Paragon Gaming 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

Enterprise, Nevada Enterprise is an unincorporated town in the Las Vegas Valley in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 221,831 at the 2020 U.S. census, up from 14,676 at the 2000 census. It was founded on December 17, 1996. As in other uninc ...

that owns and manages

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 ...

s in the United States and formerly in Canada.

History

Paragon Gaming was founded in 2000 by cousins Diana Bennett and Scott Menke, who were experienced gaming executives and the daughter and nephew, respectively, of prominent casino owner

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 ...

. The company began working with American Indian tribes, seeking opportunities to develop tribal casinos. In 2001, Paragon proposed to develop a casino at the

Channel Islands Harbor Channel Islands Harbor is a small craft harbor and shore-protection project in Oxnard, California at the southern end of the Santa Barbara Channel. It is the fifth largest harbor for small-craft recreation in the state of California and is a wat ...

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...

on behalf of a yet-to-be-determined tribe. In the face of opposition from local officials, the company withdrew the proposal and announced a new plan to build a casino at the Oxnard Factory Outlet with the Greenville Rancheria of Maidu Indians. This plan, too, provoked strong opposition, and was rejected by the city council. Later in 2001, Paragon announced a deal to develop a casino near

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

for the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians. The project drew some attention because the tribe had only one adult member; critics questioned the seemliness of developers profiting from a casino that would benefit so few Indians. The Augustine Casino opened in 2002 at a cost of $16 million. Meanwhile, the company worked with

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

bands in Alberta to lobby for regulations that would allow tribes to open casinos. When those efforts succeeded in 2002, Paragon partnered with the

Enoch Cree Nation The Enoch Cree Nation #440 (, ) is a First Nations band government in Alberta, Canada. Members of the Nation are of Cree ancestry and speak the Plains Cree dialect of the Cree language group. The band is a signatory of Treaty 6 and is a membe ...

to develop a casino hotel in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. The $178-million River Cree Resort and Casino opened in October 2006. Paragon operated and co-owned the casino until 2014, when the Enoch Cree bought out the company's interests. In September 2006, the company purchased the bankrupt Edgewater Casino, located at the

Plaza of Nations The Plaza of Nations was an entertainment complex located on the northeast shore of False Creek in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was part of the British Columbia Pavilion during Expo '86, and along with Science World, Canada Place, and the ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, for $43 million. In 2008, Paragon opened the Eagle River Casino and Travel Plaza at the Alexis Whitecourt Indian Reserve in northern Alberta. Paragon owned a 40 percent share of the property, with the

Alexis First Nation The Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation () no. 437 is a Nakoda First Nation with reserves near Edmonton, Hinton, and Whitecourt, in the Canadian province of Alberta, and headquartered at 54° N and 114°, about west of Edmonton. The Alexis Nakota Si ...

owning the rest. The casino's revenues fell short of expectations, and it went into bankruptcy by 2014; Paragon was left with no stake in it. In 2013, Paragon assumed management of the struggling

Riviera () is an Italian word which means , ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria (the Genoa region in northwestern Italy) in the form , then shortened in English. Riviera may a ...

hotel and casino on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

on behalf of Starwood Capital. The Riviera closed in May 2015. Later that month, Paragon took over management of the nearby

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 ...

under a lease from

Westgate Resorts Westgate Resorts is an American timeshare resort company founded by David A. Siegel in 1982. The company first expanded from Central Florida to Miami and Daytona Beach. As of July 2021, Westgate Resorts ha22 locationsacross the United States. ...

. The company transferred many of its employees and bookings from the Riviera to the Westgate. In 2014, Paragon began construction of the Parq Vancouver, a $600-million hotel and casino complex at the

BC Place BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a Crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...

stadium. The Parq opened in 2017, and the Edgewater Casino, which it replaced, closed on the same day. In 2019, Paragon sold its stake in the Parq to one of the property's other co-owners. The company added two more Nevada casinos to its portfolio in 2016, assuming management of 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 ...

near the Las Vegas Strip and acquiring a majority stake in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe. Paragon's management contract at the Westgate ended in 2020. In 2023, Paragon sold the Hard Rock in Lake Tahoe to Fertitta Entertainment.

Properties

The properties owned or managed by Paragon are: * The Den Las Vegas –

Spring Valley, Nevada Spring Valley is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States, located west of the Las Vegas Strip. The population was 215,597 at the 2020 census. Spring Valley was formed in May 1981. History In ...

* Oyo Hotel & Casino –

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 ...

Former properties

* Augustine Casino –

Coachella, California Coachella ( , commonly ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is the namesake and easternmost city of the Coachella Valley, in Southern California's Colorado Desert. Originally a railroad town, Coachella is a prominen ...

* Eagle River Casino and Travel Plaza – Alexis Whitecourt Indian Reserve, Alberta * Edgewater Casino –

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

* Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe –

Stateline, Nevada Stateline is a census-designated place (CDP) on the southeastern shore of Lake Tahoe in Douglas County, Nevada, Douglas County, Nevada, United States. It lies next to the border with California and is conurbated with South Lake Tahoe, California ...

* Parq Vancouver – Vancouver, British Columbia * River Cree Resort and Casino – Enoch, Alberta *

–

Winchester, Nevada Winchester is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States that contains part of the Las Vegas Strip. It is one of a number of CDPs in the unincorporated urbanized area directly south of Las ...

– Winchester, Nevada

References

External links

* {{official website, http://paragongaming.com/, Paragon Gaming Gambling companies of the United States Companies based in Enterprise, Nevada American companies established in 2000