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![\"Scott](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/author-logo-lg-88x88.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n By Scott Roeben<\/a>, on October 03 2024 <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Our sources say Downtown Grand, located downtown, it\u2019s right there in the name of the place, please keep up, has found a buyer.<\/p>\n
As with any rumor, things can change, but this one isn\u2019t popping up out of the blue.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s see how we got here and why we\u2019re so awesome at sharing Las Vegas news before it\u2019s officially announced, shan\u2019t we?<\/p>\n Back in June 2024, we were the first to share the news Downtown Grand was for sale.<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve shared, Downtown Grand is being shopped. Room occupancy last year was 55%. Asking price is a whimsical $180 millionish. Good luck with that.<\/p>\n \u2014 Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) June 7, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In July, we shared Downtown Grand had received several serious offers.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u2014 Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) July 8, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Also in July, the shitheads at the Las Vegas Review-Journal stole our scoop<\/a>, confirmed it and \u201cbroke\u201d the news without attribution. This crap happens pretty much every day. We describe the practice as \u201csharting on the Adelson family\u2019s legacy.\u201d The Adelson\u2019s own the rag. It reportedly loses $1 million a year.<\/p>\n On Sep. 18, 2024, we shared word Downtown Grand had found a potential buyer.<\/p>\n Follow-up to our scoop about Downtown Grand being for sale. Hearing they\u2019re under contract by with potential buyer\u2014offer had to exceed $100 million (several under were submitted), so hoping you took the over. Buyer described as \u201cinteresting.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/HkPVL5RgRv<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) September 19, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.).<\/p>\n The big question, of course, is who\u2019s 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\u2019ve heard one bid was for $10 million. No, really.)<\/p>\n 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!)<\/p>\n Nobody\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n New ownership would be a shot in the arm for Downtown Grand. It\u2019s currently owned by CIM Group and is managed by Fifth Street Gaming, the company that runs such notable casinos as the closed Silver Nugget<\/a> and Ojos Locos Sports Cantina y Casino at Hotel Jefe. We are not making this up.<\/p>\n Downtown Grand tends to do well on the hotel side, but its casino has been struggling for years.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s 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\u2014keeping table game minimums low and instituting a $2 deal for a PBR and Nathan\u2019s hot\u2026<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/soldish_sign-845x563.jpg\"\/)
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