Silver City Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Triblend Tee

Venue History

Multiple casino owner, Major Riddle, opened the Silver City Casino in 1974, replacing the Riata Casino, which closed after barely a year in business. Circus Circus Enterprises bought Silver City in 1981 for $30 million and renovated it. In 1991, it became the Strip’s first non-smoking casino. In October 1999, Luke Brugnara purchased Silver City for $31.5 million from United Casino Holdings LLC. At that time, Mandalay Resort Group operated the 20,000 sq ft casino, which had around 150 employees, but it closed on October 31, 1999, as Brugnara’s gaming license was still under investigation. He intended to create a San Francisco-themed resort on the property and planned a major renovation to have a fully operational hotel-casino by 2002. In March 2001, Brugnara’s gaming license request was denied, and although he considered suing the Nevada Gaming Control Board, he later opted not to. By July 2001, he began to reapply for a gaming license. In May 2002, Brugnara sold the casino and its property to Angelo, Gordon & Co., who intended to demolish it to build a Ross clothing store. In 2003, Brugnara planned to construct a new hotel and casino resort named “Tycoon,” but the original casino was demolished in 2004, and a shopping center called Silver City Plaza was built in its place.