Station Casinos Parting With 97 Reno Acres, Including Site of Unrealized Casino

Posted on: September 8, 2020, 06:37h. 

Last updated on: September 9, 2020, 11:07h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Station Casinos is reportedly selling 97 acres worth of land in Reno, Nev., including an eight-acre parcel that was an on-again, off-again proposed casino site.

Reno Station Casinos
Station Casinos is reportedly selling 97 acres of land in Reno. (Image: KTNV)

The gaming company, which is controlled by Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ:RRR), listed the pair of sites for sale last weekend. The Reno Gazette-Journal originally reported the news this afternoon.

In 2005, Station Casinos pitched an integrated resort project in Reno in an attempt to expand beyond its Southern Nevada base, where it operates nearly 20 gaming venues. Shortly after, the company made subsequent land purchases to show its commitment to the project. Those buys included the aforementioned eight-acre property near the Reno-Sparks Convention Center and Reno Town Mall, and 89 acres around Mount Rose Highway.

The casino project was victimized by bad timing, as the real estate bubble popped in 2008, punishing the broader Nevada economy in the process.

Volatile Reno History

Forced to sit on some of its real estate in and around the Biggest Little City, Red Rock waited out the global financial crisis. They started parting with some land in the area in 2014, while retaining ownership of the 89-acre lot, according to the Gazette-Journal.

Station attempted to sell the Mount Rose Highway property two years later, but that sale was scrapped.

Still holding onto that land, the gaming company pitched a new casino site, including 21,000 square feet of gaming space, a sportsbook, and multiple dining and entertainment options. But that effort hit a snag amid a spat with Monarch Casino & Resort, the owner of the nearby Atlantis.

Station’s plan was ultimately approved by the Reno City Council. But with the land for sale in the COVID-19 climate, the operator’s future in Northern Nevada appears murky, reports the Gazette-Journal.

News of the property sales in Reno caps a hectic period for Red Rock in its home state. The company’s Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho, Palms, and Texas Station, which are in or around Las Vegas, will be shuttered until at least June 30, 2021, stoking rumors about what the operator will ultimately do with those venues.

Price Speculation

This isn’t the time for gaming companies to sell established casinos or unused land. The small number of properties that changed hands in the industry so far this year did so at depressed valuations.

Casino.org reached out to Station Casinos to inquire about potential price tags for the Reno properties. But that request for comment wasn’t returned prior to publication of this article.

One Reno property changed hands this year. In January, prior to the pandemic, the old version of Caesars Entertainment and VICI Properties sold Harrah’s Reno to a commercial real estate firm for $50 million.

That venue is being shuttered permanently, and the property will be converted for use not including gaming.