Golden Nugget Hotel & Casinos

Golden Nugget Hotels & Casinos is an American chain of luxury hotels and casinos. It currently operates eight casino resorts in Colorado, Nevada, Louisiana, New Jersey, Illinois, and Mississippi.

The original location was the Golden Nugget Las Vegas which opened in 1946.[1] The company runs as a division of Landry's Hospitality within the Fertitta Entertainment portfolio.

History

Original Golden Nugget

The Golden Nugget Las Vegas opened in 1946 in Downtown Las Vegas.[1] Over time, notable members of the ownership group featured Jackie Gaughan and

Poster Financial Group

Timothy Poster and Thomas Breitling, two young (mid-30s) entrepreneurs, formed Poster Financial Group as a private investment firm. When the company was founded, its initial investors included travelscape.com, an internet travel site. Tennis star Andre Agassi, a Las Vegas native, was also an investor.

Poster and Breitling had no casino ownership experience before acquiring the Golden Nugget. They faced some difficulty in obtaining the necessary casino licenses because of their friendship with Rick Rizzolo, a strip club owner being investigated by the FBI and because of Poster's uncle who was denied a gaming license because of his alleged association with known illegal bookmakers. The Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended that they be licensed for only one year. The board however, issued them four-year licenses, with an option to apply for permanent licenses in January 2005.

Acquisition of the Golden Nugget casinos

In January 2004 the company acquired the Golden Nugget Las Vegas and the Golden Nugget Laughlin for approximately $215 million. When Poster and Breitling assumed control of the Golden Nugget, they began to upgrade the gambling operation, by installing new "cashless" slot machines and increasing the maximum bet at table games to $15,000. Their story became the basis for The Casino, a television series on Fox, which premiered on June 14, 2004.

The Poster Financial Group's ownership encountered some difficulties. The television series received ratings below expectations and was canceled after one season. In addition, the strategy of attracting higher level casino players created significant volatility in the first year of operations.

On November 10, 2004 Barrick Gaming Corporation, which owns casino/hotels in downtown Las Vegas including The Plaza, The Vegas Club, The Western, and The Gold Spike, announced that it would acquire the Golden Nugget Laughlin for $31 million plus working capital. As part of the purchase agreement, Poster Financial granted Barrick a two-year limited use of the Golden Nugget brand name, after which Barrick will be required to change the name of the property.

type	Subsidiary
founder	Steve Wynn
area served	United States
industry	Hospitality Gaming
parent	Landry's
location	The Post Oak, Houston, Texas, United States
homepage	https://www.goldennugget.com
locations	6 (+1 Under Construction)

Golden Nugget Hotel & Casinos

History

Original Golden Nugget

Mirage Resorts (1989-1999)

Acquisition by MGM Resorts

Poster Financial Group

Acquisition of the Golden Nugget casinos

Acquisition of the Golden Nugget casinos

Acquisition by Fertitta Entertainment

Properties

Other ventures

Golden Nugget Online

Golden Nugget Club

External links

References