Station Casinos keeps growing with purchase of land in Henderson

John Wilen

Tuesday, July 28, 1998 | 11:16 a.m.

Station Casinos may be having problems with its preferred shareholders over its acquisition by Crescent Real Estate Equities, but that's not stopping the company from aggressively growing its share of the Las Vegas locals gaming market.

Station is in a deal to purchase a 13.8-acre approved gaming site in Henderson from developer Gilbert Strange. Strange has long planned a casino on the site at the southeast corner of Lake Mead Drive and Eastern Avenue.

But though Strange had a working name -- Lucky Stars -- he has never provided any project details.

In 1994, Strange got the site's zoning changed to allow gaming. Because he has not developed the site, that zoning change is set to expire this year. Strange will ask the Henderson Planning Commission Thursday night to extend the expiration date of his zoning change.

Neither Station nor Strange disclosed the purchase price or terms of the deal, but it is most likely contingent on the site retaining its zoning. A recent Henderson ordinance bars casinos from sites smaller than 25 acres unless they are part of a master planned community. The planning commission will also decide Thursday whether to allow the site to retain its master planned community status.

Glenn Christenson, Station's chief financial officer, confirmed the property is in escrow.

"We would put a property in there," Christenson said.

But it will be at least two years before anything is built, Christenson said.

A new casino would be just one more project for Station, which has four big locals hotel-casinos: Sunset, Texas, Boulder and Palace stations.

Station this month opened the Wild Wild West hotel-casino at the former King 8 site on Tropicana Ave. at I-15; and is building a Wild Wild West on Boulder Highway across from Sam's Town.