one-month supply of preowned homes on the market at the end of February. A six-month supply is ...
Vegas Realtor on a mission to close the homeownership gap for Black Americans
Monday, March 8, 2021
The homeownership rate for Blacks was just 44%, a little more than 30 percentage points lower than the rate for white Americans.
'Vote of confidence': Some experts say sale of Venetian, Palazzo and Sands Expo shows investors are bullish on Strip’s recovery
Thursday, March 4, 2021
“A $6 billion investment in a market is a vote of confidence,” said Don Snyder, the former UNLV president. “Apollo is a smart investor. They understand what ...
Lucky Las Vegas: Visitors from Texas, Colorado and Arizona win six-figure jackpots
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Three players hit six-figure jackpots in recent days on a slot machine and table games in Las Vegas. Last week, a woman from Texas playing a Wheel of Fortune slot machine at ...
Pandemic accelerates move toward cashless casino industry
Monday, March 1, 2021
Omer Sattar, executive vice president and co-founder of Sightline Payments, anticipates that three out of every four casinos in the United States will offer some form of ...
MGM Resorts pools in Las Vegas opening on Monday
Friday, Feb. 26, 2021
MGM Resorts International is opening its Las Vegas resort swimming pools Monday. The list includes the Bellagio’s adults-only Mediterranean pool, along with pools at ...
CEO: Caesars not selling Planet Hollywood, or any Vegas property
Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021
Tom Reeg, the chief executive officer of Caesars Entertainment, has seen the social media and blog posts saying Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas is for sale.

Wanna buy a tattoo shop? Las Vegas owner using raffle to offer up his business
Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021
Here’s a chance to purchase a Las Vegas tattoo shop for $50 — well, sort of. Caleb Cashew has decided to unload his Black Omen Tattoo business through a raffle process by selling 11x14 original works of art made by ...
Las Vegas air travel still depressed as pandemic persists
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021
As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, passenger numbers at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas have remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels. McCarran recorded just over ...
Carvana brings its unique, 'very visual' car-buying experience to Las Vegas
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021
Las Vegas now has a car vending machine. Carvana, an online used car retailer, will debut its glass-encased, 11-story car vending machine structure just off Interstate 15 near the Strip this morning. The building, which lights up at dusk, has garnered the attention of passersby on the highway for weeks, though ...
Cosmopolitan offers local pandemic heroes a chance at a $50,000 resort package
Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021
The Cosmopolitan earlier this month began accepting nominations for its heroes giveaway promotion, which will provide 11 people with complimentary stays at the Strip resort, along with other prizes. Ten winners will receive a two-night stay in ...

Revamped down to the carpet, the El Cortez is positioned for a Las Vegas rebound
Monday, Feb. 22, 2021
When the El Cortez changed the carpet on its gaming floor January as part of ongoing renovations, officials sensed customers would be interested in having pieces of the matting pattern as memorabilia and made it for sale in the gift shop.
North Las Vegas company bringing back workplace privacy one phone booth at a time
Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021
Cubicall is “a great example of the kinds of innovative businesses that are now calling greater Las Vegas home due to quality of life, cost and opportunity.”
Billion-dollar decade: Startup enjoys meteoric rise, with help from MGM
Friday, Feb. 19, 2021
MGM Resorts International became an early partner with PlayStudios, which creates free-to-play mobile and social platform casino games in which players can earn Las Vegas comps ...



Boyd Gaming: ‘Younger’ customers have been crucial during pandemic
Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021
Many operations in the Las Vegas Valley have had a rough go during the pandemic, but one locals casino operator has identified a consistent silver lining.

Rebranding the Eldorado: New owner modernizing popular landmark on Water Street
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021
In the side parking lot of the old Eldorado Casino site in Henderson’s Water Street District lay what’s left of the sign that used to hang on the back entrance of the property. New ownership is modernizing the building in a $5 million renovation, and that starts by ...
Firm acquires Drew Las Vegas with plans to finish stalled resort project
Friday, Feb. 12, 2021
A well-funded real estate firm has announced a deal to acquire a stalled casino-resort development on the north end of the Strip. Koch Real Estate Investments, an arm of Koch Industries, said it is teaming with Fontainebleau Development to complete the Drew Las Vegas, a long-planned ...
Boulder City businesses navigate pandemic, remain optimistic
Monday, Feb. 8, 2021
When the owners of Bella Marketplace reopened their antique store in May after the two-month coronavirus shutdown, they didn’t know what to expect.
UNLV offers intense cybersecurity education, for those who can hack it
Friday, Feb. 5, 2021
Many of the participants looked to be in their 20s, with others likely encroaching middle age. All were there for an introductory virtual class on cybersecurity, the first installment in a 40-hour course on the subject that’s part of a new noncredit cybersecurity “boot camp” offered through UNLV’s Continuing Education department.

