Operator News
US – Lucky Dragon looks for external group to run its casino
By Phil - 8 January 2018
The Lucky Dragon, the Asian-themed boutique casino in Las Vegas, is temporarily closing down its gaming and restaurant operations as it looks to bring in an external casino operator and reorganise its offering.
The property, which has only been open for one year, confirmed the decision on its twitter account, where it said: “Effective immediately, Lucky Dragon Hotel & Casino is beginning the process of repositioning and in doing so will have a reduction in staff while it temporarily closes all gaming and restaurant operations. The hotel and gift shop will remain fully operational including room service, morning tea and coffee. In addition, Cha Garden will remain open, featuring a full bar at night and an expanded food menu. While this is a difficult decision, this repositioning paves the way for Lucky Dragon to establish new partnerships that will enhance the property’s long-term positioning and provide a better guest experience. We look forward to the future and reuniting with our team members as we implement this repositioning process.”
It is believed that the Lucky Dragon will now turn to an outside company to operate the casino and food and beverage operations, with the plan being to reopen the casino within six months.
John DeCree, an analyst at Union Gaming, said: “It is tough to compete in Las Vegas against major operators that have been around a long time. It takes a while to ramp up a new casino. If you don’t have deep pockets, it could be difficult to keep operating. A database that can bring in not just customers but high-caliber customers that can be your core business. A lot of the big operators in Las Vegas, Boyd or Red Rock, cater quite well to the local Asian gaming customer, as well as the international Asian gaming customer. It’s tough for a place like Lucky Dragon with limited space for them to compete with the history players have at other casinos. Because the focus was heavily on Asian customers, much of the gaming floor was baccarat, which has lower theoretical win percentage for casinos. It’s also inherently a bit more volatile. So, a smaller casino will have a harder time absorbing a couple of bad periods with lower win percentages.”
