Grand Sierra Resort
Encyclopedia
The Grand Sierra Resort & Casino is a resort hotel located approximately three miles east of Downtown Reno, Nevada
. The hotel has 2,001 guest rooms and suites, 10 restaurants, including two by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer, and a casino
with 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) of space. The hotel also has a shopping center, wedding chapel
, pool
, convention center
, 50-lane bowling alley, a Lucky's Race & Sports Book, golfing and an RV park. The hotel announced in February 2011 that California based Meruelo Group will take over operations following a successful transaction from Credit Markets Real Estate. The ownership transfer was confirmed on April 1, 2011.
In the Summer of 1981 MGM opened an expansion of the hotel with a 26 story wing plus an additional 900 rooms, making a total of 2,001 rooms and suites. Three years later in November 1984 MGM revealed plans to expand the Reno hotel further: a $60 million 26 story wing with another 954 rooms, which never materialized. After fights and issues with the City Council, the expansion was later approved on September 23, 1985 amid rumors the MGM would be sold. Less than five months later on November 16, 1985 those rumors proved to be true with Bally Manufacturing Company announcing that it would acquire the Reno and Las Vegas MGM's for $440 million, further questioning the newly approved expansion for Reno. The increased purchase price transaction was completed in April 1986 and MGM Grand Reno became Bally's Reno, the price to purchase the MGM assets came out being more than $550 million. The expansion for Reno was delayed indefinitely leaving the current structure with 2,001 rooms. On April 18, 1989, Bally's shut down the popular Donn Arden production "Hello Hollywood Hello" that was created for the MGM Reno. It closed after 11 years and performances in front of more than 7,000,000 people. It remains still the longest running production show to ever play in Reno. In 1990 Wall-Street began to tout financial problems with Bally Manufacturing; but in July of 1990, they refute the claim and announce they will continue to operate the hotel-casinos. Three months later in October 1990, it became known that Bally was struggling with $1.8 billion in debts and announced a plan to restructure and reorganize to keep Bally's Reno operating. After two years of sluggish operations, on February 27, 1992 Bally's Reno filed for bankruptcy. The next month, in March 1992, the hotel was placed on the market. Quickly, bidding began between Hilton Hotels
Inc and Harveys Casino. The bidding went on until June 1992 when Hilton put an end to the war, bidding a massive $83 million. The transaction took a few weeks to complete. On July 31, 1992 Bally's Reno became officially the Reno Hilton.
Free of financial problems and immediately after the sale, Hilton began investing $86,000,000 worth of renovations in 1992 and 1993 to transform completely the interior and exterior of the hotel and direct the theme towards a more Western like image. In December 1993, following the renovations, Hilton confirmed that it was looking into building a 1,000 room addition. The Reno Hilton's ownership was a series of managers and company names; it was Hilton Hotel Inc. from 1992-1999 when Hilton spun off its gaming operations into a separate company called Park Place Entertainment. Then in 2003, following a 2001 purchase of Caesars World, Park Place changed its name to Caesars Entertainment
, with Hilton still holding an affiliation with the company. Around this time, the Reno Hilton was again being renovated. In May 2005, it became known that Caesars Entertainment, which was pending in a merger with Harrah's Entertainment
, had to disassociate all hotels under the Hilton brand as Hilton had removed itself from the company and did not want to become part of the merger. Consequently, the property was placed on the market and quickly picked up by a group of investors known as the Grand Sierra Resort Corp. The purchase price was $151,000,000.
During the first ownership of the Grand Sierra Resort, before JPMorgan took over operations, $100 million was spent to convert the property into the new brand. The money was spent on reconfiguration of the public areas, a new swimming pool area, update for the casino that included keeping the original MGM like ceilings, a refreshed hotel lobby and converting floors 17-27 into "hotel-condos" called The Summit. The company had larger scale expansion plans that included a water park, boutique shopping, a water and laser show, 48 story condominium high rises and further renovations. All never came to fruition. Briefly, the hotel was home to Nikki Beach nightlife and Ashton Kutcher's Dolce Enoteca restaurant. Both fell out as a result of the ownership transfer to JPMorgan.
