Indy Gaming: Casinos well outside city limits donating to Vegas mayor candidates
In pre-corporate Las Vegas, casino owners touted their perfect record in backing election winners. Were they channeling Nostradamus? No. They simply contributed financially to both candidates. We’re seeing that play out in the race for Las Vegas mayor.
Also, analysts ponder The STRAT’s future.
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Some of the biggest campaign contributions to the two candidates squaring off to be the next Las Vegas mayor are from a casino located 11 miles outside the city limits.
South Point Casino Resort is closer in proximity to Henderson than it is to Las Vegas City Hall.
But that didn’t stop owner Michael Gaughan from embarking on an unwritten rule among old-school Las Vegas casino executives: donate to both candidates.
Gaughan, through South Point, donated $10,000 — the maximum campaign contribution possible — to former Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Las Vegas City Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office.
“In the primary, I had my money on all three,” Gaughan said of the $7,500 donated to Councilman Cedric Crear, who finished third.
“Shelley is a friend who I’ve known for years and I like Victoria,” he said. “The mayor is an important position.”
Gaughan told of how decades ago, the late downtown casino owner Benny Binion headed into the Binion’s Horseshoe coffee shop for breakfast with his son, Jack Binion. It was the morning after an election and Benny was excited to tell Jack, “It was a good night. We backed all the winners.”
Jack Binion quickly reminded his father they had backed the losers as well.
“That’s how it was done. We always gave to both sides,” Gaughan said.
Gaming companies have long been powerhouse donors to Nevada candidates up and down the ballot, including those in the Legislature. But why donate to both candidates running in a jurisdiction that has no control over the South Point? Observers say it’s because decisions made in city hall go well beyond the city limits.
“Everybody thinks the Las Vegas Strip is in the city,” said Gaughan, who has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout the years to local, state and federal candidates.
Sahara Avenue is the city-county boundary line with all gaming properties to the north within the city. The northernmost Strip resort is the Sahara, which is in the county.
In July, to clarify the jurisdiction, Clark County Commission Chairman Tick Segerblom suggested a name change — Las Vegas County. So far, no one else on the board has seconded the idea.
Gaughan isn’t the only casino operator to donate to the mayoral candidates.
Berkley, who spent 14 years in Congress representing Las Vegas, raised more than $858,000 through the end of September, which included $67,500 from casino operators and others associated with gaming — the state’s largest industry.
She received $10,000 from Circa Casino Resort owner Derek Stevens, $10,000 from STRAT owner Golden Entertainment — the STRAT is north of Sahara Avenue — and $5,000 each from Station Casinos and the company’s Santa Fe Station Casino, which is in the city limits. Boyd Gaming, which operates three downtown casinos, donated $5,000 to Berkley’s campaign.
Berkley also received $5,000 from Wynn Resorts, and $1,000 each from former MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren, Full House Resorts CEO Dan Lee and former Boyd CEO Don Snyder. James Nave, a board member of Station Casinos’ parent Red Rock Resorts, donated $5,000 to Berkley.
Seaman raised more than $587,000 through the end of September, which included $52,000 from gaming and other entertainment businesses. Golden Entertainment contributed $7,500 to Seaman while Station Casinos donated $5,000 and the company’s Palace Station donated $10,000. Boyd Gaming’s Suncoast donated $5,000. Palace Station and Suncoast are in the city. Tim Herbst, CEO of slot machine route operator Jett Gaming, donated $10,000 to Seaman.
She also raised $5,000 from a company controlled by UFC President Dana White and $2,000 from Gold & Silver Pawn, the downtown store featured on the television series Pawn Stars.
Gaming industry consultant Brendan Bussmann, managing partner of Las Vegas-based B2 Global, said casino operators have relationships with candidates that often span decades.
“You have communitywide issues that affect gaming across the board,” Bussmann said. “Southern Nevada has various government entities that all have to play nicely in the sandbox. The Strip may start in the county south of Sahara [but] issues that are of concern to everyone go north of that border.”
In interviews, Berkley and Seaman said the world outside of Southern Nevada doesn’t realize the Las Vegas mayor isn’t in charge of the Strip.
The Goodmans — former Mayor Oscar Goodman and his wife, current Mayor Carolyn Goodman — spent 25 years trying to change that perception. Both Goodmans lobbied to bring professional sports to Las Vegas, only to see Allegiant Stadium built in unincorporated Clark County across Interstate 15 from the Mandalay Bay — not to replace the city’s aging Cashman Field.
“What’s good for the community is good for all of Southern Nevada,” Berkley said.
Analysts speculate on a potential REIT deal for the STRAT
Could Golden Entertainment be contemplating selling the STRAT Hotel, Casino & Tower?
CBRE Equity gaming analyst John DeCree wrote in an Oct. 18 research note that the STRAT has not seen its hotel occupancy rates increase following the closures of The Mirage and Tropicana Las Vegas.
Following meetings with company executives during the recent Global Gaming Expo, analysts speculated the downtown resort could be the target of a real estate investment trust (REIT), which could buy it and lease it back to Golden.
Golden sold its Maryland casino and its slot route operations in Nevada and Montana during the past year. The company operates three casinos in Las Vegas, two casinos in Laughlin, three casinos in Pahrump and a Nevada tavern business with 70 locations operating under eight brands.
“Golden is well positioned to be involved in [merger and acquisitions] as either a buyer or seller,” DeCree wrote, although he speculated the company would “be patient for something transformative.”
Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli offered a similar sentiment, writing in an Oct. 17 research note the speculation is simmering about a “strategic action” involving the company.
The 2,400-room STRAT and its 1,149-foot tower sit on 67 acres just north of the Strip.
On the company’s quarterly earnings call in August, CEO Blake Sartini said the company would analyze any potential REIT opportunity.
“I think the question for us is how do we generate the most value. Is it owning our real estate or not? We go through that constantly,” Sartini said on the company’s Aug. 9 quarterly earning conference call.
VICI Properties, the gaming industry’s largest real estate investment trust, has made no secret of its interest in downtown. The company owns 10 properties on the Strip, including Caesars Palace, the Venetian-Palazzo complex and six properties operated by MGM Resorts International.
VICI CFO David Kieske said following a 2023 presentation at Preview Las Vegas that the company was seeking sale-leaseback opportunities with downtown casino resorts and in the neighborhood casino market.
VICI President John Payne made similar remarks in a 2021 interview with The Nevada Independent.
“The city has been redeveloping downtown. So we would welcome the opportunity to own real estate and buildings if there ever comes a time to do that,” he said.
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