Las Vegas: Lucky Dragon sold for $36 million

The Lucky Dragon Hotel in Las Vegas was bought up. A reopening is planned but without a casino.

Actually, the Lucky Dragon was supposed to be auctioned last year. After there was however a delay for the original owners, the owner changed only in this year.

Don Ahern, CEO of Ahern Rentals, purchased the Lucky Dragon for $36 million. The building is to be reopened as a hotel under the same name. The casino will be replaced by conference rooms.

So far, the Lucky Dragon Hotel and Casino is considered one of the biggest bankruptcies in Sin City’s recent history. Although the construction costs were manageable at $165 million, the gates were not even open for two years.

The quick end had several reasons. First, developer Andrew Fonfa took over with a $90 million loan. On the other hand, the concept was doomed to failure.

The Lucky Dragon was supposed to attract Chinese high rollers with its strongly Asian style and generate 85% of the turnover through the casino. Today, however, casino revenues average less than 30%.

Another problem is the situation. The Lucky Dragon a block away from the north end of the strip. On top of that, the casino with only 2,550 square meters was too small, the 200 hotel rooms too few.