KTNV (LAS VEGAS) — Expansion plans for the Durango Casino & Resort are moving forward.
After opening in December, the resort, on the southwest side of Las Vegas, has been successful, which led to Station Casinos deciding to add to the property.
The expansion plan actually isn't new. The company always planned to add infrastructure to Durango's footprint, but UNLV history professor Michael Green points out that the casino's busy first seven months in existence hasn't been lost on anyone.
"They were planning for a second phase when they opened," Green says. "They wanted to, of course, see how it would do and it's clearly done well."
For the first three months of 2024, Red Rock Resorts, the publicly-traded parent company of Station Casinos, reported just under $486 million in net revenues for its Las Vegas casino operations, an increase of 13% from the first quarter of 2023.
Station Casinos, a success story when it comes to locals casinos, has only leaned into its reputation as it nears its 50th year in business. In fact, Monday marked 48 years since the first Station Casinos property opened its doors.
That property was known as "The Casino," though its name later was changed to "Bingo Palace Casino" and eventually to "Palace Casino," which is what it's known as today.
The locals casino model in Las Vegas has also been followed by other companies — Boyd Gaming for one — and the market segment shows few signs of slowing.
"The locals casinos offer a lot of things that are very appealing," Green says. "Years ago, a lot of the movie theaters went to the locals casinos and that's another attraction. In Las Vegas, the locals casinos are a lot like other places where someone might say 'That's my drug store' or 'That's my supermarket.' In Las Vegas, it's 'That's my casino.'"
On Wednesday, Clark County zoning officials will hear about, and possibly approve, plans for a new seven-story parking structure at the resort.
Plans also call for an expansion to the resort's casino floor and an additional hotel tower. A Station Casinos official said the company isn't talking right now about it's Durango expansion plans, but it's likely that Red Rock Resorts executives will discuss those plans — or at least mention them — when the company announces its second quarter earnings on July 30.
