Navegante Group
Navegante Group is a Nevada-based gaming-services company specializing in casino management, development, consulting, and executive recruitment.
Last updated August 31, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Navegante Group is a gaming-services company based in Paradise, Nevada. Its activities have included casino management, gaming-property development, consulting, and executive recruitment. Rather than operating solely as the owner of a standardized casino chain, the company has often worked as an operating partner or interim manager for properties whose ownership, licensing, or financial condition was in transition. This role has been particularly relevant for distressed casinos and hotel-casino properties, where an experienced operator can maintain day-to-day operations while a new owner pursues regulatory approval or restructures the asset. The company was formed by Larry J. Woolf after he had spent six years as chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas. Navegante's first major development and management assignment was Casino Niagara in Ontario, Canada, in 1996. The project was created as part of Ontario's effort to introduce casino gaming in Niagara Falls. Navegante was selected from a field of potential development groups to lead construction and development of a temporary gaming facility under an unusually compressed schedule. Construction proceeded continuously, with the casino opening in December 1996. The property quickly became known for exceptionally strong operating performance, and the project established Navegante's reputation for delivering gaming facilities under difficult time and operating constraints. Navegante later expanded its management portfolio in Las Vegas and elsewhere. In 2005, Tamaras Group engaged the company as lessee and manager of four downtown Las Vegas hotel-casino properties: the Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Western, and Gold Spike. Navegante and Tamaras pursued a rapid turnaround that moved the properties from substantial losses to positive cash flow. Navegante gave notice of termination of the lease arrangements in May 2007, and the properties were transitioned to another operator in 2008. The company also served as an interim or licensed operating partner during ownership changes. In August 2007, it was approved to operate the Sahara Casino while SBE Entertainment worked toward securing its own gaming license. In March 2012, Navegante was approved to operate the Hooters Casino Hotel while Canyon Capital Advisors acquired the property from bankruptcy. In November 2012, it assumed management of the LVH–Las Vegas Hotel and Casino after Goldman Sachs and Gramercy Capital acquired the property through a foreclosure auction. Beyond direct property management, Navegante has participated in casino-development bids and partnerships. In 2009 it joined the Aqueduct Entertainment Group, a consortium assembled to bid on a proposed casino at Aqueduct Race Track in New York. The consortium was selected in January 2010. Its listed partners included GreenStar Services Corporation, Turner Construction Company, Levine Builders, The Darman Group, Empowerment Development Corporation, PS&S Design, Siemens AG, and Clairvest Group. The company's documented portfolio has included projects and operating assignments in both the United States and Canada. Development-related projects have included Casino New Brunswick, Grey Eagle Casino in Alberta, Casino Fandango, and Casino Niagara. Former operating assignments have included Casino Niagara, Grand Sierra Resort, Gold Spike, Hooters Casino Hotel, Las Vegas Club, the Plaza Hotel & Casino, Sahara Hotel and Casino, and Western Hotel & Casino. The available reference material does not establish Navegante Group's current ownership, public-listing status, leadership roster, website, or present operating portfolio.
History
Navegante Group emerged from the Las Vegas gaming industry under the leadership of Larry J. Woolf, who established the company after serving for six years as chairman, president, and chief executive officer of MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas. The business was structured around specialized gaming expertise: developing properties, managing casinos, advising owners, and supplying executive talent. This model allowed Navegante to work with properties at different stages of development and ownership, including new projects, distressed assets, and casinos awaiting regulatory approval by their incoming owners. The company's first major development and management contract was Casino Niagara in Ontario, Canada, in 1996. Ontario officials were seeking to establish casino gaming in Niagara Falls and evaluated numerous potential development groups. Navegante was selected in June 1996 to lead the development of a temporary facility with a planned December opening. The project required construction around the clock, seven days a week, to meet the schedule. Casino Niagara opened that year and was widely described as an unusually productive gaming operation on a square-foot basis. Its rapid construction and early financial performance became a defining reference point for Navegante's development capabilities. Navegante subsequently built a portfolio of management and development work in North America. Its identified development projects included Casino New Brunswick, Grey Eagle Casino in Alberta, Casino Fandango, and Casino Niagara. The company also became involved in the management of established hotel-casino properties, especially assets undergoing financial or ownership changes. In 2005, Tamaras Group contracted Navegante to become the lessee and manager of four downtown Las Vegas properties: the Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Western, and Gold Spike. The engagement was intended to improve the operating performance of a group of properties that had been experiencing significant losses. Navegante and Tamaras were credited in the reference material with moving the properties to positive cash flow. Navegante issued notice terminating the lease agreements in May 2007, and management of the casinos was transferred to another company in 2008. The company's interim-management role became especially visible during subsequent ownership and licensing transitions. On August 1, 2007, Navegante was approved to operate the Sahara Casino while SBE Entertainment sought its own gaming license. In March 2012, it was approved to operate the Hooters Casino Hotel while Canyon Capital Advisors acquired the bankrupt property. In November of the same year, Navegante took over management of the LVH–Las Vegas Hotel and Casino after Goldman Sachs and Gramercy Capital purchased the property at a foreclosure auction. Navegante also pursued casino development through consortium partnerships. In May 2009, it joined the Aqueduct Entertainment Group to bid for a casino project at Aqueduct Race Track in New York. The consortium was selected on January 29, 2010. The named partners were GreenStar Services Corporation, Turner Construction Company, Levine Builders, The Darman Group, Empowerment Development Corporation, PS&S Design, Siemens AG, and Clairvest Group. The documented operating history includes assignments involving Casino Niagara, Casino Fandango, Gold Country Inn & Casino, High Desert Inn, Red Lion, Westgate Las Vegas, Gold Spike, Grand Sierra Resort, Hooters Casino Hotel, Las Vegas Club, Plaza Hotel & Casino, Sahara Hotel and Casino, and Western Hotel & Casino. The available source does not provide enough information to determine the company's current executives, ownership, financial condition, website, or active property portfolio. Its present status is therefore recorded as unknown rather than assumed to be active or defunct.
