Circa Resort & Casino CEO Derek Stevens has acquired the land resting under the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino property in Downtown Las Vegas for $19m, having gained full ownership of the casino in 2015 from descendants of original owner John Miller.
Stevens acquired a 50% stake in Golden Gate Hotel & Casino nearly 20 years ago, while Miller purchased the land in which the casino sits on during an auction held in 1905. The Las Vegas executive has "always wanted" to buy Golden Gate's land, but found the original owners showed little interest in selling until now.
The Miller family officially sold Stevens the land through a business entity formed in 1908, Sal Sagev Hotel Company, but President James Reynolds, who according to Stevens is the great-grandson of Miller, was not available for comment at the time of writing.
Stevens also stated he formed a close relationship with Carolyn Reynolds, the granddaughter of John Miller, when first acquiring a stake in Golden Gate, as the two then agreed to extend the casino's ground lease through 2061.
He also believed the Miller family wanted to be assured Golden Gate was in "good hands" prior to selling the land, while Stevens preferred to "own the footprint" of the casino rather than lease its grounds to outside real estate investment trusts.
Stevens currently owns and operates The D Las Vegas and Circa Resort & Casino, which represented Downtown Las Vegas' first newly built resort in 40 years when it debuted in 2020.
On September 15, Golden Gate formed an exclusive partnership with Interblock to help the property become the first Downtown Las Vegas operator to install a fully electronic table game-powered pit within its casino floor.
Circa Sports Kentucky held the official grand opening for its new sportsbook at The Mint Gaming Hall Kentucky Downs on August 22, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony with guests such as Stevens and Mint Gaming Hall Co-Managing Partner Marc Falcone
