When we broke the news Downtown Grand is in receivership, it came as no surprise to those who read our blog or follow our Twitter feed. It only really surprised the feckless boneheads at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Yes, that escalated quickly. No, we shan’t mention the boneheads again. Well, not those boneheads. We will share extensively about a different set of boneheads. You know, the ones who screwed up Downtown Grand, a perfectly good casino despite its impossible location.
They are feckless boneheads, though.
For the last year or so, we’ve been reporting on the bleak situation at Downtown Grand.
There were several occasions where there was hope the resort might be sold, but those deals imploded.
In June 2024, we shared Downtown Grand was being shopped.
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
The asking price of $180 million was laughably high.
The feckless boneheads we aren’t talking about stole that scoop, too, by the way.
In Oct. 2024, we reported John Unwin, former CEO of Cosmopolitan went into due diligence to buy Downtown Grand, but ultimately came to his senses.
The next near-miss was Rolling Stone, owned by Penske Media Corp. Rolling Stone was so, so close.
During due diligence, though, they learned Downtown Grand’s owner, CIM Group, was being sued by a group of Chinese EB-5 investors. They helped bankroll the resort to the tune of $100 million.
The Rolling Stone deal died a quiet death in July 2025. A Rolling Stone branded casino in downtown Las Vegas would’ve tanked, but it would’ve been fun to see that they could’ve done to the place.
The sale attempts were sort of the duck skimming along the top of the lake. Behind the scenes, CIM’s legs were paddling furiously to try and keep the duck afloat. Look, it’s an imperfect metaphor, but we refuse to ask ChatGPT for a better one.
We always figured the mess at Downtown Grand was the fault of a company called Fifth Street Gaming. We thought they manage the resort, but they’re actually just the gaming license holder and have been hands off with the ongoing debacle.
That leaves CIM Group. CIM Group is a Los Angeles-based investment firm that buys, develops and manages real estate and infrastructure projects, often focused on revitalizing urban areas. Experience with operating a casino? Zero percent, pretty much.
Many of the botched moves leading to Downtown Grand being in dire trouble are related to decisions made by CIM.
For example, the only blip Downtown Grand has had on the Las Vegas radar in years was when General Manager Andrew Economon whipped up interest by leaning into the resort being value-driven. He initiated a popular blackjack tournament, lowered limits on table games and willed a loss leader hot dog deal into existence.
Downtown Grand started to generate buzz, and people made the 14-mile trek from Fremont Street to visit the place.
CIM’s response to all this popularity and momentum? They fired Economon. Because of course they did.
We understand the captain of this sinking ship is Gary Schweikert, Managing Director of Hospitality Services for CIM Group, working under the orders of Richard Ressler, co-founder and principal of CIM Group.
On CIM’s Web site, we learn more about Gary Schweikert. “He is a Managing Director in the Hospitality Services Group, overseeing and maximizing the performance of CIM’s hospitality assets. Mr. Schweikert has served in the hospitality industry for over 30 years with experience ranging from managing iconic hotels to serving in corporate roles leading teams responsible for operations, development, sales and finance.”
From what we’ve been told, Schweikert is responsible for a long list of miscalculations bringing Downtown Grand to where it is today.
Oh, did we explain what “receivership” is? It’s like a house being repossessed. Downtown Grand defaulted on one of its loans, in the amount of $90 million. The lender, Banc of California, ran out of patience and a judge handed Downtown Grand over to a company in Vegas-adjacent Henderson, Province, to try and find a buyer. Again.
We shared word of the looming receivership back in November 2025, including Province being chosen as the receiver.
Receivership approaches for the beleaguered Downtown Grand (Henderson-based Province has been named receiver when the bank takes it back), but this is how to do life: Focus on gratitude, even in the middle of a shitstorm. Related: https://t.co/mhvcmuXGMp https://t.co/qI3fix31Dq
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) November 27, 2025
We woke the hacks at the Review-Journal from their perpetual slumber with a Tweet about the receivership on March 26, 2026.
Reached out to CIM (former Downtown Grand owner) and Henderson-based Province (bankruptcies, restructurings, turnarounds) about rumor Downtown Grand has been “repossessed” (in receivership), crickets. Most underreported Las Vegas story of 2025/26.
