The Pass Casino, formerly the Eldorado Casino, is a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...

, owned and operated by DeSimone Gaming. First opened in 1961, it was owned by

Boyd Gaming Boyd Gaming Corporation is an American gaming and hospitality company based in Paradise, Nevada. The company continues to be run by founder Sam Boyd's family under the management of Sam's son, Bill Boyd (born 1931), who currently serves as the co ...

from 1993 to 2020. The casino has over 350

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

s, 6

table game Table game may refer to: * Table game (casino), games of chance that are played against the casino and operated by one or more live dealers * Tables game, a class of board game that includes backgammon * Tabletop game, games that are normally play ...

s, and a

sportsbook In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book (sometimes abbreviated as book) is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racing, ...

History

The property opened as the Wheel Casino on February 15, 1961. By 1962, the Wheel was closed, and Paul Perry agreed to buy it. Attorney Bill Boyd represented him in the transaction, in exchange for a stake in the property. Boyd brought in other investors: a fellow lawyer, his aunt, and his father,

Sam Boyd Samuel A. Boyd (April 23, 1910 – January 15, 1993) was an American entrepreneur, casino manager and developer. He was noted for introducing successful marketing, gambling and entertainment innovations into the casino gambling industry, as ...

, general manager of the

Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

. They reopened it as the Eldorado Casino on July 1. Around 1965, they acquired the adjacent Royal Club, doubling the Eldorado's size. The Boyds took over ownership in 1966. Sam bought half of the property for $6,667 and Bill bought a quarter for $3,000, while another of the original investors, Joe Crowley kept the remaining quarter, until he was later bought out. The Boyds tried to emphasize Henderson's small-town feel in operating the casino. A $1.5-million renovation in 1977 expanded the casino to , to keep up with the town's growth. Boyd Gaming acquired the casino in 1993. The company used it as a training ground for executives, because its small size requires a hands-on management approach. In the mid-2000s, Boyd Gaming spent $3 million on renovations. In March 2020, the state's casinos were ordered to close due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Nevada on March 5, 2020. Because of concerns about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Nevada governor Steve Sisolak declared a state of emergency on March 12, 2020. Four days ...

. In December 2020, Boyd agreed to sell the closed casino to DeSimone Gaming, the parent company of the

Railroad Pass Casino Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino, named after nearby Railroad Pass, is a hotel and casino located in Henderson, Nevada. The casino has of gaming space, with 323 slot machines and six table games, and a William Hill sports and race book. Location T ...

. The Eldorado reopened as The Pass Casino on April 1, 2021. DeSimone had spent $7 million on a 45-day renovation which added various amenities, including two new restaurants, two bars, and an event space. The Mexican restaurant became Italian, and the 1950s diner became a cafe. The casino had over 350 gaming machines, 80 percent of which were new. A new sportsbook was also added, and was opened on April 29, 2021. It is operated by

Circa Sports Circa Sports is an American sportsbook operator based in Las Vegas. It was founded by casino owner Derek Stevens and began operations on June 1, 2019. It is named after Stevens' Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The resort includes the company's ...

. In March 2022, DeSimone announced plans to build a 90-room Atwell Suites hotel in the casino's parking lot, while an existing parking garage will continue to serve the property. It would be the second Atwell Suites location to open, in partnership with

IHG Hotels & Resorts InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FT ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Casinos in the Las Vegas Valley Buildings and structures in Henderson, Nevada