Billionaire Tilman Fertitta filled in Nevada regulators Wednesday concerning his intention to totally revamp the Hard Rock Lake Tahoe and turn it more into a gaming-centric property with better amenities.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board Wednesday signed off on Fertitta’s Golden Nugget purchase of the Hard Rock Lake Tahoe from Las Vegas-based Paragon Gaming. The Nevada Gaming Commission will provide the final approval in two weeks before the acquisition is completed on Aug. 25.
The 539-room property will be rebranded as a Golden Nugget within 30 days of the deal closing: full name Golden Nugget Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino. The terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed, but it’s expected to close with cash.
Fertitta owns Golden Nuggets in downtown Las Vegas and Laughlin in Nevada, plus Louisiana, Atlantic City, Mississippi, and Danville, Illinois. Fertitta Entertainment is also converting the Wildwood Casino in Cripple Creek, Colorado, into a Golden Nugget.
The Golden Nugget falls under Fertitta Entertainment, whose subsidiaries also own the Landry’s restaurant chain and the Houston Rockets.
“Planwise, we always liked the Tahoe market,” Fertitta said. “We saw this as a great opportunity. As we did in Las Vegas, Laughlin, Atlantic City, Biloxi, Lake Charles,. and Cripple Creek Colorado, we will take this property and totally transform it as we always do with the Golden Nugget name on it. We always expect it to be one of the top properties in the market.”
Fertitta said he sees the property’s employee base going up by 30% to 40%.
“They’re not really in the gaming business,” Fertitta said of the property. “They don’t take credit customers. It’s more of a cash customer. We will turn it into a true operating casino. We will add our own restaurants that are staples at all of our casinos. We will revamp every single room. When we go in, we basically touch every square foot of the casino and all of that will happen over the next 24 months. We look forward to having another casino in Nevada. It’s definitely the place to do business if you’re in the gaming business.”
Board Chairman Kirk Hendrick said the Golden Nugget brand will be a welcome addition to the Lake Tahoe business community. He said Fertitta’s application went through quickly.
“We got it done in a couple of months. That’s very fast,” Hendrick said.
