Inside Gaming: Boyd Gaming to Acquire Aliante, Eyes More Growth in North Las Vegas

This week’s installment of Inside Gaming shares news of Boyd Gaming’s agreement to purchase one North Las Vegas casino and the company’s interest in acquiring more, notes Las Vegas Sands’ first-quarter decline, and passes on one investor’s thoughts about gaming growth perhaps occurring faster than it should in Manila.

Boyd Gaming to Buy Aliante, Reportedly Interested in Cannery Casino Resorts

Amid speculation that Boyd Gaming was primed to make a different acquisition, the company announced yesterday it had agreed to purchase the Aliante Casino and Hotel in North Las Vegas for $380 million, VEGASINC reports.

A statement from Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith expressed optimism about both the Aliante’s prospects and the company establishing a significant presence in an area many are targeting for near-term industry growth.

“Aliante is an asset without rival in the North Las Vegas market,” Smith said in a conference call announcing the agreement. “It will further strengthen and diversify our robust Las Vegas portfolio, which is the fastest growing segment of our business.”

The Aliante first opened in November 2008 as Aliante Station with Station Casinos and the Greenspun Corporation its first owners. Following Station Casinos filing for bankruptcy the following year, the Aliante eventually found its way into the hands of a group of private equity firms and banks.

The news of Boyd’s agreement to acquire the Aliante comes on the heels of a Reuters report on Wednesday that the casino operator has neared an agreement to buy Cannery Casino Resorts LLC, with knowledgeable sources citing a range of $225-240 million as the potential purchase price. That agreement is said to be imminent, perhaps to come within the next few weeks, although no one from either Boyd or Cannery offered any comment on the possible transaction.

Based in Spring Valley, Nevada, Cannery Casino Resorts was established in 2001 by Millennium Gaming, with Oaktree Capital Management and a subsidiary of Crown Resorts Ltd. also now part-owners. The Australia-based Crown Resorts had made a bid to acquire CCR back in 2007 for $1.75 billion, though ultimately only took a percentage stake in the company for $370 million.

Under the CCR aegis the Cannery Casino and Hotel opened in …

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