Henderson casino asks for license status change to nonoperational
The Henderson City Council on Tuesday approved a request from Boyd Gaming Corp. to make the gaming and liquor licenses for the Eldorado Casino nonoperational.
That means the Water Street property, first opened in 1961, will remain closed, one of three Boyd properties in Southern Nevada shuttered as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The council voted unanimously for the request as part of its consent agenda.
Michelle Rasmusson, vice president of regulatory compliance with Boyd, wrote a letter requesting nonoperational status to Henderson City Manager Richard Derrick on July 15.
A spokesman for Boyd referenced the company’s July 28 earnings call when asked for comment.
Could stay closed to June 4
While the request allows the casino to have nonoperational status and remain closed through June 4, company officials indicated in the earnings call that it is uncertain when the three Boyd properties — Main Street Station, Eastside Cannery and Eldorado — would reopen.
Referencing Main Street Station in downtown Las Vegas, Boyd CEO Keith Smith said in the conference call with investors that customer demand would dictate when the casinos reopen.
“The other two are smaller properties, and it’s a demand-based calculation on our part,” Smith said in the call. “So once the demand starts to pick up, both downtown as well as around the two smaller properties, that’s when you’d see us reopen those. We don’t have any dates right now.”
The casino, renovated in 1997 and 2007, has 30,000 square feet with more than 400 slot machines, keno and bingo parlors and a sportsbook. It closed March 17, when Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered all of the state’s casinos to shut down as a means of reducing the spread of the novel coronavirus. Several casinos reopened June 4, and many others have gradually reopened since then.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.