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) March 27, 2026
On March 27, 2026 (literally the next day), the Review-Journal confirmed the news based upon our original reporting, failing to give any attribution, of course. “Feckless boneheads” and “hacks” were actually the nicest words we could use for such flagrantly unethical behavior. (Downtown Grand has been in receivership with Province since January 2026, they suddenly learned about it through dogged journalism? Please.)
Anyway, things at Downtown Grand are FUBAR.
We didn’t spoon-feed the Review-Journal any details, so it didn’t appear in their story, but we’ll share some now.
Beyond CIM’s firing of Andrew Economon, Schweikert brought in a place called Hot N Juicy Crawfish as a tenant, drawing up to two dozen customers per day. We are not making this up. No needles moved whatsoever.
Yes, we broke that news, too.
Hear reliably Hot N Juicy Crawfish will go into the former Commissary After Dark (and later, Downtown Underground eSports Lounge) space at Downtown Grand. pic.twitter.com/RqSIeOsxgr
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) January 6, 2020
Schweikert was also involved in not renewing the lease of a popular (but boisterous) hangout, Hogs & Heifers.
Hogs & Heifers butted heads with Downtown Grand management for years (it was a terrible fit and needed to go, but that’s beside the point), but they at least contributed to the revenue of the resort. They even offered to pay more rent.
Hogs & Heifers is making bank at Plaza, a pop-up until construction at the new Hogs & Heifers location is completed.
And don’t get us started about how Pizza Rock was hurt by the closure of Hogs & Heifers. It’s called the law of unintended consequences.
Speaking of revenue, here’s an awkward “fun” fact.
We’re told Downtown Grand does about $2 million a year in EBITDA. Pretty sure the hot dog stand at South Point generates more revenue.
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) April 9, 2026
That’s not a typo. Two million a year. On the bright side, we had always heard Downtown Grand was never profitable, so we are surprised and impressed by this new information.
There’s also the Yama Sushi saga. CIM leased a space it owns between Downtown Grand and Fremont Street Experience years ago. The space, it turns out, was condemned. It had to be completely gutted and rebuilt. Yama Sushi has yet to open. Four years later.
Serious boom for lovers of downtown and/or sushi. Told Downtown Grand is bringing a Yama Sushi to this neglected spot across from Fremont casino’s new casino entrance. Hooters kicked the tires awhile back, couldn’t get the OK for a patio, so bailed. pic.twitter.com/0lXQmhcaZk
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) November 12, 2022
Downtown Grand’s sole restaurant (in the casino-hotel’s footprint), Freedom Beat, has limited hours, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. That’s Thursday through Sunday only. There will be a quiz.
Even that backstory is a fascinating exercise in WTF.
Due to a lack of business, Freedom Beat first closed in July 2025. It reopened with part-time hours in January 2026. This decision was expensive because Freedom Beat is a union shop, and the rules required CIM to pay all the workers back to the date of closure.
Downtown Grand does have a bustling hot dog stand, so that’s something. On the night we visited, the casino was busy as well. That’s not enough to make a casino resort solvent, however.
It was also around July 2025 sources shared some third-party vendors were allegedly not being paid.
Fast forward to today, and Downtown Grand’s receiver is in the awkward position of trying to sell a resort that hasn’t sold in years.
Presumably, they’ll try to recoup what’s owed the bank, but that’s not as straightforward as it might seem.
Beyond the debt situation, Downtown Grand is likely to need a billion-dollar investment for a renovation, and that’s in addition to the purchase price.
We spoke with a downtown casino operator and he said he, like many potential buyers, received the sales materials. He said he offered $10 million for Downtown Grand. We’re pretty sure he wasn’t joking.
Could Province find a buyer? It’s possible, despite the years of failed attempts. Could they get $90 million for Downtown Grand? Possible. Could it get no viable buyers at all? Definitely. Could Downtown Grand close? Yes. Would anyone notice? It’s possible. Could Downtown Grand continue to operate in this weird limbo for years while other suitors go through the due diligence process? If we knew, would we be phrasing everything in the form of a question?
We know a lot, but our omniscience has been greatly exaggerated.
Now you know some of the story behind the story. The former Lady Luck continues to suffer some hard times.
If Downtown Grand can continue to limp along, it’s preferable to a shuttered casino.
A new owner could make a go of Downtown Grand for the right price. In any of the possible scenarios, CIM Group is going to take a massive financial hit.
Casinos are hard to fail at, but the drama at Downtown Grand shows not all Las Vegas implosions involve RDX/PETN-based explosives.
We did ask ChatGPT about that. We can’t know everything.
