The Colorado Belle is a former

casino hotel A casino hotel is an establishment consisting of a casino with temporary lodging provided in an on-premises hotel. Customers receive the benefits of both gambling facilities and lodging. Since the casino and hotel are located on the same premis ...

on the banks of the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

Laughlin, Nevada Laughlin () is an unincorporated community in Clark County, Nevada, United States. Laughlin lies south of Las Vegas, in the far southern tip of Nevada. As a resort town, it is known for its gaming and water recreation. As of the 2020 census, t ...

, owned and operated by Golden Entertainment. Initially closed on March 17, 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, on May 18, 2020, Golden Entertainment announced that the Colorado Belle would remain closed "indefinitely," even after casinos were allowed to reopen. As of March 2025, the property remains closed. The Colorado Belle is a fixed building made to look like a six-deck replica of a 19th-century

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

riverboat, with 1,168 rooms in two seven-story towers. The casino had of gaming space with 750

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

s, and 16 table games. The hotel had three restaurants: The Loading Dock, Big Easy Deli, and Pints brewery. The resort also included two pools, a fitness room, two gift shops, a koi pond and an arcade.

History

Advanced Patent Technology, a slot machine maker and slot route operator, announced plans in 1979 to build a hotel and casino, with the hotel to be managed by

Ramada Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. As of December 31, 2022, it operates 851 hotels with 120,344 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand. Name The ''Ramada'' name derives from th ...

. Construction began in October, as a joint venture with John Fulton, a

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

restaurateur and the casino was opened on November 10, 1980. In 1983, a preliminary agreement was reached to sell the casino to a group including attorney William Morris and Circus Circus Enterprises executives

William Bennett William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as the third United States secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of d ...

and

William Pennington William Pennington (May 4, 1796 – February 16, 1862) was an American politician and lawyer. He was the 13th governor of New Jersey from 1837 to 1843. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives, during which he served as ...

for $1.6 million but Morris quit the deal a month later. The next year, Circus Circus bought the casino for $4 million, and made plans to move it to make room for an expansion of its neighboring Edgewater Hotel and Casino. Plans for Colorado Belle were unveiled in 1985 and it opened on July 1, 1987, at a cost of $80 million. Circus Circus Enterprises later became Mandalay Resort Group in 1999 and was bought by

MGM Mirage MGM Resorts International is an American multinational hospitality, sports and entertainment company. It operates resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, Macau, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou and San ...

in 2005. In June 2007, MGM Mirage sold the Colorado Belle and the Edgewater to a partnership of Anthony Marnell III and Sher Gaming for a total of $200 million. In January 2019, Golden Entertainment bought the Colorado Belle and the Edgewater from Marnell and Sher for a total of $190 million. During the

, the Colorado Belle was among businesses that were ordered by then-

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Steve Sisolak to close on March 17, 2020, to prevent the spread of the virus. On May 18, 2020, Golden Entertainment announced that the Colorado Belle would remain closed indefinitely due to the economic impact of the business closures and uncertainty about the market. Approximately 400 employees were laid off, although some could relocate to Golden Entertainment's other properties, such as the Edgewater and Aquarius Casino Resort. The Colorado Belle is the only gaming property in Laughlin that has not reopened since the pandemic closures. In May 2024, a small room fire was reported in the closed hotel, originating from a bathroom exhaust fan that had burned up. As of 2024, the property's website now redirects to KATSU5, an Indonesian online gambling site.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 35.15798, -114.57203, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NV, display=title 1980 establishments in Nevada 2020 disestablishments in Nevada Defunct hotels in Nevada Casinos completed in 1980 Casinos in Laughlin, Nevada Golden Entertainment Hotel buildings completed in 1980 Hotels established in 1980 Hotels disestablished in 2020 Hotels in Laughlin, Nevada Mandalay Resort Group Resorts in Laughlin, Nevada Defunct casino hotels in Laughlin, Nevada