What’s happening with shuttered Eastside Cannery hotel-casino?

Eastside Cannery remains closed, almost four years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced its doors shut, and operator Boyd Gaming has shared few public plans for the Boulder Highway site.

Security stationed at the property’s driveway and the property’s marquee directs customers to Sam’s Town about a half-mile north.

Boyd representatives did not respond to requests for comment. The last public discussion of the property was in July 2022 during an earnings call with Wall Street.

“We’ve consistently thought about it in the context of demand,” CEO Keith Smith said in response to an analyst’s question. “At this point our view is that, we’ve been able to kind of leverage the benefit of Sam’s Town Las Vegas which is near Eastside Cannery and until we see perhaps more demand or something else to suggest we should consider reopening in Eastside Cannery, for now it will remain closed.”

It appears that stance continues into early 2024. Eastside Cannery’s gaming license is still active and state records show it has a temporary closure through March 30.

Boyd’s Las Vegas locals segment, of which Eastside is a part, was performing nearly flat in the first nine months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, according to the company’s financial results. The segment’s working cash flow was a 1.5 percent decrease year over year for the three quarters, unaudited operating results show.

The company’s full year earnings report will be discussed during a call with investors on Feb. 8.

Boyd, the locals and regional hotel-casino operator with 11 properties in the downtown and locals segments, acquired Eastside Cannery in December 2016. Some amenities were closed several years later, and then the COVID-19 pandemic shut its doors in March 2020.

Around that same time, competitor Station Casinos permanently closed three of its casinos during the pandemic: Texas Station, Fiesta Rancho and Fiesta Henderson.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.