After closing in August and getting a new owner in September, renovations are now underway at the Poker Palace casino in North Las Vegas.
Plans call for the property to reopen with a new name in mid-April. The Nevada Gaming Control Board approved Sparks-based Truckee Gaming for a gaming license for the property on Wednesday. The casino, which opened in 1974 and is known for low-stakes poker, will be rebranded as Club Fortune Casino North.
Its poker room will be revitalized, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
A Sportsbook Is Planned In The Future
The company also owns a Club Fortune property in Henderson, about 15 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Truckee purchased the property for $20 million.
“It had the look that if Circus Circus and the Excalibur had a baby, that was Poker Palace,” Truckee Gaming CEO Ferenc Szony told commissioners. “It really needed a dramatic change. We gave it a far more contemporary look. It was a total gut job on the interior, where we had to rip out part of the floor. We’re in the process of rebuilding.”
With a gaming license now in hand, company executives are moving to reopen the property as quickly as possible. That includes preferred hiring for the property’s previous employees, although staff will be reduced from about 125 to 100.
“If we can get it going with 80% of the things going, we would do that,” Szony said. “That’s how the construction gets finished.”
Plans call for adding new slots and gaming systems, a redesigned bar, a larger restaurant and kitchen, updated restrooms, and new exterior and interiors to help attract local gamblers. A new sportsbook is also in the works as well.
Poker Remains
While the “Poker Palace” name may be gone, the game will remain at Club Fortune. However, CDC Gaming reported that other table games won’t be returning.
Szony said company officials were optimistic about the potential for the property and for a turnaround in North Las Vegas. Truckee operates 10 other casinos, mostly in the northern part of the state.
The trend toward closing poker rooms seems to have reversed in recent years. Caesars Palace reopened the property’s room in May and several other rooms have opened across the country. However, Planet Hollywood closed the casino’s poker room in January after opening a new venue just a few months earlier.
In related casino news, Boyd Gaming recently announced that the new Cadence Crossing Casino will open in late March. The property will be located in the southeast Las Vegas Valley on Boulder Highway and offer 10,000 square feet of gaming space and 450 slots.
