Railroad Pass Casino

Location

The property is sited in the far southeast corner of the city of Henderson, where it meets the northwestern portion of Boulder City, and is sandwiched between Boulder Highway (US 93/US 95) and the currently (since 1998) orphaned portion of the Boulder City spur on the Union Pacific Railroad's Henderson branch line. The initial phase of the Nevada Department of Transportation's Boulder City Bypass highway project will reconnect those tracks after relocating and upgrading this portion of the Boulder Highway to full freeway status as part of I-11 by 2018, with a new traffic interchange and a dedicated access road maintaining full connectivity to this casino/hotel.

The trailhead for the River Mountains Loop Trail is adjacent to the casino. The original junction of highways 93 and 95 was also once located in front of the property, before the present-day interchange between these two routes was constructed about one mile to the east in Boulder City.

History

The casino opened on August 1, 1931. The casino was popular among Boulder Dam construction workers who lived in Boulder City, where alcohol and gambling were prohibited.

Bob Verchota purchased Railroad Pass in 1975, Railroad Pass became part of their company, Gold Strike Resorts. A five-story, 120-room hotel began construction in 1986, and was opened on January 8, 1987, making Railroad Pass the first Henderson hotel to have more than 100 rooms. Dining areas and a gift shop were also expanded.

Railroad Pass became part of Circus Circus Enterprises (later Mandalay Resort Group), which purchased Gold Strike Resorts in 1995, and then MGM Mirage (later MGM Resorts International), which acquired Mandalay in 2005.

In September 2014, MGM agreed to sell Railroad Pass to Joseph DeSimone, a Henderson-based real estate broker and developer. The sale was completed in April 2015. The casino was operated by Marcus Suan for several months, until DeSimone obtained a gaming license.

Construction on a new hotel tower began in 2021. It would have 127 rooms and be branded as a Holiday Inn Express.

References

References

1. "Railroad Pass Casino". A2Z Las Vegas.
2. (August 1, 2011). "News at 6". [[KLAS-TV]].
3. Mark Hall-Patton. (July 28, 2011). "Mining claims foundation of Railroad Pass". [[Boulder City Review]].
4. (January 11, 2017). "Nonrestricted Square Footage Report". Nevada Gaming Control Board.
5. (December 31, 2019). "Nonrestricted Count Report". Nevada Gaming Control Board.
6. "Location Details - Railroad Pass Casino - Race Book and Sports Pool". Nevada Gaming Control Board.
7. "Boulder City Bypass Phase I". NDOT.
8. Jane Ann Morrison. (July 28, 2011). "Historic Railroad Pass Casino's amenities include ghost, safe and profits". Boulder City Review.
9. (January 6, 1987). "Railroad Pass Hotel's grand opening Thursday, Friday". Henderson Home News.
10. David Kelley. (September 12, 1985). ["Ex-Dunes worker to work at Nugget"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/150786328/}} {{subscription required). Reno Gazette-Journal.
11. Kathryn Jones. (March 21, 1995). "Circus Circus agrees to buy Gold Strike, casino owner". New York Times.
12. Dickensheets, Scott. (May 1, 1986). "Railroad Pass to add hotel". Henderson Home News.
13. (January 8, 1987). "Everyone Is Invited". Henderson Home News.
14. (June 1, 1995). ["Circus Circus-Buy -2-: Ensign Named Vice Chmn, Oper Chief"](http://global.factiva.com/redir/default.aspx?P=sa&an=dj00000020011025dr61022ox&cat=a&ep=ASE}} {{subscription required). Dow Jones News Service.
15. Rod Smith. (April 26, 2005). ["MGM scales top of heap"](http://global.factiva.com/redir/default.aspx?P=sa&an=LVGS000020060306e14q00650&cat=a&ep=ASE}} {{subscription required). Las Vegas Review-Journal.
16. (March 2, 2015). "Form 10-K: Annual Report". MGM Resorts International.
17. Arnold M. Knightly. (September 5, 2014). "Developer buying Railroad Pass from MGM". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
18. J.D. Morris. (April 1, 2015). "MGM Resorts finalizes sale of Railroad Pass". Vegas Inc.
19. J.D. Morris. (July 23, 2015). "Railroad Pass owner approved to run historic casino". Vegas Inc..
20. Hali Bernstein Saylor. (July 14, 2021). "Railroad Pass breaks ground for 127-room tower". Boulder City Review.