Comments (75) | Add a comment
Casino MonteLago to close in March
-
jerry henkel/las vegas review-journal
Casino MonteLago, burdened by a lack of visitation and the impending shutdown of the Ritz-Carlton, will close March 14, eliminating 177 jobs. » Buy this photo
Tools
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Feb. 18, 2010 | 9:29 a.m.
Casino MonteLago, the only gaming location inside the upscale but bankrupt Lake Las Vegas, will close next month, burdened by a lack of visitation and the impending shutdown of the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas in May.
The closure, which will take place March 14, will eliminate 177 jobs.
Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said the agency was officially notified Tuesday of the impending shutdown.
John Tipton, an attorney for the owners of Casino MonteLago, CIRI Lakeside Gaming, said the closure of the Ritz-Carlton "was the final straw" for the property.
The owners were seeking additional investors, but discussions with potential financial backers ended when the ownership of the Ritz-Carlton announced its planned shutdown on Feb. 8.
Tipton said the potential lenders saw little chance for Casino MonteLago's survival without the Ritz-Carlton.
"We had to immediately start exploring other alternatives, and this was the only alternative left to us," he said.
Employees were notified of the closure Tuesday morning and, under federal law, will be paid for 60 days even though the casino will close in a little more than four weeks.
Neilander said state gaming agents will work with Casino MonteLago on closure procedures.
Casino MonteLago, which opened in 2003, was small by Las Vegas standards, with just 40,000 square feet of gaming space. The casino had 635 slot machines, a dozen table games, and a race and sports book. It also had two restaurants.
Casino MonteLago, originally owned by an Alaskan Indian tribe, faced closure in 2007. An emergency meeting by Nevada gaming regulators saved the casino as management was allowed to keep the casino alive on a temporary basis until the ownership was officially licensed three months later.
"The ownership actually turned the corner, but then there were problems with the economy," Tipton said.
Casino MonteLago booked guests into the Ritz-Carlton, but with the luxury hotel closing, the casino lost a viable marketing tool.
The Ritz-Carlton closure will cause the job loss of 350 employees. The hotel chain is an independently operated division of Marriott International.
A second hotel, the 493-room nongaming Loews Lake Las Vegas, has no plans to close, a property spokeswoman said Tuesday. Jennifer Duffy said the booking pace for the hotel is ahead of last year's numbers.
"We're still promoting the destination as a place for outdoor adventure and corporate meetings," Duffy said.
Loews is on the opposite side of the 340-acre man-made lake that is the centerpiece of the 3,600-acre Lake Las Vegas resort community, located in Henderson about 20 miles from the Strip.
The MonteLago Village also continues to operate, according to a spokeswoman. Mandy McCary said the retail center, which does not have an ownership connection to the casino, is more than 90 percent occupied with tenants.
Two of the three golf courses have been shut down during the community's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Lake Las Vegas has more than $700 million in liabilities.
The community has 1,700 residences, but Lake Las Vegas does not have a grocery store, and the nearest schools are in a working-class neighborhood of Henderson.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
this is a beautiful property --the best in vegas--yes i want to go to a place where the more educated people go to and the wealthy are--I like a place where i can wear my 2 thousand dollar sports jackets and my grandkids can be associating with educated upperclass kids---a place where my wife can fell she is with our own--yes we are rich educated not like the poor--we are different we work hard and try to make life better for our for good honest people who work in our companies---I do not want to see the garbage who hang out on the strip and prefer to be with our own--rich educated and winners--frank
Drain that lake, and turn it into a Drought Tolerant Soccer Field. Wealthy snobs that live on that Lake are cheapskates that drive to the Station Casino's where the slots are looser, and the meal-deals are more generous.
The lake certainly does NOT smell like a toilet, that is a total lie.
Other than the casino and the Ritz, everything else at Lake Las Vegas is still in place. Great restaurants, fun activities, the weekend concerts will start up soon.
The Loews is a fantastic resort with a great family pool and activities.
The hotel guests have access to the South Shore Golf Course. (which is amazing)
So, keep on coming out to Lake Las Vegas!!!
I had never even heard of this place until recently.
Guess no reason to check it out now.
But if the water really does smell like a toilet its no wonder it is going down the tubes.