By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
The last few months have brought significant change to the gaming landscape in Mesquite.
Since last fall, Mesquite Gaming, the company that owns the Casablanca Resort and the Virgin River Hotel and Casino, has celebrated new ownership, welcomed a new General Manager, and announced a major renovation project at its flagship property.
Last week, The Progress spoke with the new Mesquite Gaming CEO Justin Moore, who took the helm for the company in mid-January. He talked in more detail about the changes that have recently taken place, and the company’s plans for the near future.
Change in ownership
Moore was quick to point out that the resort ownership company is still going to be called Mesquite Gaming. That has not changed.
“Basically we just changed shareholders,” Moore said. “So a majority of the previous ownership has been purchased, and now Oaktree Capital is the new owner of Mesquite Gaming.”
Oaktree is a private equity company based out of Los Angeles, California. With over 1,000 employees in offices in 19 cities around the world, Oaktree is a leader in the global investment sector with $189 billion in assets under management as of the end of last year.
This isn’t the first time that Oaktree has entered the gaming industry. The company has previously purchased Interblock Gaming, a manufacturer of electronic table games. In addition, Oaktree owns J&J Ventures, a large national slot machine operator.
“But this is the first bricks-and-mortar casino operation that Oaktree has purchased,” Moore said.
New Mesquite Gaming CEO
Moore himself is certainly not new to the gaming industry.
He was born and raised in St. George, Utah and graduated from Pine View High School.
His first job in the gaming industry started in 1999 as a food server at the Mesquite Star right here in Mesquite.
“That was the first casino I ever worked in,” he said. “So I know the area quite well.”
Later he moved to Vegas and started as a food server for Stations Casinos. Moore spent nearly 15 years there. During that time he advanced his way up the ladder to become an assistant General Manager at the company’s Green Valley Ranch Resort.
“It was a lot of hard work over a long time,” Moore said. “I am very proud of that story and I share it with all of our employees here; just as a way to say, ‘If I can do it, anyone can do it.’ It has been a very rewarding industry for me and my family.”
In 2017, Moore took a position with Rush Street Gaming as General Manager at Rivers Casino in Schenectady, NY.
Just prior to joining Mesquite Gaming he served as General Manager at Rush Street’s Rivers Casino, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania for two years.
“Then this opportunity kind of fell into my lap,” Moore said. “I was really excited to come back home to Mesquite and be leading these two properties.”
Casablanca renovations
Moore spent a few minutes during the interview talking some specifics about the transformation that is being planned at the Casablanca Resort. The company is poised to spend $6 million on an extensive renovation of the casino floor and surrounding amenities at the resort.
Moore said that the project has a number of focus areas. Central to that is to reconfigure the main bar at the casino.
“We have found that the most popular seats in our casino is at that bar,” Moore said. “It is very clear that there is a high demand for additional bar seats. There are just a lot of guests out there that enjoy sitting at the bar playing their favorite game or just utilizing the social activity there. So we know that this is going to be a fan favorite.”
The existing bar is currently only one-sided, facing one direction onto the casino floor. The plan is to open the bar up, expand it and make it double-sided so that it can be accessed from both sides of the casino, Moore said.
The new bar will have 52 bar-top video poker machines, additional big screen TVs and a beautiful back-bar display.
In addition, at the back of the casino, by the showroom, there are plans for a brand new sports bar. This will have 20 video poker machines at the bar, more new TVs and a sports ticker.
Next the showroom is planned to get a major facelift, Moore said. “We are going to open it up so that it is free flowing with no more doors on it,” Moore said. “It will be open to the public and the shows will be open.”
All entertainment programming currently performed on the central bar stage will then be moved into the showroom, Moore added. And when there are not live bands playing on the stage, the showroom will be equipped with a huge screen where sporting events can be watched from the comfort of the showroom.
“The showroom will now offer additional seating and better sound,” Moore said. “This will enhance our entertainment options for our guests which is really exciting.”
It will also allow for the casino floor to be less affected by the entertainment in the showroom, he said. “It won’t be so loud on the casino floor anymore when a band is playing,” Moore said. “So if you are coming to the Casablanca to play on our slot floor, but not to listen to the music, now that will be a possibility because the music will be in the showroom.”
Moore said that the company is excited to be in Mesquite and to make this major investment in the property.
“The company finds Mesquite to be a fabulous opportunity,” Moore said. “We are really excited about this reinvestment into the business. And there is hopefully much more to come in the future.”
Construction on the project will begin in May and is expected to be completed this fall. All operations and amenities at the property will remain open throughout the remodeling phase.
