Nevada’s Marriot International to Open a Tent Casino for Only 8 Hours

Following approval from the Nevada Gaming Control Board earlier in May 2023, Marriott International, a leading entertainment company in Nevada, has received the go-ahead from the Nevada Gaming Commission to finalize plans to open a “pop-up” casino. Interestingly, the temporary casino will only be open on May 23 for 8 hours at the former location of The Beach nightclub, at Paradise Road and Convention Center Drive. 

The temporary casino will be open for business at 6 a.m., housing up to 16 slot machines. United Coin Machine (UCM), a division of Century Gaming Technologies, will run it. The pop-up casino will only be open for a limited time to maintain the grandfathered gaming license the operator got when it purchased the 1.35-acre site. This is the tenth time in 17 years that 16 slot machines have been temporarily set up in the area.

State and Clark County laws require the business to provide public gambling for at least eight hours to keep the license. The Clark County laws stipulate that active gaming must happen at the venue at least once every 18 months to keep a grandfathered license. Hovever, the state only permits it every two years. These guidelines allow a minimum of 16 slot machines to be set up.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the Nevada Gaming Commission informed Marriott’s legal counsel on Thursday last week that maintaining the license could not continue indefinitely. It is said that the regulator informed the company that they must develop a futuristic plan for the venue.

But according to Dennis Neilander, Marriott International’s attorney, the company’s plans to develop the land at Convention Center Drive and Paradise Road have been frustrated by the COVID-19 outbreak and the challenging economic climate. He claimed that because of a non-disclosure agreement, Marriott could not provide detailed public information regarding the progress of negotiations with possible property developers for the site.

Marriott manages five hotels close to the site where The Beach originally stood, with the hotels having a total of around 1,000 rooms. According to Neilander, the entertainment firm has a long-term strategy to combine these sites into a single 16-acre resort, including the Beach site. But he noted that the land’s value would decrease if the gaming permit were to expire.

Neilander further claims that since The Beach closed in 2006, the business has had to maintain its gaming license. Marriott operates hotels that use its brands, including Marriott, Courtyard, Rennaissance, Residence Inn, and Springhill Suites.