A North Las Vegas casino that closed in October under the name Poker Palace and has since undergone a remodel is scheduled to reopen by mid-April under new ownership as Club Fortune North.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board Wednesday recommended the Nevada Gaming Commission sign off on the reopening under Reno-based Truckee Gaming, which operates 10 casinos in Nevada, including Club Fortune in Henderson. On Oct. 1, it acquired Poker Palace.
“It had the look that if Circus Circus and the Excalibur had a baby, that was Poker Palace,” said Truckee Gaming CEO Ferenc Szony. “It really needed to a dramatic change. We gave it a far more contemporary look. It was a total gut job on the interior, where we had to rip out part of the floor. We’re in the process of rebuilding.”
The intent is to reopen as soon as possible to get people working. Former employees will receive preferred hiring and retain their seniority.
“If we can get it going with 80% of the things going, we would do that,” Szony said. “That’s on how the construction gets finished.”
The property was also recommended for approval to have Boomer’s Sportsbook upon its reopening.
Poker Palace offered pari-mutuel racing, unlike Truckee properties in northern Nevada, and Szony said they wanted to keep it by partnering with Boomer’s.
“It’s new for us to have horse betting operations,” Szony said. “Let’s see how it goes and hopefully it will work well.”
Because it’s Truckee’s 11th casino, Szony said they move slot machines from one property to another and sought a license to be able to do that.
Board Chair Mike Dreitzer asked Szony about the prospects of gaming in North Las Vegas, especially since Truckee is allocating so much money for the market.
“I grew up in Las Vegas and North Las Vegas was a different section of town,” Szony said. “In the last 10 to 15 years as Las Vegas has seen great growth and renovation, you didn’t hear so much about North Las Vegas. In the last couple of years, you hear a lot more about North Las Vegas. It’s coming on, and we wanted to be a part of it.”
Szony said their property in Henderson is in an aging part of the city that has had a turnaround and they see in North Las Vegas an opportunity for a good locals casino.
“We’ve been looking for another property in the greater Las Vegas area for quite some time,” Szony said. “This one hit because of where it’s at. We’re pretty optimistic, which is why when you see what it is to become, it will be a credit to the community and that area that’s renovating itself.”
Poker Palace previously operated table games, but Szony said that will impact staffing, since there are no plans to bring tables back at this time. It will operate with about 100 employees instead of the previous 125.
