Locals casino company to open new tavern brand

Station Casinos will launch a new brand of small gaming properties beginning with a tavern opening in North Las Vegas next month.

The first of the new tavern brand, Seventy Six by Station Casinos, is expected to open at North Lamb Boulevard and East Centennial Parkway in late September. Two other locations are slated to open in January: on Kyle Canyon near the U.S. 95 highway and on Aliante Parkway across from rival Boyd Gaming’s Aliante.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to bring our products closer to our customers, and the tavern business is a natural extension of what we already do,” Station Casinos President Scott Kreeger said. “We can grow in our big box operations, our middle-sized operations and the taverns as well.”

Taverns are subject to restricted gaming licenses that permit operators to run 15 or fewer machines on a bar-restaurant property. Station Casinos’ licensing was recommended for approval by the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday. Final licensing approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission is scheduled Aug. 22

Station executives told Control Board members Wednesday that a total of seven Seventy Six taverns are in the development pipeline and would be completed by the end of 2025. Other taverns would be added as market conditions permit.

Red Rock Resorts, parent company of the locals gaming operator, already runs several restricted gaming properties under the Wildfire brand, but most are above the 15-machine threshold as they were grandfathered in. Kreeger said the new tavern brand is a different product with a name that has a twofold meaning.

“Back in 1976, Frank Fertitta founded the company with the opening of Bingo Palace,” he said. “It was also the bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence. So it’s a nod to the Fertitta family lineage and an opportunity to create a brand that’s based on an Americana theme.”

The food menu at the tavern’s restaurant will be led by Chef Danny Wilkins, according to the company. The menu includes ahi tuna nachos, fried street corn tacos, sliced ribeye panini dip, creamy poblano chicken pasta, a cowboy burger and more.

The company first publicly announced its plans to expand, including with four other locations under contract, during its first quarter earnings call earlier this year. Vice Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta told Wall Street investors that Red Rock had identified the sub-industry, marked by a younger player with interests in sports watching and betting, as healthy and a good opportunity for development.

“What we call kind of a smaller property seems to be very healthy and very consistent and actually growing,” Fertitta said during the May call. “So as a sign relative (to market health), it’s a very local market, but that is going very well from an operating standpoint.”

Kreeger said the taverns also gives Red Rock a way to expand their loyalty program, Boarding Pass, and reach more sports bettors through STN Sports. The tavern brand is also planning a VIP player’s club with promotions specific to the taverns.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.