Operator News
US – Las Vegas Convention Authority sells former Riviera land to Chilean casino developer
By Phil - 13 October 2021
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) Board of Directors have unanimously approved the sale and licensed use of a ten-acre parcel of land located at Las Vegas Boulevard and Elvis Presley Boulevard for $120m to CB Investment SpA, a company owned by South American businessman and casino developer Claudio Fischer. The ten acres had served as a portion of the land of the former Riviera Hotel.
The agreement to sell requires the development of a resort or hotel operation on the parcel of land. The LVCVA retained CBRE Group, a commercial real estate services and investment firm, to sell the parcel.
Fischer’s successful business portfolio ranges from casinos to residential and commercial real estate, primarily in South America. Fischer is co-founder of Sun Dreams, the largest casino resort operator in Latin America with 19 properties in Chile, Argentina, Panama, Colombia and Peru. The hospitality-focused company features gaming, five five-star rated hotels, 66 food and beverage outlets and convention centers.
The LVCVA board CEO Steve Hill said: “We had an illuminating time with Mr. Fischer. We got to see his flagship property (Monticello Grand Casino) south of Santiago and the impressive operation he has there. It’s a beautiful property, with a convention center, arena, hotel, and casino on a great site.”
“Claudio has been interested in Las Vegas for some time,” Hill said. “Several of our companies here in town know Claudio to be a very credible operator whom we would welcome to Las Vegas,” Mr Hill added. “We think Claudio would be a great neighbour.”
“He’s been in the gaming industry since 2000, so he has more than 20 years of experience,” Hill said. “He’s a co-founder with his brother of (casino operator) Sun Dreams, the largest resort-casino operator in Latin America with 19 properties in Chile, Argentina, Panama, Colombia, and Peru; they reached an agreement that has not closed yet to merge with a company called Enjoy, in which they’ll be the majority owner of the combined operation. At that point, it will be about 75 per cent of the gaming market in Latin America.”
Proceeds from the sale of the land will be used for Las Vegas Convention Center capital projects, primarily the initiation of the Las Vegas Convention Center District Phase 3 renovation of the pre-expansion 3.2 million square foot campus.
The LVCVA’s land acquisitions on the Las Vegas Strip date back to 1993, when it purchased the 20-acre Landmark Hotel site. The adjacent 26-acre Riviera Hotel site was purchased in 2015. Additional acquisitions in 2018 and 2019 resulted in an additional 9.6 acres, paving the way for the Las Vegas Convention Center’s $1bn West Hall expansion, which debuted in June 2021.
