The Nevada Gaming Commission recently gave the green light to the proposed Nugget Casino and Resort sale to Century Casinos. The $195-million deal that was agreed upon in February last year would now mark the company’s entry into the state.
As Century Casinos revealed at the time it announced the price of the deal, about $100 million will go to casino operations, while the other $95 million are set to go for 50% of the ownership of the land situated off Interstate 80 and only three miles away from Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
During a 90-minute hearing that took place in Las Vegas on March 22nd, Century executives informed the state’s gambling regulatory body that the Nugget would be the largest resort of the company after the sale, which is why it would be considered its flagship property. Andreas Terler, the Executive Vice President of Century Casinos, also shared that the company would roll out a referral program for its US properties’ customers to encourage them to visit the Nugget Casino and Resort.
Only a day later, the Nevada Gaming Commission took into consideration the unanimous recommendation of the control board. The co-CEOs of Century Casinos – Peter Hoetzinger and Erwin Haitzmann – gave a detailed presentation regarding the history of their company, which already operates one casino in West Virginia, two casinos in Missouri, and two casinos in Colorado. The company also has a pending agreement to take over the operations of a casino resort situated in the western part of Maryland.
Apart from its holdings in the US, Century Casinos operates four gaming properties in Alberta, Canada. For some time, it has been trying to dispose of its state in four casino venues situated in Poland. Previously, company officials have revealed that they are considering the future expansion of Century Casinos’ presence in the state of Nevada, as well as growing its foothold in other markets across the US.
Gaming Commission’s Approval Raises the Number of Century Casinos’ Properties in North America to 10
As mentioned above, Century Casino revealed that it entered into a definitive agreement to take over Sparks-based Nugget Casino Resort from its owner Marnell Gaming LLC at the price of $195 million. Apart from that, the deal provides Century Casinos with a five-year option to acquire the remaining 50% of the casino site after finalizing the initial 50% land purchase in 2022.
Marnell Gaming, a Las Vegas-based company, is the company that currently owns the Nugget Casino Resort after acquiring the property in 2016. The company had not disclosed the price at the time when it took over the casino that was once developed by John Ascuaga, a gaming pioneer from Northern Nevada.
Currently, the Nugget Casino Resort is one of the largest resorts in the northern part of the state, featuring a 75,000-square-foot gaming floor that includes 50,200 square feet of casino space that has 29 table games and 859 slot machines, a total of 1,382 hotel rooms, nine restaurants, a 700-seat showroom, a 110,000-square-foot meeting space, and other amenities. Reportedly, the net operating revenue of the Nugget Casino Resort is estimated at $100.4 million.
At the time they announced the deal to acquire the property, the co-CEOs of Century Casinos shared they had been looking at entering the Reno market for quite some time, so the addition of the Nugget Casino Resort to their company’s portfolio was a perfect fit. The Nevada Gaming Commission’s approval of the takeover deal makes the total number of properties owned by Century Casinos in North America equal to 10.