On February 23, 2011 it was announced that California based Meruelo Group had purchased the resort for $42 million. In a release, Meruelo CEO Alex Meruelo said he plans to continue to invest into the property to make it better and stronger in the marketplace. Immediate investment will include room remodeling, casino upgrades, etc. The ownership transfer was made final on April 1, 2011. The Grand Sierra name will be retained.
On August 31, 2011 Grand Sierra Resort's new owner, Meruelo Group, announced $25 million worth of renovations to take place beginning November 2011 thru to Fall 2012. The renovations will touch all aspects of the property, including some areas that haven't been changed, structurally, since the hotel's construction in 1978. The renovations will highlight the expansion and renovation of Mustangs to become more contemporary and the renovation of 2500 East Ultra Lounge. A new mexican restaurant called 'The Cantina' will be added. The renovations will take the property from more elegant/luxury to modern/contemporary. The entrance, hotel lobby and corridors will be renovated. The entire casino will be remodeled and all 2,000 hotel rooms will be updated, including the Summit hotel-condos on the top 11 floors of the tower. All the standard rooms will be renovated in Spring 2012.
More renovation plans will be announced at a later date, expansion plans may include the construction of a parking garage.
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
. The hotel has 2,001 guest rooms and suites, 10 restaurants, including two by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer, and a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
with 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) of space. The hotel also has a shopping center, wedding chapel
Wedding chapel
A wedding chapel is a place, other than a legal court, and usually also, other than a church, where couples can get legally married. A church may also be used as a wedding chapel, but churches are usually called that by the marrying couple when the ceremony only involves those contracting matrimony...
, pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, convention center
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
, 50-lane bowling alley, a Lucky's Race & Sports Book, golfing and an RV park. The hotel announced in February 2011 that California based Meruelo Group will take over operations following a successful transaction from Credit Markets Real Estate. The ownership transfer was confirmed on April 1, 2011.
History
In 1975, officials from the Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Company began to scout out Reno locations for their proposed high rise hotel-casino they wanted to model after their very high profile Las Vegas casino, the MGM Grand. Following a deal with and approval from the City Council, MGM purchased land at the intersection of Mill and 2nd Streets, at that time a gravel pit. The Summer of 1976 saw construction begin on the 26 story, 1,015 room property that would then be one of the largest in the world. After two years of intense building, the building opened with fanfare, fashion and media attention on May 3, 1978. Rooms at the time were $35 for a standard to $250 for a suite. At its opening, the MGM Grand Reno featured a 100000 sq ft (9,290.3 m²) casino floor, the world's largest 1800 seat Ziegfeld Theater, various ballrooms, seven restaurants, nineteen bars, two movie theaters, a bowling alley and RV camp.In the Summer of 1981 MGM opened an expansion of the hotel with a 26 story wing plus an additional 900 rooms, making a total of 2,001 rooms and suites. Three years later in November 1984 MGM revealed plans to expand the Reno hotel further: a $60 million 26 story wing with another 954 rooms, which never materialized. After fights and issues with the City Council, the expansion was later approved on September 23, 1985 amid rumors the MGM would be sold. Less than five months later on November 16, 1985 those rumors proved to be true with Bally Manufacturing Company announcing that it would acquire the Reno and Las Vegas MGM's for $440 million, further questioning the newly approved expansion for Reno. The increased purchase price transaction was completed in April 1986 and MGM Grand Reno became Bally's Reno, the price to purchase the MGM assets came out being more than $550 million. The expansion for Reno was delayed indefinitely leaving the current structure with 2,001 rooms. On April 18, 1989, Bally's shut down the popular Donn Arden production "Hello Hollywood Hello" that was created for the MGM Reno. It closed after 11 years and performances in front of more than 7,000,000 people. It remains still the longest running production show to ever play in Reno. In 1990 Wall-Street began to tout financial problems with Bally Manufacturing; but in July of 1990, they refute the claim and announce they will continue to operate the hotel-casinos. Three months later in October 1990, it became known that Bally was struggling with $1.8 billion in debts and announced a plan to restructure and reorganize to keep Bally's Reno operating. After two years of sluggish operations, on February 27, 1992 Bally's Reno filed for bankruptcy. The next month, in March 1992, the hotel was placed on the market. Quickly, bidding began between Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
Inc and Harveys Casino. The bidding went on until June 1992 when Hilton put an end to the war, bidding a massive $83 million. The transaction took a few weeks to complete. On July 31, 1992 Bally's Reno became officially the Reno Hilton.
