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Arizona Charlie's Boulder

Coordinates: 36°07′27″N 115°04′32″W / 36.124227°N 115.075441°W / 36.124227; -115.075441
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arizona Charlie's Boulder
Location Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Address 4575 Boulder Highway[1]
Opening date1991 (hotel)
May 23, 2000; 24 years ago (2000-05-23) (casino)
No. of rooms300
Total gaming space47,541 sq ft (4,416.7 m2)
Casino typeLand-based
OwnerGolden Entertainment
Previous namesArizona Charlie's East (2000–2003)
Renovated in1998, 2001, 2006
Websitewww.arizonacharliesboulder.com

Arizona Charlie's Boulder is a hotel and locals casino in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley. The hotel-casino is located on Boulder Highway, also known as the Boulder Strip.[2] It includes a 47,541 sq ft (4,416.7 m2) casino, 300 rooms, and an RV park. It is a sister property to the older Arizona Charlie's Decatur, located to the west in Las Vegas. Both are named after Arizona Charlie, a distant relative of the Becker family, who developed the original property.[3]

Arizona Charlie's Boulder opened as a non-gaming hotel in 1991, known then as Sunrise Fountain Suites. The RV park was added five years later. The casino was built in 1998, but did not open as scheduled, due to problems acquiring a gaming license. Businessman Carl Icahn, who owned the original Arizona Charlie's at the time, purchased Sunrise Suites and renamed it Arizona Charlie's East, opening the casino on May 23, 2000. The hotel-casino was renamed Arizona Charlie's Boulder in 2003, and was sold to Golden Entertainment in 2017.

History

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The property began as a non-gaming hotel known as Sunrise Fountain Suites, opened in 1991.[4][5] It was owned by Michael Mona Jr. and his wife Rhonda. In 1996, they added a 239-space RV park just north of the hotel.[6][5] Two years later, they added a new structure with gaming space and various restaurants,[7] A four-level parking garage was also built.[8] The expansion was funded with a $30 million loan.[9]

The Sunrise Suites casino featured a Mediterranean theme,[10] and was scheduled to debut on December 27, 1998.[6] However, the Monas withdrew their gaming license application two weeks before the opening, following scrutiny from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Michael Mona had previously been associated with men who had links to organized crime,[11][12][13] and the board was also concerned about Mona's accounting practices.[5][6][14] In March 1999, Sunrise Suites filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While the casino had never opened, the hotel and RV park continued operations throughout the bankruptcy proceedings.[6][15]

In January 2000, Sunrise Suites was auctioned to businessman Carl Icahn,[16] who owned the original Arizona Charlie's hotel-casino in Las Vegas, west of Boulder Highway. Icahn planned to rename Sunrise Suites as Arizona Charlie's East, a sister property to the original location,[10][15] which became Arizona Charlie's West.[17] Icahn's $43 million bid included the RV park, and he spent another $12 million on improvements and equipment. Most of the original design elements were left in place, including chandeliers and ornate columns, making it among the higher-end properties on the Boulder Strip. This was also in contrast to the original, lower-end Arizona Charlie's. Like the original location, the new property would appeal to locals with cheap food and entertainment, as well as favorable gaming odds. Both featured a western theme.[10][18] The casino opened on May 23, 2000, shortly after 9:00 p.m., with a fireworks show to mark the event.[10][18] It included an entertainment venue,[10][2] two restaurants, a buffet, and a food court with two outlets.[19]

Profits improved under Icahn's ownership.[20] An expansion, adding a bingo hall and other casino space, began construction in 2001.[21] The property was renamed Arizona Charlie's Boulder on January 1, 2003, while the original location became Arizona Charlie's Decatur.[17] By 2004, ownership had been transferred to Icahn's new company, American Casino & Entertainment Properties (ACEP).[22] An $8.3 million expansion took place in 2006, enlarging the front area to add more gaming space.[23] In 2008,[24] Icahn sold ACEP and its properties to Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs.[25][26] In October 2017, Golden Entertainment acquired Arizona Charlie's Boulder as part of its $850 million purchase of ACEP.[27]

