A Henderson casino owner told Nevada regulators that he plans to take over the operations of the Bighorn and Longhorn casinos by July 1.
Joe DeSimone, owner of DeSimone Gaming, appeared before the Nevada Gaming Control Board Wednesday to seek licensing for both properties and was recommended for approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission in two weeks. The Bighorn is located in North Las Vegas, Longhorn on Boulder Highway in unincorporated Clark County about a half-mile from Sam’s Town.
DeSimone is the owner of the historic Railroad Pass Casino in Henderson and earlier this week announced the sale of The Pass Casino in downtown Henderson.
In July 2025, DeSimone Gaming entered into a purchase agreement with the ownership of the Bighorn and Longhorn. The agreement affords DeSimone Gaming the right to assign the right to acquire the real estate assets to another entity, an affiliate company managed by DeSimone with equity investors who will be getting monthly distributions. The deal amount wasn’t disclosed.
DeSimone detailed his plans for both properties to the Board, calling the Bighorn a fee-simple ownership, while the Longhorn is a four-year lease.
At the Longhorn, DeSimone talked about its 150-room hotel that he called “a little tired” and in need of improvements to allow it to be profitable and contribute to the casino business. “We’re currently negotiating with two hotel groups I have relationships with – Wyndham and IHG – and we’re ready to make a decision with respect to the approval.”
DeSimone said the Longhorn casino is well run with good activity and he doesn’t see a lot of changes for the gaming operations. “It’s the hotel that’s going to see significant improvements outside and inside.”
He said the Bighorn is also well run and he’d like to improve the property and add more slot machines. That would involve increasing the existing size of the building, which they haven’t studied yet.
“Through our equity agreements, we can raise the capital to do so, but we haven’t made that decision yet,” DeSimone said. “The improvements to the Bighorn would be adding more machines, which is not possible if you look in there now. But we have an interest in doing that.”
Neither property has table games. The sportsbooks are run by William Hill.
The two casinos along with the Railroad Pass will share a rewards card within six to nine months.
No changes are planned for personnel at this time.
DeSimone was asked about the sale of The Pass Casino, which was previously called the Eldorado Casino and owned by Boyd Gaming, which closed it during the pandemic. He highlighted the sale to ECL Water Street, which owns two casinos across the street. “I believe they’re poised to bring more profitability and that’s better for the team members and customers. They have a critical mass of customers in that submarket.”
DeSimone said he will hold onto the Atwell Suites adjacent to The Pass and will joint market with ECL. “We’re going to be good neighbors. That was the reason for my decision. It was independent of this purchase.”
The Bighorn has about 68 employees with six part-time employees. The Longhorn has about 92 employees with 56 part-time.
Board Chair Mike Dreitzer said the transaction to acquire the Bighorn and Longhorn casinos is “complex, but makes sense. I appreciate your continued investment in our community and industry.”
DeSimone told Board member George Assad that Gary Miller, the general manager at the Longhorn and Bighorn, will remain.
DeSimone talked about his tourney into gaming, purchasing Railroad Pass in 2014 from MGM Resorts International. He’s been in Nevada since 1991.
“That was a quick and unexpected decision,” DeSimone said. “I drove by one day, stopped in, and saw it was a bit rundown. Being a real estate developer, I found out who owned it. Within a few weeks, we had an agreement to purchase the casino.”
