The Navegante Group is a

gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

company based in

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...

, specializing in areas of casino management, development, consulting and executive recruitment. It is often retained to manage distressed properties while new owners seek a gaming license.

History

After six years as the Chairman, President and CEO of MGM Grand

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 ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, Larry J. Woolf formed Navegante. Navegante’s first major development and management contract was

Casino Niagara Casino Niagara is a commercial casino located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It opened on December 9, 1996, on the site of the former Maple Leaf Village amusement park. With a prime location beside Clifton Hill, it was originally conceived a ...

in 1996. When the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

government pursued development of casino gaming in

Niagara Falls, Canada Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

in 1996, officials selected 27 potential development groups including three publicly traded companies. The Niagara plan called for a temporary gaming facility under tight construction time frames. In June, Navegante was selected to head construction and development of their first casino with a planned opening scheduled for December of that year. To meet this deadline, construction ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As Navegante had projected, the property generated $2 million per day in revenue and $1 million per day in profit. The government of Ontario received its investment back in 180 days. Upon opening, Casino Niagara was known, in the industry, as being the most profitable casino operation, on a square foot basis, in the world. In 2005 Navegante was contracted by Tamaras Group to take over the existing operations as the lessee/manager of four hotel/casino properties in downtown Las Vegas: the Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Western and Gold Spike. Navegante, in conjunction with Tamaras, was responsible for a rapid and dramatic turnaround, taking the properties from major losses to positive cash flow. In May 2007, Navegante provided Tamaras with notice of termination of the lease agreements. In 2008, operations of these casinos were transitioned to another company. On August 1, 2007 Navegante was approved to operate the

Sahara Casino Sahara Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Meruelo Group. The hotel has 1,616 rooms, and the casino contains . The Sahara anchors the northern end of the Las Vegas ...

while the new owner, SBE Entertainment, worked to obtain their own license. In May 2009, Navegante joined with other partners in forming Aqueduct Entertainment Group to bid on the casino to be built at

Aqueduct Race Track Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack located within New York City limits. Its racing ...

. The group won the bid on January 29, 2010. The partners in Aqueduct Entertainment Group are: GreenStar Services Corporation,

Turner Construction Company Turner Construction is an American construction company with presence in 20 countries. It is a subsidiary of the German company Hochtief. It is the largest domestic contractor in the United States as of 2020, with a revenue of $14.41 billion in ...

Levine Builders Levine (French transliteration from Russian) / Levin (English transliteration from Russian Левин) is a common Jewish (Ashkenazi Jewish) surname. Levinsky is a variation with the same meaning (see French version of the article for a full expla ...

, The Darman Group, Empowerment Development Corporation, PS&S Design, Siemens AG and Clairvest Group. In March 2012, the company was approved to operate the

Hooters Casino Hotel Oyo Hotel & Casino (stylized as OYO Hotel & Casino) is a casino hotel near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Highgate and Oyo Hotels & Homes, and its casino is operated by Paragon Gaming. It is located next ...

, which was being bought out of

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

Canyon Capital Advisors Canyon Partners is an employee-owned hedge fund founded by Joshua S. Friedman and Mitchell R. Julis in 1990 located in Los Angeles, California.

. In November 2012, Navegante took over management of the

LVH – Las Vegas Hotel and Casino The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and was ...

after it was bought at a foreclosure auction by

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

and Gramercy Capital.

Projects

Development

Casino New Brunswick, Canada 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 ...

Grey Eagle Casino, Alberta, Canada Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

Casino Fandango Casino Fandango is a hotel and casino located in Carson City, Nevada. It has of gaming space. It is owned and operated by Carson Gaming LLC. It opened on July 31, 2003. In 2010, the Casino Fandango won the award for the ''Premier Entertainment ...

Casinos operating

* Gold Country Inn & Casino * High Desert Inn * Red Lion * Westgate Las Vegas

Previous operations

* Gold Spike *

Grand Sierra Resort Grand Sierra Resort (formerly MGM Grand Reno, Bally's Reno and Reno Hilton) is a hotel and casino located approximately three miles east of Downtown Reno, Nevada. The hotel has 1,990 guest rooms and suites, 12 restaurants, including Charlie Palmer ...

Las Vegas Club Las Vegas Club was a hotel and casino located on the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Club opened in 1930, joining the Las Vegas Hotel which had opened in 1908. The Las Vegas Club was relocated across the stre ...

* Plaza Hotel & Casino * Sahara Hotel and Casino * Western Hotel & Casino

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.navegantegroup.com/, Navegante Group Companies based in Paradise, Nevada Gambling companies of the United States