The Navegante Group is a

gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

company based in

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the ...

, specializing in areas of casino management, development, consulting and executive recruitment. It is often retained to manage distressed properties while new owners seek a gaming license.

History

After six years as the chairman, President and CEO of MGM Grand

Casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Larry J. Woolf formed Navegante. Navegante's first major development and management contract was

Casino Niagara Casino Niagara is a commercial casino located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It opened on December 9, 1996, on the site of the former Maple Leaf Village amusement park. Situated adjacent to Clifton Hill, the casino was originally envisione ...

in 1996. When the

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

government pursued development of casino gaming in Niagara Falls, Canada in 1996, officials selected 27 potential development groups including three publicly traded companies. The Niagara plan called for a temporary gaming facility under tight construction time frames. In June, Navegante was selected to head construction and development of their first casino with a planned opening scheduled for December of that year. To meet this deadline, construction ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As Navegante had projected, the property generated $2 million per day in revenue and $1 million per day in profit. The government of Ontario received its investment back in 180 days. Upon opening, Casino Niagara was known, in the industry, as being the most profitable casino operation, on a square foot basis, in the world. In 2005 Navegante was contracted by Tamaras Group to take over the existing operations as the lessee/manager of four hotel/casino properties in downtown Las Vegas: the Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Western and Gold Spike. Navegante, in conjunction with Tamaras, was responsible for a rapid and dramatic turnaround, taking the properties from major losses to positive cash flow. In May 2007, Navegante provided Tamaras with notice of termination of the lease agreements. In 2008, operations of these casinos were transitioned to another company. On August 1, 2007, Navegante was approved to operate the

Sahara Casino Sahara Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Meruelo Group. The hotel has 1,616 rooms, and the casino contains . The Sahara anchors the northern end of the Las Veg ...

while the new owner, SBE Entertainment, worked to obtain their own license. In May 2009, Navegante joined with other partners in forming Aqueduct Entertainment Group to bid on the casino to be built at

Aqueduct Race Track Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within New York City limits. Its races usually r ...

. The group won the bid on January 29, 2010. The partners in Aqueduct Entertainment Group are: GreenStar Services Corporation,

Turner Construction Company The Turner Construction Company is an American construction company with presence in 20 countries. It is a subsidiary of the German company Hochtief. It is the largest domestic contractor in the United States as of 2020, with a revenue of $14.4 ...

, Levine Builders, The Darman Group, Empowerment Development Corporation, PS&S Design,

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the posit ...

and Clairvest Group. In March 2012, the company was approved to operate the

Hooters Casino Hotel Oyo Hotel & Casino is a casino hotel near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Highgate and Oyo Hotels & Homes, and its casino is operated by Paragon Gaming. It is located east of the Strip and next to the form ...

, which was being bought out of

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

Canyon Capital Advisors Canyon Partners, LLC is an employee-owned hedge fund founded by Joshua S. Friedman and Mitchell R. Julis in 1990 located in Los Angeles, California.

. In November 2012, Navegante took over management of the

LVH – Las Vegas Hotel and Casino The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and was ...

after it was bought at a foreclosure auction by

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

and Gramercy Capital.

Projects

Development

Casino New Brunswick, Canada A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

* Grey Eagle Casino, Alberta, Canada * Casino Fandango *

Casinos operating

* Gold Country Inn & Casino * High Desert Inn * Red Lion *

Westgate Las Vegas The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and was ...

Previous operations

* Casino Fandango *

* Gold Spike *

Grand Sierra Resort Grand Sierra Resort (formerly MGM Grand Reno, Bally's Reno and Reno Hilton) is a hotel and casino located approximately three miles east of Downtown Reno, Nevada. The hotel has 1,990 guest rooms and suites, 27 floors, 12 restaurants, including Ch ...

Las Vegas Club Las Vegas Club was a hotel and casino located on the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Club opened in 1930, joining the Las Vegas Hotel which had opened in 1908. The Las Vegas Club was relocated across the str ...

Plaza Hotel & Casino The Plaza Hotel & Casino is a hotel and casino located in Downtown Las Vegas, downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. It currently has 995 rooms and suites, an casino and more than of event space. The Plaza Hotel also has a showroom, rooftop swimming poo ...

Sahara Hotel and Casino The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Arctic. The name "Sahara" ...

* Western Hotel & Casino

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.navegantegroup.com/, Navegante Group Companies based in Paradise, Nevada Gambling companies of the United States