Who Owns Vegas
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Next: V
By Andrew Hudson
Last updated:
First published: October 2005
Tamares Las Vegas Properties
Hotels: 3; Rooms: 1,563
Led by CEO Poju Zabludowicz, private | tamares.com
Tamares is a private real estate equity group based in Liechtenstein (with offices in New York City). Through their subsidiary, Tamares Real Estate, purchased six hotels from past-partner Barrick Gaming Investments (David Barrick) in 2005. Barrick bought them from Jackie Gaughan in 2004. The CEO of Tamares is London-based Poju Zabludowicz. Tamares may close, or demolish and sell the land of, the Hotel Nevada, Queen of Hearts, and the Ambassador East Motel. Tamares and Barrick are in litigation over the purchase. While things are worked out, Navegante, a company managed by veteran gaming executive Larry Woolf, operating through subsidiary PlayLV, has, since December 2005, operated the Plaza, Gold Spike, Las Vegas Club and Western Hotel.
The Plaza may be demolished to make way for a discussed 61-acre, three-hotel downtown project.
Tamares was founded in the 1940s by Shlomo Zabludowicz from Finland. Since 1990, the company has been led by his son, Poju Zabludowicz (born in 1953 in Finland), who lives in London.
2007: Tamares sold the Gold Spike (110 rooms, 1976?) for $15.6 million to Gregg Covin. Tamares has closed the Western's 837 hotel rooms, the Las Vegas Club's Upper Deck restaurant, and the Plaza's Diner.
| Tamares Group Hotels in Las Vegas | ||
| Hotel | Opened | Rooms |
| Las Vegas Club | 410 | |
| Plaza Hotel and Casino | 1970 | 1,037 |
| Western | 1965 | 116 |
| Total | 1,563 | |
| Tamares Group Hotels That May Close | ||
| Hotel | Opened | Rooms |
| Ambassador East Motel | ||
| Hotel Nevada | 1932 | 160 |
| Queen of Hearts | 100 | |
| Total | 260 | |
TPG Capital (Texas Pacific Group)
Hotels: 0
Private | texaspacificgroup.com | Hoover's profile
Co-owners of Harrah's (since 1/28/08), following a $17-billion private buyout with Apollo Management.
Founded in 1992 and based in Fort Worth, TPG is a private investment firm with over $35 billion of capital under management. Often makes a leveraged buyout and take an active management role. Founded by managing partners David Bonderman, James Coulter and William Price.
Notable investments include Burger King (2002, with Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners), MGM (2005, with Song Corp. and others) (the film company, not MGM Mirage), Neiman Marcus, Petco, and J. Crew.
Tharaldson Lodging Companies
Hotels: 4. Rooms: 619.
Based in Fargo, North Dakota, Tharaldson Cos. was founded in 1982 and is controlled by Gary Tharaldson. One business (Tharaldson Development Company, Inc.) builds hotels and another (Tharaldson Property Management, Inc.) manages about 355 hotels under banners Marriott's Residence Inn, Courtyard and Fairfield Inn brands and Hilton's Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites concepts.
A Tharaldson affiliate is building the Bond (2007), a 188-unit timeshare by Russell Road and I-15.
For one year (Nov 2005 to Oct 2006), owned 14 acres of the former Westward Ho (1965-2005). The site was purchased in November 2005 for $146 million by C D P W H Acquisition, LLC, which included a division of Centex called Centex Destination Properties. The site was sold in October 2006 to Harrah's which then gave it (in exchange for Barbary Coast) to Boyd Gaming for use in Echelon Place.
In 2006, Tharaldson sold 130 hotels for $1.2 billion to Goldman Sachs' Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds. Tharaldson Property Management Inc., an affiliate of Tharaldson Motels, Inc., will continue to manage the 130 hotels acquired by Whitehall, in addition to its own chain of approximately 200 limited service hotels.
| Hotels In Las Vegas Managed by Tharaldson | ||
| Hotel | Opened | Rooms |
| Las Vegas Courtyard | 140 | |
| Las Vegas Fairfield Inn and Suites | 142 | |
| Las Vegas Holiday Inn Express | 177 | |
| Las Vegas Residence Inn | 160 | |
| Total | 619 | |
Three Sixty Five LLC
Private
Owns The Beach nightclub on Paradise Road. In July, 2006, Three Sixty Five announced that The Beach nightclub on 1.25 acres would be razed and replaced by a 600-room, 39-story tower with a casino and restaurant. Half the rooms (300) would be hotel rooms and the half (30) would be condo-hotel rooms. However, Marriott owns the land and may build its own hotel.
Three Sixty Five is a partnership group which includes principal Rick Tuttle. They bought the 1.25-acre site in March 1995 for $3.9 million.
Tippins Holding
Owns, with Stephen Siegel of The Siegel Group, the Gold Spike (112 rooms). May redevelop.
In 2007, Tippins and Siegel bought, for $5 million, the site of the Travel Inn (58 rooms) in downtown Las Vegas. In 2008, they bought, for $21 million, the Gold Spike from Gregg Covin.
