Paragon Gaming extends management agreement with Westgate Las Vegas

August 21, 2018 12:30 PM
  • Howard Stutz, CDC Gaming Reports
August 21, 2018 12:30 PM
  • Howard Stutz, CDC Gaming Reports

Casino management firm Paragon Gaming has extended its agreement to operate the resort and casino functions of Westgate Las Vegas, which the company has overseen since 2015.

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Paragon, which is headed by Diana Bennett, has run the off-Las Vegas Strip property – once known as the Las Vegas Hilton – throughout the time that Florida-based Westgate Resorts has overseen nearly $200 million in capital improvements to the nearly 3,000-room hotel-casino.

“It was not a challenge at all,” Bennett said in an interview. “From day one we made suggestions on what improvements were needed, and there has been tremendous cooperation.”

Changes and renovations were made to Westgate’s 225,000-square-feet of convention and meeting space, a large portion of the hotel’s rooms and suites, the restaurant portfolio, and the property’s race and sports book. Meanwhile, Paragon kept the property on track.

“Paragon Gaming’s expertise has helped improve our team’s performance on every level,” Westgate Resorts Chief Operating Officer Mark Waltrip said in a statement. “With so many changes coming to Las Vegas in the next several years, we’re grateful to be working alongside such experienced casino and resort operators.”

A time frame was not given for the management contract, although Tuesday’s statement indicated that the deal was “long-term.” Financial terms were also not disclosed. The privately-held Paragon earns a management fee for operating the resort and a quarterly bonus based on property earnings.

In addition to the Westgate, Paragon manages Hooters Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, Hard Rock Lake Tahoe and the Parq Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.

In an interview, Bennett said that because the properties each have different ownerships, they don’t share customer databases. But Paragon is able to bring customers from Canada or Lake Tahoe who want to visit Las Vegas to the Westgate.

She said Westgate Las Vegas will benefit from the planned $1.4 billion expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center, which be developed on a vacant parcel of land on the Las Vegas Strip across Paradise Road from the Westgate’s entrance. Coincidently, the site once housed the Riviera Hotel and Casino, which Paragon managed until it was purchased by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Bennett said many Riviera customers migrated to the Westgate, and that meetings and conventions that had been booked at the property before it was closed found a new home across Paradise Road.

“Nobody got displaced,” she said.

Bennett said Paragon has achieved “early goals” at the Westgate since taking over the operations, which included making the property “a centerpiece of the thriving North Strip.”

The area, which is considered north of the Wynn Las Vegas-Encore complex, is seeing renewed development. Resorts World Las Vegas – owned by Malaysia-based Genting Berhad – has been under construction since last year, and renovations are planned at SLS Las Vegas.

“The convention center expansion being on that end (of the Strip) should help bring more development north,” she said.

Bennett, the daughter of the late gaming pioneer Bill Bennett, founded Paragon in 2000 with gaming executive Scott Menke. Last year, she was inducted into the American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame.

Westgate Resorts, one nation’s largest timeshare developers and operators, acquired the property in 2014 for between $150 million and $170 million. The resort became known as LVH-Las Vegas Hotel Casino in 2012, after Hilton pulled its name off the building following more than 40 years. The property was built in 1969 by billionaire developer Kirk Kerkorian.

Between 1981 and 1990, the Las Vegas Hilton was considered the largest hotel in the world based on number of rooms. Its famed International Showroom was home to such performers as Elvis Presley, Liberace, Wayne Newton and Barry Manilow.

“There is a great deal of Las Vegas history in this property and we really care about that,” Bennett said. “We’re fortunate to have good partners.”

The Westgate is also home to the SuperBook, a 30,000-square-foot sports betting facility that includes 350 seats and a 220-foot-by-18-foot video wall.

Last week, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Westgate Resorts wants to take the Super Book concept around the U.S., following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that allows states to legalize sports betting.

Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.