Boyd Gaming Wins Approval for New Henderson Casino

Posted on: October 19, 2022, 04:10h. 

Last updated on: October 19, 2022, 04:17h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Boyd Gaming has the green light to move forward with building a new Jokers Wild Casino on Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada.

Henderson Casino
Jokers Wild Casino in Henderson, Nevada. Boyd Gaming won approval to improve the venue. (Image: FOX5 Vegas)

On Tuesday, the city council there voted 4-1 in favor of allowing Boyd to proceed with a new iteration of the casino as part of the Reimagine Boulder Highway project. The Las Vegas-based gaming company told Henderson politicians it’s possible that the project moves forward in phases. The first would potentially be building the new Jokers Wild on a site north of the current location at 920 N Boulder Hwy and demolishing the existing venue in two years.

Phase two could possibly include the construction of a new hotel on the old site property, a conference center, a swimming pool, and a new casino expansion,” reports 8 News Now.

Jokers Wild opened in 1990 as the Cattle Baron Casino. It closed after three years and was reopened in 1993 under its current name. Boyd runs 28 gaming venues across 10 states, including 11 in its home city, and it’s the dominant operator in downtown Las Vegas.

Henderson Casino Scene Evolving

Henderson is one of the largest incorporated suburbs of Las Vegas and home to a slew of casinos – the bulk of which target Las Vegas locals.

The casino landscape there is also rapidly changing. In addition to the proposed overhaul of Jokers Wild, Red Rock Resorts recently announced plans to demolish three casinos that were shuttered during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and never reopened. One of that trio is Fiesta Henderson. Red Rock signaled an ongoing commitment to Henderson and remains the dominant local casino operator there.

Additionally, Penn Entertainment said earlier this month it will allocate $206 million to doubling the size of the M Resort, which is another Henderson casino-hotel. Those are signs of operators’ commitments to the Las Vegas locals demographic.

The Las Vegas locals thesis now receives significant ballast from the region’s influx of new residents from high-tax states, including California. Many of those new Sin City residents pay cash for real estate. Combine that with their savings on income tax — Nevada doesn’t have one — and they have the resources to indulge in casino visits.

Jokers Wild Outlook

It appears likely that the second phase of the Jokers Wild endeavor will be tied to the Reimagine Boulder Highway project.

Boyd plans indicate the new venue will have 50,000 square feet of gaming space, or nearly double the casino’s current size. The second phase would add another 20,000 square feet of gaming space, bringing the total to 70,000 square feet, featuring 1,200 gaming machines and a dozen table games.

Phase II is also slated to feature a four-story hotel with 114 rooms.