Free of financial problems and immediately after the sale, Hilton began investing $86,000,000 worth of renovations in 1992 and 1993 to transform completely the interior and exterior of the hotel and direct the theme towards a more Western like image. In December 1993, following the renovations, Hilton confirmed that it was looking into building a 1,000 room addition. The Reno Hilton's ownership was a series of managers and company names; it was Hilton Hotel Inc. from 1992-1999 when Hilton spun off its gaming operations into a separate company called Park Place Entertainment. Then in 2003, following a 2001 purchase of Caesars World, Park Place changed its name to Caesars Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment may refer to:* Caesars Entertainment, Inc., the now defunct company that was Park Place Entertainment, Bally's, and formerly the gambling arm of Hilton Hotels, and purchased by Harrah's Entertainment...
, with Hilton still holding an affiliation with the company. Around this time, the Reno Hilton was again being renovated. In May 2005, it became known that Caesars Entertainment, which was pending in a merger with Harrah's Entertainment
Harrah's Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
, had to disassociate all hotels under the Hilton brand as Hilton had removed itself from the company and did not want to become part of the merger. Consequently, the property was placed on the market and quickly picked up by a group of investors known as the Grand Sierra Resort Corp. The purchase price was $151,000,000.
Grand Sierra Resort
The transaction from Caesars Entertainment to GSR Corp involving the $151 million sale of the Reno Hilton was lengthy. The sale was announced in early May 2005 but wasn't completed until June 2006 due to management and finance problems. After all problems were addressed with all parties involved, the Reno Hilton became the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino on June 24, 2006.During the first ownership of the Grand Sierra Resort, before JPMorgan took over operations, $100 million was spent to convert the property into the new brand. The money was spent on reconfiguration of the public areas, a new swimming pool area, update for the casino that included keeping the original MGM like ceilings, a refreshed hotel lobby and converting floors 17-27 into "hotel-condos" called The Summit. The company had larger scale expansion plans that included a water park, boutique shopping, a water and laser show, 48 story condominium high rises and further renovations. All never came to fruition. Briefly, the hotel was home to Nikki Beach nightlife and Ashton Kutcher's Dolce Enoteca restaurant. Both fell out as a result of the ownership transfer to JPMorgan.
On February 23, 2011 it was announced that California based Meruelo Group had purchased the resort for $42 million. In a release, Meruelo CEO Alex Meruelo said he plans to continue to invest into the property to make it better and stronger in the marketplace. Immediate investment will include room remodeling, casino upgrades, etc. The ownership transfer was made final on April 1, 2011. The Grand Sierra name will be retained.
On August 31, 2011 Grand Sierra Resort's new owner, Meruelo Group, announced $25 million worth of renovations to take place beginning November 2011 thru to Fall 2012. The renovations will touch all aspects of the property, including some areas that haven't been changed, structurally, since the hotel's construction in 1978. The renovations will highlight the expansion and renovation of Mustangs to become more contemporary and the renovation of 2500 East Ultra Lounge. A new mexican restaurant called 'The Cantina' will be added. The renovations will take the property from more elegant/luxury to modern/contemporary. The entrance, hotel lobby and corridors will be renovated. The entire casino will be remodeled and all 2,000 hotel rooms will be updated, including the Summit hotel-condos on the top 11 floors of the tower. All the standard rooms will be renovated in Spring 2012.
More renovation plans will be announced at a later date, expansion plans may include the construction of a parking garage.
Attractions
- Laser TagLaser tagLaser tag is a team or individual sport or recreational activity where players attempt to score points by tagging targets, typically with a hand-held infrared-emitting targeting device. Infrared-sensitive targets are commonly worn by each player and are sometimes integrated within the arena in...
arena. Formerly Q-Zar/QuazarQ-ZarQ-ZAR is a type of laser tag that was developed by Geoff Haselhurst and Omnitronics in Perth, Western Australia...
, converted to a Lazer Runner system in January 2007.