Arizona Charlie's Boulder occupies 24 acres (9.7 ha), including the RV park.[5] It has a 47,541 sq ft (4,416.7 m2) casino,[28] and the hotel includes 300 rooms.[29]

References

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  1. ^ Vogel, Ed (April 6, 2000). "Regulators OK opening of Arizona Charlie's East". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on October 16, 2000.
  2. ^ a b "The forgotten Strip". Las Vegas Sun. February 1, 2001. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Taylor, F. Andrew (November 1, 2011). "Developers named Arizona Charlie's for distant relative". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  4. ^ "Sunrise Fountain Suites Grand Opening". Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 1, 1991. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Strow, David (November 23, 1999). "Boulder Strip hotel-casino, RV park to be auctioned". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Wilen, John (March 30, 1999). "Sunrise Suites files for bankruptcy". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  7. ^ "Sunrise Casino seeks local employees". Henderson Home News. December 3, 1998. p. 15. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  8. ^ "Sunrise Suite begins community service". Henderson Home News. September 3, 1998. p. 10. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  9. ^ "Bankrupt casino in pact with bank". Las Vegas Sun. December 22, 1999. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e Strow, David (May 24, 2000). "Icahn's new casino noted for both values, luxury". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  11. ^ Vogel, Ed (December 10, 1998). "LV casino withdraws application". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on September 16, 2000.
  12. ^ German, Jeff; Kanigher, Steve (March 16, 2006). "Attacks on Chanos were building". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  13. ^ Vardi, Nathan (March 26, 2014). "Inside The Pot Stock Bubble". Forbes. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  14. ^ "LV casino opening threatened by Gaming Board". Las Vegas Sun. December 10, 1998. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Berns, Dave (March 20, 2000). "Sun sets on Sunrise Suites as Icahn takes over". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on May 5, 2001.
  16. ^ Strow, David (January 27, 2000). "Icahn buys bankrupt Sunrise Suites, his third LV property". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Arizona Charlie's modifies players club rules". Las Vegas Review-Journal. December 20, 2002. Archived from the original on March 20, 2005. Oh yeah, one more change: as of Jan. 1, Arizona Charlie's East will be renamed Arizona Charlie's Boulder while Arizona Charlie's West becomes Arizona Charlie's Decatur.
  18. ^ a b Simpson, Jeff (May 24, 2000). "Icahn opens new locals' casino-hotel". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on June 10, 2001.
  19. ^ "Charlie's East ups competition on the Boulder Strip". Las Vegas Review-Journal. June 2, 2000. Archived from the original on May 5, 2001.
  20. ^ "Icahn gains approval for Arizona Charlie's East". Las Vegas Sun. April 6, 2000. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  21. ^ Mikkelsen, Ginger (June 6, 2001). "Arizona Charlie's East ready for expansion". View News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2005.
  22. ^ Smith, Rod (2004-05-26). "Icahn casino reshuffle ending". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on 2004-05-28.
  23. ^ Retrieved September 7, 2024:
  24. ^ "Sale of Stratosphere parent now complete". Las Vegas Review-Journal. February 22, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  25. ^ "Icahn sells Southern Nevada casinos". Las Vegas Review-Journal. April 24, 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  26. ^ "A Goldman Sachs unit is buying 4 casinos from Carl Icahn". The New York Times. April 23, 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  27. ^ Velotta, Richard N. (October 23, 2017). "Golden closes on $850M deal for Stratosphere, 3 other casinos". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  28. ^ "Listing of Financial Statements Square Footage (2017 data)". Nevada Gaming Control Board. March 6, 2018. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018.
  29. ^ "Arizona Charlie's Boulder". Time Out. March 27, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
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36°07′27″N 115°04′32″W / 36.124227°N 115.075441°W / 36.124227; -115.075441

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