Over the years, the quickly expanding region of Northern Nevada has attracted businesses operating in a variety of sectors, including retail, manufacturing, technology, etc., which have constructed new facilities there.
However, since 1995, not a single casino has been built in the region of Reno-Sparks that has originally been dependent on the gambling industry. This is now about to change, as Olympia Gaming is going to establish a new gambling venue, although the construction is about to happen over a decade later than initially intended.
At the end of March, Olympia Gaming, a development company based in Las Vegas, officially revealed it started the construction of the Legends Bay Casino. The venue is set to be established in close proximity to The Outlets at Sparks-based Legends shopping center. As announced by the developers, the casino will be situated on 80,000 square feet and will offer not only gambling amenities but also entertainment and dining services.
According to Olympia Gaming, the project is expected to become operational in the summer of 2022.
In a phone interview with the NNBW, the chief operating officer of the development company, DeCourcy Graham, explained that the rise of technology-related industries has been attractive to many people living in these areas. According to him, the addition of a new casino would offer a new entertainment option that could be found appealing to part of the region’s population.
Two Hotels Opened in 2018 Preceded the Legends Bay Casino Construction
As mentioned above, it took some time for the construction works associated with the casino addition to start. Since 2007, for more than 13 years, the company has been planning to establish a casino near the Sparks Marina, with the original hotel-casino blueprint being halted by the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.
In 2013, developers from Olympia Gaming unveiled a change in their original plans, saying that the construction of the casino and entertainment venue is set to be separated into phases. At the time, it was announced that the construction of two hotels is set to take part first, followed by the addition of a large-scale casino. That plan was officially given a start in 2017 when the construction of Marriott’s 104-room Residence Inn and Hilton’s 102-room Hampton Inn & Suites started. Both hotels opened in 2018.
Last year, Olympia Gaming planned to start the construction of the Legends Bay Casino but the works were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak and the uncertainty in the gambling sector. Mr. Graham explained that his company wanted to check on the performance of the gambling market after the end of the casino closures that took place from March through June 2020.
The new facility will feature a casino offering a variety of table games, slot machines, a sportsbook, as well as multiple dining options and several bars. Olympia Gaming further shared that the casino is set to be smoothly integrated into The Outlets and Legends. The project is expected to create approximately 300 part- and full-time jobs upon completion. The development company has still not released information about the total costs of the project.