- 2012
Hooters Casino Hotel operating approval
[1]Navegante was approved to operate Hooters Casino Hotel while Canyon Capital Advisors acquired the property through bankruptcy proceedings.
- 2012
LVH management takeover
[1]Navegante assumed management of LVH–Las Vegas Hotel and Casino after the property was acquired at a foreclosure auction by Goldman Sachs and Gramercy Capital.
- 2010
Aqueduct bid selected
[1]Aqueduct Entertainment Group was selected on January 29 to pursue the proposed Aqueduct Race Track casino project.
- 2009
Aqueduct Entertainment Group consortium
[1]Navegante joined partners in forming Aqueduct Entertainment Group to bid for a casino planned at Aqueduct Race Track.
- 2007
Sahara operating approval
[1]Navegante was approved to operate the Sahara Casino while SBE Entertainment pursued its own gaming license.
- 2005
Downtown Las Vegas management assignment
[1]Navegante became lessee and manager of the Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Western, and Gold Spike for Tamaras Group.
- 1996
Casino Niagara development contract
[1]Navegante was selected to lead the development and construction of Casino Niagara in Ontario after the provincial government solicited proposals for casino gaming in Niagara Falls.
- 1996
Casino Niagara opens
[1]The temporary Casino Niagara facility opened in December after an accelerated, around-the-clock construction program. The property quickly gained a reputation for high operating productivity.
Products and positioning
A specialized gaming-services and casino-operations partner focused on development, turnaround management, interim operation, consulting, and executive recruitment rather than a consumer-facing casino chain.
Gaming services
Casino management
Navegante's principal offering has been operating and managing casinos and hotel-casino properties on behalf of owners. The work has included day-to-day operations and assignments involving properties in financial distress, ownership transition, or pending licensing by a new owner.
Gaming development · 1996
Casino development
The company has provided development and project-delivery capabilities for new gaming facilities. Casino Niagara was its first major documented development and management contract, while other identified development projects include Casino New Brunswick, Grey Eagle Casino, and Casino Fandango.
Professional services
Gaming consulting
Navegante has operated as a consulting partner for casino owners and development groups, supporting property strategy, operations, and the transition of gaming assets through regulatory and financial changes.
Professional services
Executive recruitment
Executive recruitment is identified as one of Navegante's business areas, complementing its operational and consulting work for gaming companies and casino properties.
Brand decisions
2012
Interim operation of Hooters Casino HotelStrategyBackground
Hooters Casino Hotel was being acquired out of bankruptcy by Canyon Capital Advisors.
Action taken
Navegante received approval to operate the property during the ownership transition.
Aftermath
The assignment illustrated Navegante's role as an interim operator for casinos undergoing financial restructuring.
2012
Management of LVH–Las Vegas Hotel and CasinoStrategyBackground
The property had been acquired at a foreclosure auction by Goldman Sachs and Gramercy Capital.
Action taken
Navegante took over management of the hotel and casino in November.
Aftermath
The company added another ownership-transition assignment to its Las Vegas operating portfolio.
2009
Formation of Aqueduct Entertainment GroupStrategyBackground
New York sought a development group for a casino project at Aqueduct Race Track.
Action taken
Navegante joined a consortium with construction, design, investment, and development partners to submit a bid.
Aftermath
The consortium's bid was selected in January 2010.
2007
Termination of downtown Las Vegas lease agreementsStrategyBackground
Navegante had managed four Tamaras Group properties since 2005: the Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Western, and Gold Spike.
Action taken
In May 2007, Navegante gave Tamaras notice that it would terminate the lease agreements.
Aftermath
Operations of the properties were transitioned to another company in 2008.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/navegante-group · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled