South Point owner Michael Gaughan is expanding into Colorado with two casinos
South Point owner Michael Gaughan in Las Vegas is expanding his casino empire into Colorado with the acquisition of two Cripple Creek gaming properties.
Gaughan founded Rocky Mountain Gaming along with gaming industry veterans David Ross and Joseph Canfora to explore opportunities across the United States. The trio found what they thought was their ideal spot at Johnny Nolen Casino and the Colorado Grand Casino.
Rocky Mountain Gaming acquired the casino operating rights from G Investments, LLC (Johnny Nolon’s) and Minter Holdings, LLC (Colorado Grande). Both are located on Cripple Creek, a former gold mining camp near Colorado Springs in the center of the state.
David Minter of Minter Holdings remains the landlord of Johnny Nolon's and the majority owner of Colorado Grande's physical assets.
“The Cripple Creek market is growing rapidly with the launch of anchor restaurants like Salt Grass at Golden Nugget, opening this month in Chamonix,” Ross said. “Having these two operators at opposite ends of town will help attract new visitors to Cripple Creek, and we believe our hotel provides an opportunity to provide a true locals experience to individuals seeking a relaxing location and personalized service.”
Johnny Nolen Casino was one of Cripple Creek's original casinos. Johnny Nolon's and the Colorado Grande, both located in the heart of the city's gambling district, date back to the early 1990s. The casino has a total of 400 slot machines.
Cripple Creek Casino
Three Colorado mountain towns allow commercial casinos, including Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City. Cripple Creek is home to 10 casinos, two of which were recently remodeled and renamed.
The former Wildwood resort reopened as the Golden Nugget last summer after billionaire Tilman Fertitta bought the resort for $43 million.Full House Resorts is expanding Bronco Billy's with a stand-alone boutique resort called Chamonix Casino Hotel, scheduled to open on December 26.
Cripple Creek's gross gaming revenue from July 2022 to June 2023 totaled $166.2 million.
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Gaughan, 80, is the son of Las Vegas casino pioneer Jackie Gaughan. During his career, he held ownership positions at several casinos, but is best known for managing El Cortez Casino in downtown Las Vegas. The younger Gaughan built the Barbary Coast Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, now the Cromwell Hotel, and founded Coast Casino as the parent company in 1979.
Gaughan and Rose became friends while working together at Coast Casino. Ross serves as chief operating officer. Coast Casinos also owns the Gold Coast, Orleans, Sunshine Coast and South Coast casinos.
In 2004, Gaughan sold Coast Casinos to Boyd Gaming for $1.2 billion. Two years later, Gaughan bought back South Shore Resort (which Boyd said was underperforming) and renamed the resort South Point Resort. The casino is located about five miles south of the Las Vegas Strip. positioning and has been a success ever since.
Gaughan also had exclusive rights to operate more than 1,400 slot machines at Harry Reid International Airport for nearly four decades.
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Source: www.casino.org
