As Culinary Union workers continue their walkout for the third week at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, the Nevada Gaming Control Board Wednesday recommended the hotel’s president Cliff Atkinson and a partner manage the property’s casino. They would take over from Connecticut-based, tribal-owned Mohegan, which has operated the casino since the property reopened in the spring of 2021.
Atkinson as CEO has partnered with long-term JC Hospitality executive Chad Konrad, who will serve as chief financial officer of the new entity known as C&C 4455 LLC, after the property’s address on Paradise Road. The pair, along with Virgin ownership, were greeted by some striking employees, who spoke during the public comment section of the Board meeting.
If the Board’s unanimous recommendation is approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission on Dec. 19, the change in casino management is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
“Our whole goal here is to save the property and jobs associated with it,” Atkinson said in discussing the hotel-casino’s financial woes.
The former Hard Rock Las Vegas has faced financial issues over 3-1/2 years since it reopened under the ownership of an investment management firm, Virgin Group, owned by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson and a Canadian pension fund. JC Hospitality is the operating company for the landlord. JC is among those who purchased the former Hard Rock assets in March 2018.
Culinary Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 have been on strike since mid-November, seeking better compensation that other resorts have agreed to over the past year. Virgin Hotels said the off-Strip property doesn’t have the revenue to match what was negotiated on the Strip, an issue disputed by striking workers.
Atkinson detailed how the 30-year-old property was acquired in 2018, went through a renovation, and reopened with the Mohegan as a tenant gaming operator.
“Since reopening, the property has struggled,” Atkinson said. “That has been well known. The reason we’re here today is to continue the turnaround we’re embarking on. The deal with Mohegan simply didn’t work, and Mohegan provided notice of termination to the property earlier this year.”
Board Chair Kirk Hendrick said he appreciated that Atkinson put it into the public record that the property has struggled. He didn’t want to get into the finances of the former casino operator that made the decision to step out.
“I grew up here and just want to see that property succeed and flourish,” Hendrick said
Hendrick questioned whether Atkinson’s dual position as hotel president and chief executive of the casino side was doable.
Dennis Gutwald, a gaming attorney with McDonald Carano, said other properties have operated with this split of responsibilities. “They will operate autonomously from the landlord,” Gutwald said. “The landlord knows they can’t be involved. It’s a pretty well-established path in Nevada. We did it at the Plaza and the Gold Spike. It’s easy to do. Both of the individuals here have been in the gaming industry for a very long time and they know their duties.”
Hendrick asked Atkinson how the non-interference will work. He said he will have a role with the hotel, but that the casino operations will be independent.
“The landlord doesn’t have or want any gaming experience and the casino operations will remain separate under this entity, similar to the way it operates today,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson said he can handle the separation and has familiarity as the former president of the Luxor Las Vegas.
“The oversight starts with Chad and myself and the buck stops there. We’re each other’s checks and balances.”
Atkinson described how he and Konrad started the entity to “successfully turn the gaming operation around.” Mohegan is helping them through the process and the lease structure will stay in place with the takeover of the new management.
Hendrick said job preservation is important to the Board and the state in general. He said the National Labor Relations Act prohibits the Board and other outside entities from getting involved in labor disputes.
“I don’t want to get into that at all,” Hendrick said. “I don’t have the right to get into that, but protecting jobs is important.”
“This is about saving 1,710 jobs,” added Board member George Assad, a former union casino worker in his youth before he went to law school and became a judge. “Despite what’s going on, that’s the bottom line. You are here putting yourselves out there risking your own career, capital, and reputation to save 1,710 jobs.”
Konrad said he and Atkinson formed this partnership because they both have a similar belief in the property and ability to drive the casino’s performance and keep the doors open. “I’ve been at the property 24 years in various finance roles and I consider myself boots on the ground and arms around the operation and will continue to do that,” Konrad said.Mohe