Tippins Holding — founded and led by John U. Tippins IV — is a commercial real estate company that owns apartments, hotels, casinos, retail, office, land and bars throughout Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona.
TLC Casino Enterprises, Inc.
Controlled by Terry Caudill, private.
12/14/09: Binion's closes the hotel tower.
Bought two hotels in downtown Las Vegas:
- Four Queens Hotel & Casino hotel (opened in 1966, 690 rooms). Bought in 2002 from Elsinore Corp. (who owned the hotel under their subsidiary Four Queens, Inc.).
- Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (opened 1951, 360 rooms). Bought in 2007 from MTR Gaming for $32 million. MTR bought Binion's from Caesars (Harrah's) in 2004 for $20 million plus a parcel of land for $1.8 million. Caudhill plans to add 366 rooms. Binion's is named for founder and bootlegging gambler Benny Binion. His son, Jack Binion, relinquished control in 1998.
Terry L. Caudill owns TLC Casino Enterprises, Inc. Caudill started as a Reno craps dealer and rose to be Corporate Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer for Circus Circus Enterprises, Inc. (renamed Mandalay Resort Group), for 11 years. Caudill started Magoo's restaurant chain in 1989, and left Circus Circus in 1994 to concentrate on Magoo's, which has 15 locations in southern Nevada. Caudill also owns Chicago Brewery and Hurricane Harry's.
| TLC Hotels in Las Vegas | ||
| Hotel | Opened | Rooms |
| Binion's | 1951 | 360 366 more rooms planned |
| Four Queens | 1966 | 690 |
| Total | 1,050 | |
The Torino Companies
Founded in 1976 by CEO Brett Torino. Owns Metroplex and MetroFlag. In March 2007, made a buyout offer for the Riviera with Mr. Kanavos, Robert Sillerman and Barry Sternlicht.
TR Las Vegas
Owned by partners Tom Prato and Robert Reel, TR Las Vegas bought and assembled 120 parcels of land to form the 85-acre property for Pulse. In 2007, the land was sold to REI.
Tracinda Corporation
Private
The majority (about 60%) owner of MGM Mirage, Inc.
Kirk Kerkorian owns this private investment holding company. Based in Beverly Hills, California, the company is named for Kerkorian's daughters, Tracy and Linda. Pilot and financier Kerkorian has been buying and selling property and hotels in Las Vegas since 1962.
Trading Places International
Owns the Royal Resort Vegas, a timeshare in the RCI group. Trading Places is based in Laguna Niguel, CA.
Transcontinental Corporation
Private, Ron Boeddeker
From 1988 to 2008, owned and developed (along with invester Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI)) the 3,592-acre Lake Las Vegas development. However, after defaulting on a $540-million mortgage, lost ownership to The Atalon Group.
Based in Santa Barbara, California, Transcontinental Corporation is a privately-held real estate development and investment company. A subsidiary, Transcontinental Properties, Inc., also based in Santa Barbara, California, was the master developer of Lake Las Vegas Resort (with interests of Sid and Lee Bass of Fort Worth, Texas). Ronald F. Boeddeker is president and chairman. Additional investment was provided by Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) an Alaska Native regional corporation.
Construction of the resort's dam and two-mile-long bypass system started in 1988. The 320-acre lake was completed in 1994. The privately-owned 3,592-acre master planned resort includes custom home sites, waterfront and golf villas, resort condominiums and luxury executive homes.
MonteLago Village is a condominium-hotel project developed by Intrawest Corporation.
Transcontinental Properties, Inc.
Subsidiary of Transcontinental Corp. that is the managing partner of Lake Las Vegas Resort.
Triple Five Group Ltd.
Owns a stake in the Riviera Hotel and Casino through Triple Five Investco LLC and is buying 18 acres immediately south for a large project through Triple Five Nevada Development Corp.
Based in Edmonton, Canada, Triple Five Group Ltd. is controlled by the Ghermezian family from Iran. Developed, owns and operates the world's largest mall, West Edmonton Mall in Canada, and bought the world's second-largest mall, Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN.
Triple Five Investco LLC
Controlled by Canadian Syd Ghermezian, owns a portion of Riviera Holdings and the Riviera Hotel and Casino (2,700 rooms, opened in 1955).
Owned by Triple Five Group.
Triple Five Nevada Development Corp.
May build a major 18-acre hotel/casino complex on the North Strip, just south of the Riviera and opposite Echelon.
Buying the 5.43-acre site of the cancelled Majestic/Conrad/Waldorf project on the Strip from Las Vegas North Strip LLC. Intends to buy an additional 18.28 adjacent acres and build a major hotel/casino. Has FAA permission to build eight 572-foot-high towers.
The 5.43-acre parcel, previously the site of the La Concha Motel, was going to be The Conrad Las Vegas (216 hotel rooms and 696 condo/hotel Waldorf=Astoria residences), a $825-million, 60-story hotel from Lorenzo Doumani. Some of the additional 18.28 acres are owned by Luke Brugnara, Kalpana LLC (4.41 acres, site of the cancelled Icon), Yazed Enterprises (1.67 acres), Kishner Trust (0.34 acre).
Owned by Triple Five Group.