Afraid of flying commercial? Private NLV-based carrier welcomes your business
Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021
Many would-be air travelers are hesitant to fly on commercial flights during the pandemic out of social-distancing concerns, realizing the risk of sitting for an extended period of time next to someone potentially carrying the virus isn’t worth the risk.
Las Vegas man hits $905,000 jackpot at Ellis Island
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021
A Las Vegas man won over $905,000 on a slot machine at an off-Strip casino this week. David Frys, a regular at Ellis Island, hit the Buffalo Grand jackpot on ...
As Resorts World opening nears, the job applications flood in
Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021
Lori Calderon has looked through so many job applications that she often finds herself evaluating potential hires for Resorts World on her personal time. “We’re waking up at night sometimes and taking notes, I’m doing that myself,” said Calderon, the Resorts World executive director of ...
Conditions ripe for housing market to remain competitive, experts say
Monday, Feb. 1, 2021
Potential home buyers and those looking to refinance their mortgage shouldn’t expect interest rates to increase much in 2021, according to experts. “Most likely, interest rates will gradually rise as the economy begins to strengthen in the spring and summer.”
Reports of Las Vegas’ death greatly exaggerated, gaming executive says
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021
Las Vegas Sands Corp. posted a fourth-quarter loss of $299 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier, as the casino and resort operator saw its ...
With Las Vegans pining for outdoors, airlines add flights to escape destinations
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021
Las Vegan Chin Li Kuok seems to always be looking for the next outdoor adventure. One of her favorite places is Jackson Hole, Wyo., an outdoors-lover’s paradise and a longtime favorite American vacation destination for those who like skiing and open spaces ...
Tourists from California, Utah win big in Las Vegas
Monday, Jan. 25, 2021
A pair of out-of-town gamblers won big over the weekend while visiting Las Vegas, hitting jackpots for a combined $370,000. On Friday, a gambler from Utah made a seven-card straight flush while ...
Fuelster app aims to fill a niche, and your gas tank, on the Las Vegas Strip
Monday, Jan. 25, 2021
Many drive-in visitors to Las Vegas are familiar with the rush to get on the road to return home Sunday afternoon, knowing that delays in leaving will translate to hours stuck in freeway traffic. And many can attest to the helpless feeling of ...
Mobile devices have carried sports betting through the pandemic
Monday, Jan. 25, 2021
With people cooped up at home because of the pandemic, mobile sports betting has skyrocketed in popularity, Las Vegas sportsbook operators say. “Mobile is where it’s at,” said Jay Kornegay of the Westgate SuperBook.

Majestic developer Doumani taps deep into his Vegas roots
Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021
Many people remember watching celebrities like Muhammad Ali or Elvis Presley on their living room TVs in the 1970s. Lorenzo Doumani remembers watching them in his living room. Growing up the son of a Las Vegas casino landlord ...
When tourists are prepared to travel again, Las Vegas will be ready
Monday, Jan. 18, 2021
The first signs of widespread tourist demand returning for Las Vegas aren’t quite visible, but several experts who track visitation trends say they’re ready to bubble up this year.
Las Vegas baseball coach swings for the fences in launching moving service
Monday, Jan. 18, 2021
In baseball, coaches often remind young hitters to forget their last strikeout when they step back up to the plate.  Michael Eshragh, an assistant baseball coach at the College of Southern Nevada, applied the same mindset as ...
Dog days: South Point hot dog cart remains a popular draw in Las Vegas
Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021
While playing poker at the South Point, A.C. Florez of Las Vegas decided to take a quick lunch break. Whenever he plays at the off-Strip casino — three or four times a week, usually — he’s sure to stop at South Point’s popular hot dog cart, a few steps from ...
Oldest Las Vegas casino, Golden Gate, celebrates 115 years on Fremont Street
Friday, Jan. 15, 2021
Casino owner Derek Stevens has talked a lot in recent months about downtown’s newest resort, Circa Las Vegas. Today, he reflected on its oldest, the Golden Gate ...
Getting Las Vegas casino workers vaccinated key to economic recovery, industry officials say
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021
Moving resort workers to the fast lane for coronavirus vaccines could be the literal shot in the arm needed to get tourists back to ...
In Las Vegas, plastic surgery gets a lift during COVID-19 crisis
Monday, Jan. 11, 2021
Video conferencing meetings have skyrocketed and "people are looking at themselves from a camera positioned below them, often with poor lighting. You can see a lot of things you don’t like.”
Developer: Majestic Las Vegas to have unique corporate appeal
Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021
Las Vegas developer Lorenzo Doumani hopes a planned off-Strip resort will attract a wide range of customers, especially tech companies in town for conventions.
Las Vegas-area home supply dwindles while prices stand pat
Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021
An already tight Las Vegas-area housing market became even more condensed last month, according to a report released today. Continuing a trend seen during the pandemic, the number of ...
Las Vegas company offers casino credit at the slot machine
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020
The owner of a small Las Vegas casino has created a system for players to quickly establish a line of credit and access it directly at a slot machine with their rewards card. Gary Ellis, the namesake of Ellis Island, created ...
Bottom line on diversity, equity and inclusion, per consultant: It’s good for business
Monday, Dec. 28, 2020
The creation and sustainment of a diverse workplace culture isn’t just an altruistic trend these days, it’s also a pathway to business success.
Some Las Vegas casino workers seeking new careers in the trades
Monday, Dec. 28, 2020
Strip craps dealer Chris Cole completed a three-month program at the National Technical Institute in Henderson to become a heating and air conditioning technician.