Our sources say Downtown Grand, located downtown, it’s right there in the name of the place, please keep up, has found a buyer.
As with any rumor, things can change, but this one isn’t popping up out of the blue.
Let’s see how we got here and why we’re so awesome at sharing Las Vegas news before it’s officially announced, shan’t we?
Back in June 2024, we were the first to share the news Downtown Grand was for sale.
As we’ve shared, Downtown Grand is being shopped. Room occupancy last year was 55%. Asking price is a whimsical $180 millionish. Good luck with that.
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) June 7, 2024
In July, we shared Downtown Grand had received several serious offers.
Downtown Grand sale update. Rumor is four serious offers currently. Asking price, $180 million. Projected sale price, less than $100 million. Look for official news in the next several weeks, due diligence and the such.
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) July 8, 2024
Also in July, the shitheads at the Las Vegas Review-Journal stole our scoop, confirmed it and “broke” the news without attribution. This crap happens pretty much every day. We describe the practice as “sharting on the Adelson family’s legacy.” The Adelson’s own the rag. It reportedly loses $1 million a year.
On Sep. 18, 2024, we shared word Downtown Grand had found a potential buyer.
Follow-up to our scoop about Downtown Grand being for sale. Hearing they’re under contract by with potential buyer—offer had to exceed $100 million (several under were submitted), so hoping you took the over. Buyer described as “interesting.” pic.twitter.com/HkPVL5RgRv
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) September 19, 2024
An announcement is expected in January 2025, according to some random person on Twitter, a source far more reliable than the Las Vegas Review-Journal, by the way.
A lot can happen during the due diligence portion of a casino sale, of course, and many deals have fallen apart when things get granular (inspections, financing, etc.).
The big question, of course, is who’s buying Downtown Grand, and why are they paying so much for it, rumored to be more than $100 million? (Not everyone agrees with that valuation. We’ve heard one bid was for $10 million. No, really.)
Well, Downtown Grand is in pretty good shape, despite the terrible location. That challenging location was presumably improved when the City of Las Vegas sprung (sprang?) for a fancy promenade between Fremont Street Experience and Downtown Grand. (The City paid for it because it improved the sight lines to the Mob Museum, a project championed by former Mayor Oscar Goodman whose wife, wait for it, is the current mayor, the person who sort of holds the purse strings for City projects. Coincidence!)
Nobody’s saying who the buyer is, but our guess is an investment group headed up by former Wynn CEO Matt Maddox. For years, Maddox and his investors have been poking around downtown.
Maddox at one point was going to buy Neonopolis, which sounds like a horrific investment until you realize Maddox thought he might be able to get a gaming license for the site. What might have been.
New ownership would be a shot in the arm for Downtown Grand. It’s currently owned by CIM Group and is managed by Fifth Street Gaming, the company that runs such notable casinos as the closed Silver Nugget and Ojos Locos Sports Cantina y Casino at Hotel Jefe. We are not making this up.
Downtown Grand tends to do well on the hotel side, but its casino has been struggling for years.
Things perked up a bit when Andrew Economon was General Manager, but he was unceremoniously shown the door. Economon had exactly the experience and perspective Downtown Grand needed. He created a number of promotions and offerings tailored to value-seekers. Now, not so much. Although, the $2 hot dog and beer deal is still happening, presumably.
Today’s crushing disappointment: Word is General Manager of Downtown Grand, Andrew Economon, is out. Since starting in June 2022, he shook things up at this struggling casino, focusing on value—keeping table game minimums low and instituting a $2 deal for a PBR and Nathan’s hot…
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) February 22, 2024
We’ve always liked Downtown Grand, but that block between Fremont Street Experience and the casino might as well be 100 miles.
New ownership could shake things up, and that could be great for guests. Confirmation and more details to come.
Update (10/3/24): Speculation is fun, but hearing things from sources is even better. We’re now hearing the buyer of Downtown Grand could be none other than John Unwin, et. al. Unwin was the original CEO of Cosmopolitan when it opened in 2010. Deutsche Bank helped build Cosmo, and chatter is they’re involved with the Downtown Grand deal. Cosmopolitan had a rough start, but has become one of the best casino resorts on The Strip, which means it’s also one of the best casino resorts in the world. Unwin was involved with The Drew, but that deal went sideways. Most recently, Unwin’s been the Founder & CEO of Corvus Collective. We don’t know what that is, but it sounds like something you should probably get a vaccination against. Unconfirmed, but Unwin could give Downtown Grand a fighting chance at success.
Update (10/4/24): Interesting comment left by Chuck R. on this blog, Oct. 4, 2024: “So when I went down to get my free play at the Downtown Grand last night (I was [previously] told by their kiosk I would be receiving 50 bucks twice a week for the month of October), now there is nothing on the screen where it once showed that amount. I go to the marketing desk/closet next to the cage. I am told that…they have now pulled the free play because of the sale of the property.”
