Who owns the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas?

The Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas is one of the most iconic casino resorts in Sin City. Since it was built in 1946, de facto becoming one of the earliest properties on Fremont Street, the Golden Nugget has been renowned for its upscale offering, top-of-the-range food and beverage options, great entertainment facilities, and naturally, its constantly busy and sprawling casino floor.

Yet, the question of who owns the renowned casino remains, with the property originally built by Guy McAfee more than 70 years ago. Over the years, the Golden Nugget changed ownership several times, ending up with Stephen A. Wynn in the 1970s who later sold his controlling stake.

This happened in 2000 when Wynn sold his controlling interest in Mirage Resorts, which included Golden Nugget Las Vegas. The buyer, MGM Grand Inc, now MGM Resorts International, paid $6.4bn at the time, and later sold the property to the Poster Financial Group in 2003.

Since 2005, however, the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas has been owned by Landry’s Inc., the company whose boss is Tilman Fertitta, an American businessman, investor, and entrepreneur. Apart from owning the Golden Nugget properties in Nevada, Fertitta’s company also owns the Golden Nugget Atlantic City, which it purchased in 2011, along with a few other properties.

Golden Nugget casino ownership – From Las Vegas to Atlantic City

The Golden Nugget is a multi-property brand, with Landry’s Inc. the sole owner of the majority of these properties. The brand has been expanding rapidly, too, with the original acquisition of the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas dating back to 2005, but Fertitta’s company not stopping there, and moving onto Atlantic City in 2011.

Interestingly, the property in Atlantic City was not originally known as the Golden Nugget. In fact, Landry’s Inc purchased the casino from Trump Entertainment Resorts in 2011. Upon securing control of the property on May 23, 2011, Landry’s Inc. renamed the property to Golden Nugget Atlantic City, synchronizing it with the rest of its portfolio.

The AC property is much less historied all things considered, with the building starting out as Trump’s Castle in 1985 through 1997 when it was christened the Trump Marina, but another sale loomed because of Trump Entertainment Resorts declaring bankruptcy in 2009 and bondholders stepping in to sell the property and claw back some of their money back.

Luckily, Landry’s Inc felt like expanding to the East Coast and agreed to buy out the property for $38m. The property also went through a major overhaul and uplift, with Fertitta’s company stumping up another $150m to expedite renovations that were completed in the spring of 2012, making for a quick opening.

This behavior was already established in the past. Landry’s Inc would not only end up purchasing a property but also ensure that it spends generously on post-buyout refurbishments and renovations to help consolidate the property’s status as a go-destination for holidaymakers with a soft spot for gambling.

On February 4, 2005, Fertitta’s company confirmed that it was looking to purchase both the Golden Nugget Las Vegas in Nevada and Golden Nugget Laughlin in Nevada from the Poster Financial Group, owned by Timothy Poster and Thomas Breitling, which had acquired the property in 2003. The deal was a particular masterstroke for Fertitta.

Having previously spent $215m to purchase the Golden Nugget properties in 2003, the Poster Group was forced to sell them on the cheap, owing to the competitiveness of the market. In fact, Fertitta’s company purchased both properties for just $140m, although it soon after invested in a $100m project to renovate the property.

Golden Nugget Casino Locations

Who owns the Golden Nugget casino empire today?

Today’s Golden Nugget casino empire sprawls to five locations. Each of these venues is owned by Fertitta and Landry Inc’s, but the original purchases were those in 2005 when the company acquired the first and at the time – only Golden Nugget-branded casinos.

Following the acquisition, Landry’s Inc set out to quickly expand and rebrand other venues and locations all across the country. Here are several such developments.

• Golden Nugget Atlantic City: As we mentioned earlier, Landry’s Inc. acquired the former Trump Marina Hotel Casino in 2011 and rebranded it to the Golden Nugget Atlantic City.

It is interesting to know about the history of the Golden Nugget Atlantic City brand, however. As it turns out, this wasn’t the first time that Atlantic City had a Golden Nugget-branded casino. Between 1980 and 1987, Steve Wynn, owned the Golden Nugget Atlantic City, but sold the property for $440m to Bally’s Entertainment Corporation, which rebranded it.

It wasn’t until Landry’s, Inc bought the Trump Marina Hotel Casino and rebranded it to Golden Nugget Atlantic City that the brand returned to the Garden State. However, the original and successor brands were completely unrelated as these events reveal.

• Golden Nugget Lake Charles: Later in 2013, the company also moved to announce that it will develop a new casino property focusing on the Louisiana and South Texas market with the introduction of its Golden Nugget Lake Charles project. The project cost Landry’s, Inc an estimated $600m, and was essentially built from scratch.
• Golden Nugget Biloxi: Another high-profile deal carried out under the Golden Nugget banner was completed in 2012, when Landry’s Inc. bought out the Grand Biloxi Casino, Hotel & Spa in Biloxi, Mississippi. The move followed a similar logic, with Landry’s Inc investing money in the property to rebrand it to the Golden Nugget Biloxi that same year.

Golden Nugget also operates in Ontario, Canada through the digital gaming arm, Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG).

Fertitta's ownership of the Golden Nugget Danville crowns the portfolio

The Golden Nugget Danville, a significant addition to Fertitta's expansive hospitality and entertainment portfolio, has officially opened its doors. Granted a permanent license on November 3, 2024, this project reflects the continued growth of the iconic Golden Nugget brand.

Construction of the casino, a brand-new endeavor by Landry’s, Inc., began on April 19, 2022, with the grand opening taking place on May 27, 2023. As the newest property in the Golden Nugget portfolio, the Danville location underscores the company's commitment to expanding its footprint in the land-based casino and hospitality sectors.

Image credit: @Flickr (@Teresa Boardman)