Jokers Wild could grow into Cadence’s neighborhood casino

As one Henderson subdivision grows, plans for a neighborhood casino and its surrounding community continue to take shape.

The LandWell Company, owners of the Cadence master-planned community, told the Henderson City Council that the land previously expected to be the site of a new Boyd Gaming facility was instead reclassified for housing, according to a summary update presented to the council last week.

Boyd actually scrapped plans for a resort-casino in Cadence roughly two years ago following public consideration as far back as 2008. It instead appears to be focused on revamping the 34-year-old Jokers Wild site, its only operation in Henderson.

The Las Vegas-based locals and regional casino operator has been tight-lipped about planned improvements to Jokers Wild— a stand-alone, 27,000-square-foot casino with about 600 slot machines — for several years. Henderson officials issued conditional use permits for the first of a potential two-phased renovation and expansion of the property located on Boulder Highway and Warm Springs Road.

Phase one of the project calls for crews to construct a new casino north of the existing building, according to City Council approvals in October 2022. The original building would stay open during new building construction, then demolished.

Phase two would expand the new casino building and add a minimum 114-room hotel, according to the submitted plans.

No construction timeline was offered for the additional phase and Boyd Gaming didn’t respond to requests for comment on the expansion and move away from building within Cadence.

A Henderson spokesperson said building permits for the project’s first phase have been submitted for review.

What’s going in Cadence instead?

LandWell spokesperson Cheryl Gowan said the gaming facility was rolled back from the community plans in 2022. They instead have several homebuilders buying up the land, located south of Warm Springs Road and across the street from Jokers Wild.

Beazer Homes, builders headquarted in Atlanta, purchased roughly 22 acres for nearly $16 million in September 2023, according to Clark County property records. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Taylor Morrison purchased the neighboring 24 acres for $19.9 million in April of that year. The community, Opus at Cadence, is expected to start selling in July, according to its website.

Land adjacent to the existing Jokers Wild will instead have some retail and other elements of “village center” zoning to create a buffer between the existing casino and the neighborhoods, according to LandWell’s update to councilmembers.

Boyd’s development team is also focused on Summerlin-area project: transforming Suncoast’s sportsbook, bingo room and more in a multi-year redesign project.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.