New Henderson casino under way

John Wilen

Wednesday, April 29, 1998 | 10:29 a.m.

HENDERSON -- Construction starts today on a new Henderson neighborhood casino, the Gold Rush Casino Boulder, at 2000 South Boulder Highway.

The 17,900-square-feet casino will house 199 slot machines, a 140-seat restaurant, and a 50-seat meeting room. No table games or hotel rooms are currently planned, though "anything is possible in the future," said Steve McLaughlin, general manager of the Gold Rush Casino Henderson.

Table games, McLaughlin said, are "not really our forte at this point. It's something we're going to look at once we get in there."

The company's gaming license does allow nine table games, McLaughlin said.

As for a hotel, "it's not zoned property for that," McLaughlin said. But once the casino is built, Gold Rush will begin looking into developing some of the vacant land in the area. Those plans could include a hotel, McLaughlin said.

The new Gold Rush will be owned and operated by Sidelines Inc., the same company that owns the Gold Rush Casino Henderson, at 1195 W. Sunset Road, and The Lift, a tavern at 3045 S. Valley View in Las Vegas. While McLaughlin will serve as general manager of both Gold Rush Casinos, other department heads will move over from the Henderson casino. The Boulder casino will hire 130 new employees.

The new casino will be designed with a Mediterranean theme, including palm trees, arches, tropical colors and an open, airy feel, McLaughlin said. The casino has received all necessary planning commission and city council approvals.

The Gold Rush Casino Boulder will give Sidelines an outlet for growth -- the Henderson casino is limited in its ability to grow by a shortage of parking, McLaughlin said.

"That's been somewhat of a handicap to us at times," he said.

The Boulder casino will be bigger than its Henderson counterpart, which has a 70-seat restaurant and 183 slot machines. It will serve the south end of Henderson, where new residential construction has outpaced commercial development, McLaughlin said.

"We saw a market that was in need," McLaughlin said. "There's a lack of services in that area."

Gold Rush Casino Boulder will open this October.