Tristar Capital
The vehicle of David Edelstein, a New York real-estate developer. Tristar owns 50% of Boulevard Invest, owner of the Planet Hollywood shopping mall, and a partner in Weststate Holdings.
Tropicana Las Vegas, Inc. or Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Resort
The new owner of the Tropicana (1957, 1,876 rooms). Acquired the 34-acre property and hotel in July 2009 out of bankruptcy from Tropicana Entertainment LLC. The company is owned by an investment group led by Toronto-based private equity firm Onex Corp. The chairman and CEO is Alex Yemenidjian, the former President and Chief Operating Officer (from 1995 through 1999) of MGM Grand Inc.
Tropicana Casinos & Resorts
A subsidiary of Columbia Sussex Corporation that owned (until May 2008), through indirect subsidiary Tropicana Entertainment, Tropicana (1957, 1,878 rooms) plus 13 other casinos in North America.
Tropicana Entertainment LLC
Filed for bankruptcy protection on May 5, 2008. The parent company, Tropicana Casinos and Resorts, suffered from two significant problems: A high debt load following the 2006 purchase of Aztar Corp. for $1.9 billion; and the loss of the company's casino license in 2007 for the Tropicana Hotel Casino in Atlantic City.
Owned (until May 2008) the Tropicana (1957, 1,878 rooms) plus 13 other casinos in North America. Tropicana Entertainment owns three other hotels in Nevada — including the Tropicana Laughlin. The post-bankruptcy company will beowned by an investors group led by billionaire Carl Icahn.
Tropicana Entertainment is an indirect subsidiary of Tropicana Casinos and Resorts which is an indirect subsidiary of Columbia Sussex Corporation, created in 2006 following the purchase of Aztar Corp. for $1.9 billion.
Trump Resorts, Inc.
Chairman: Donald Trump
OTC: DJTE | trumpcasinos.com | Hoovers profile
4/2/10: The turnaround arrives? In possibly the first positive economic sign since the global depression, Trump Resorts gets a lifeline with $190 million of long-term financing from German-based Hypo Real Estate Holdings AG.
Owns the 64-story Trump International Hotel and Tower (opened in 2008 with 1,282 rooms including condos). The location is opposite Wynn Las Vegas and next to the Fashion Show Mall, on a portion of the New Frontier Hotel. The hotel is a 50-50 venture between real estate developer Donald Trump (who owned about 29 percent of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc.) and Phil Ruffin, who owned the New Frontier, the land of which was partly used for Trump Hotel. The first tower with 1,282 rooms opened in 2008. A second identical tower was planned to open in 2009 but is now indefinitely postponed.
Trump's company that owns Atlantic City casinos (but not the Las Vegas hotel) filed for bankruptcy protection on Feb 17, 2009. Founder Donald Trump quit the board four days beforehand. This is the third time his casinos have sought protection from creditors. In November 2004, predecessor Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. filed for bankruptcy. Carl Icahn tried but failed to buy the company in 2010.
| Trump Hotels in Las Vegas | ||
| Hotel | Opened | Rooms |
| Trump International | 2008 | 1,282 |
| Total: | 1,282 | |
Tuscany Hotel, LLC
An operating company of the Heers Family Trust which owns the Tuscany Suites and Casino (716 rooms, opened 2001).
Turnberry Associates
Hotels: 1; Rooms: 2,929
Controlled by Don Soffer, with Jeff Soffer and Glenn Schaeffer.
Private | turnberry.com | Hoover's profile
Building Fontainebleau Las Vegas (2,929 rooms plus 959 condos, opening 2008) resort on the Strip by the Riviera, on the 25-acre site of the former Thunderbird, Algiers and El Rancho. Turnberry was founded in 1967 in Florida by managing partner Donald Soffer as a builder of planned communities. In 2005, Turnberry paid $165 million for the legendary Fontainebleau Hotel & Resort in Miami Beach. The company is operating through Fontainebleau Resorts, LLC, a privately held company whose owners include Jeff Soffer and ex-Mandalay Resort Group President Glenn Schaeffer.
Turnberry owns and is building several condo towers: The Residences at MGM Grand Las Vegas (currently three but potentially six 40-story towers with around 576 residences in each tower, behind the MGM Grand); Turnberry Place (four 36-story towers with a total of 740 condos, opposite the Hilton); and Turnberry Towers (two condo towers by the Hilton and Sahara).
Also controls Town Square Las Vegas, a shopping "lifestyle center" with 150-plus shops near McCarran International Airport.
| Turnberry Hotels in Las Vegas | ||
| Hotel | Opened | Rooms |
| Fontainebleau | 2008 | 2,929 |
| Total | 2,929 | |
Turnberry owns some choice Strip land — the sites of El Rancho and the Algiers — so more buildings may be announced.
Next: V
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Copyright © 2005–2011 Andrew Hudson for Photo Tour Books, Inc. Written for A Photo Tour of Las Vegas. You may reproduce this article for personal, educational, non-commercial and non-Internet use, such as in a hobbyist newsletter or school project. No Internet publishing is permitted. For commercial use, please email Andrew Hudson for permission.