Nevada: Fertitta Entertainment to acquire Hard Rock Lake Tahoe, rebrand casino to Golden Nugget

Fertitta Entertainment, which owns five Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos and the NBA’s Houston Rockets, is set to acquire Nevada’s Hard Rock Lake Tahoe from Las Vegas-based Paragon Gaming for an undisclosed price, as per local media reports.

The company, controlled by Houston billionaire businessman and television personality Tilman Fertitta, will bring the property under the Golden Nugget brand once the deal is completed, according to a statement released on Friday.

Fertitta owns five Golden Nugget casinos in downtown Las Vegas, Laughlin, Louisiana, Mississippi and Atlantic City. Last year, his firm acquired the Wildwood Casino and Hotel in Cripple Creek, Colorado, for $43 million, with plans also in place to rebrand that property as a Golden Nugget.

Tilman Fertitta

“We are thrilled to be welcoming the Lake Tahoe property to the Golden Nugget family,” Fertitta said in a statement. “This acquisition represents a significant opportunity for us to expand our footprint into the Northern Nevada marketplace.”

The transaction, which the company hopes to close in the next seven to 12 months, still needs to be approved by gaming regulators. The 539-room Hard Rock Lake Tahoe sits on 24 acres and is one of four hotel-casinos in the South Lake Tahoe market, which reported a gaming revenue increase of 5.5% in 2022 to $263.6 million.

The property sits across from the long-planned $80 million Tahoe South Events Center, a 132,000-square-foot facility being constructed at the corner of U.S. Highway 50 and Lake Parkway that is set to provide a location to host conferences, sports tournaments and concerts with a capacity of up to 6,000 attendees.

Las Vegas-headquartered Paragon Gaming has owned the hotel and the 25,000-square-foot casino since 2015, and licensed the Hard Rock name from the brand’s owner, the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida. 

“We have had an incredible run over the last seven years in Lake Tahoe and couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds for our amazing team members. It’s been a privilege to own this historic property and we look forward to seeing the next chapter under the guidance of Fertitta Entertainment,” said Diana Bennett, CEO of Paragon Gaming.