Las Vegas Club Sold to Derek Stevens

Las Vegas Club downtown on Fremont Street has been sold to the owners of The D and Golden Gate - brothers Greg and Derek Stevens. The property will close in the next few days and will likely remain shuttered until plans are finalized for a renovation.

The purchase price was undisclosed, but property records show a $40 million transaction for the real estate. The gaming assets still belong to the old owners PlayLV a subsidiary of Tamares Group. PlayLV also owns The Plaza next door.

Greg and Derek Stevens through their company Desert Rock Enterprises owned 21% of Riviera. When that property was sold for $182.5 million the Stevens brothers theoretically cashed in for $38.325 million. It looks like they are taking that money and reinvesting in Las Vegas Club.

The Riviera slot machines were also sold to Derek Stevens shortly after the closing, so I'm guessing many of those slots will end up at Las Vegas Club eventually.

Las Vegas Club has been the worst downtown casino for a while now and had fallen into a state of disrepair. Having Derek Stevens take over is the best possible outcome for this property.

There are many different directions Stevens could go with the remodel. The first priority will likely be getting the hotel portion of the property - which has been closed since 2013 - remodeled and back in operation.

Las Vegas Club currently has a sports theme. If done right I think keeping this theme could be a good option. Converting the casino into a giant sports-bar / sports book area with traditional casino games mixed in could be an interesting idea.

It really is a blank slate though, and after the creativity he's shown with The D and Golden Gate I trust that Stevens will do something great with Las Vegas Club.

Derek Stevens tweeted about the acquisition:

Lots of Q's regarding LVC. We will evaluate the property thoroughly to determine Max Best Use, then do it.

Addressing concerns that he and Boyd Gaming will have a duopoly on downtown casinos Stevens tweeted:

don't worry. I'm committed to 3-2 Blackjack,10X odds on dice and a great value in our offerings....