The ownership of the land under casinos along Fremont Street is so complicated, it makes non-Euclidean geometry look straightforward.
In the case of Golden Gate, however, things just got uncomplicated. Owners Derek and Greg Stevens, who also own The D and Circa, have acquired the land under Golden Gate for $19 million.
It’s the first time the land has changed hands since Hotel Nevada opened on the site in 1906.
Back in the day, casinos owned the land upon which they sat, but no more.
Virtually every Strip casino you can name is owned by a company called Vici Properties. Casino companies “own” the operations, not the physical buildings or land.
It’s called an “asset light strategy” and it’s one of the reasons cocktails cost $26. Rents go up whether visitation and revenue do or not.
Downtown, matters get even more murky. That’s because many of the parcels beneath downtown casinos are owned by the families of owners who bought the land more than a century ago.
That pretty much means all the casinos downtown are paying rent to someone. Those someones love that steady source of income and rarely sell.
Some pockets, however, are deeper than others. Derek Stevens made the descendants of John F. Miller, the guy who opened the Miller Hotel (which later became Hotel Nevada and the Sal Sagev) an offer they couldn’t refuse.
That’s right, “Sal Sagev.” Miller was quite an entrepreneur, but absolutely sucked at marketing.
Derek and Greg Stevens (Derek Stevens owns about 75% of their Las Vegas businesses, Greg Stevens owns about 25%) have a history of putting their money where their mouths are.
When Stevens was buying up businesses to build Circa, including Mermaids, Glitter Gulch and Las Vegas Club, gift shop owner Haim Gabay got wind of the deal and basically extorted the Stevens out of $13.5 million for a tiny sliver (0.08 acres) of land.
The Stevens also ponied up bigtime to buy out the McDonald’s lease at The D. The over/under on what that buy-out cost is $10 million. Derek Stevens still hasn’t figured out what to do with the McDonald’s space, but it is guaranteed to be less of a pain in the ass than a McDonald’s.
The Stevens’ biggest investment downtown, of course, was Circa. The Strip-quality resort cost $1.156 billion. The cost has never officially been shared or confirmed, but trust us on this one.
Here’s more about the wheelings and dealings and acquisitions of the Stevens brothers.
Why is Derek Stevens still doing all these deals when he’s already a gajillionaire? We asked him. He said, “I’m a business guy.” We are more of a hammock guy.
Golden Gate has undergone some changes recently. The casino recently closed all its live table games, which has caused a minor kerfuffle among gamblers when we broke the news. It’s worth noting those gamblers haven’t actually played the live table games at Golden Gate since 2004, but that’s hardly the point. (The live table games were actually losing money during graveshift.)
While some are bummed about the end of live table games and dancing dealers at Golden Gate, there’s a consolation prize: The best happy hour in America.
Every night from 6-7 p.m., there’s an open bar at Golden Gate, and guests also get free play ranging from $5 to $1,000.
We’ve heard Derek Stevens has committed to at least a year of the open bar and free play giveaway, despite the fact most of the nitwits taking advantage of these perks aren’t tipping staff.
Don’t get us started. It’s really gross.
Golden Gate is giving away free booze every day from 6-7 p.m. and virtually NO ONE IS TIPPING. WTF is wrong with people? Not only should these bozos stay away from Las Vegas, they shouldn’t leave their homes under any circumstances. @GoldenGateVegas #AUTOGRAT
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) October 26, 2025
There’s a lot more downtown land ownership drama in the works, we’re told.
Some of the casinos along Fremont sit on multiple parcels owned by multiple people and those people aren’t always thrilled with the financial arrangements. No, we can’t share more than that, but we’ll keep dropping hints so later we can take credit for sharing the scoop first.
At least four of nine parcels of land under Binion’s are owned by outside entities who charge Binion’s parent company, TLC Casino Enterprises Inc., rent.
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) October 12, 2025
Do you know this blog at all?
We are bummed to have not broken the story about the Golden Gate land sale, but we don’t want the Las Vegas Review-Journal to fold completely (people need something to line their bird cages), so we have to give them some table scraps from time to time.
