Owner to sell Henderson’s Skyline casino

By Liz Benston (contact)

Thursday, June 5, 2003 | 10:59 a.m.

The owner of the Skyline Restaurant & Casino in Henderson is retiring from the casino business and intends to sell the property to a local car dealer.

Jim Marsh of Jim Marsh Chysler-Jeep in Las Vegas received approval Wednesday by the state Gaming Control Board to operate the Skyline Casino at 1741 N. Boulder Highway. Marsh must still receive final approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Skyline owner John Kish is selling the property because it "got to be a hassle" for a man of his age and health, the casino's general manager Dean Joyner said.

Kish's father built the casino in 1964 but hired a gaming operator to run the casino. Kish became part owner of the Skyline in 1975 and assumed control of the property in 1977.

Marsh expects to purchase the Skyline from Kish by July 1, becoming the sole owner and operator. Casino operators must receive approval by Nevada regulators prior to purchasing a property.

The casino sits on about four acres and features about 450 slot machines and about four table games as well as a bar, lounge, dance floor, coffee shop and three dining rooms.

Marsh said he will make some cosmetic changes to the casino but retain its employees. He also intends to hire a new general manager.

He didn't disclose the sale price or the name of the manager.

The casino would mark the first Clark County gaming property for Marsh, who owns the Longstreet Inn in Amargosa Valley and the Tonopah Station and Bank Club in Tonopah.

Marsh has been in the car business since 1971 and opened the Chrysler-Jeep dealership about two years ago.

He expects to extract greater profits out of the casino.

"It's been a good, stable property in the Henderson-Las Vegas area for many, many years," he said. "John Kish has done a good job of operating it."

The Skyline, known for its $5.95 prime rib dinner deal, has grown in size about four times in its roughly 40-year history. It began with 4,000 square feet and is now about 30,000 square feet.

The casino caters to repeat customers who come from as far away as Logandale and Searchlight and who live across the Las Vegas Valley, said Joyner, who has managed the property for Kish since 1977. Some customers have been visiting the casino since the mid 1970s, he said.

The property has been a consistent money-maker for Kish despite increasing competition in Henderson and East Las Vegas over the past several years, he said.