Aliante Casino + Hotel

On November 1st at 3 a.m., Aliante Station Casino will cease to exist. It will become Aliante Casino + Hotel -- no more "Station." The owners, Aliante Gaming LLC, have owned the place for a year, having gotten the property as part of Stations' bankruptcy settlement. Station Casinos has been managing it since then, but the owners have now brought in their own staff to take over.

The new slot club will be called simply the Aliante Players Club. There will be 4 card levels, and when people sign up for cards, they will start at a level similar to the one they have with Stations. Apparently the new management has some minimal database information from the Stations program that will tell us what level card a person had before. No points will be transferred from the Stations card, however -- these will remain with Stations and can be used at any of the other Station/Fiesta/Wildfire properties.

Promotions are planned that include 10X points daily. This will allow players to build up their points quickly. We will have a Seniors Day every Tuesday, including a slot tournament from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and half-point dining.

Speaking of dining -- there are new food & beverage people who are doing many menu re-do's. The main thing they stressed is that all food will be fresh and made on-site. Since they will not be purchasing pre-packaged foods for 18 properties as Stations does, the chefs at Aliante will be able to be more innovative, and all sauces, spice combinations, etc. will be done here.

The buffet will be renamed Medley Buffet.

Cabo will become the Salted Lime and will feature authentic Mexican food.

Pasta Cucina will be renamed Bistro 57 (the 57 is in tribute to Nellis AFB and is the name of something there, which I don't recall the details of, lol). It will open daily at 7 a.m. and serve breakfast and lunch, as well as dinner. Dinner will feature Mediterranean/European dishes -- all sauces and spice combinations done on-site, as I mentioned. In addition to serving breakfast, there will be a coffee bar in Bistro 57.

MRKT Sea & Land will not change -- same name, etc. I believe the food court vendors are all staying.

The slot floor will be shut down completely at 10 p.m. on October 31st for the changeover. They hope to have it fully operating by noon on November 1st.

Pasta Cucina and Cabo will close at the end of the day on Sunday, October 28th. They will reopen with their new names and menus by the 2nd or 3rd of November.

The race and sports book will be owned and operated by the new management as a totally independent book, one of the few in Nevada, they said.

The new GM, Terry Downing, knows what he's doing. He has 16 years of experience with Station Casinos and was GM at 7 different Stations properties over the years. He and the other top executives are very knowledgable and customer-friendly, and we're expecting they'll be great to work with. Team members who wanted to stay will still have their jobs, including seniority, start date, benefits, etc. We've lost a lot of "middle management" people, who have already transferred to other Station properties, including all of our casino hosts. So there will be a lot of new faces, as well.

Training sessions begin this coming week (10/22) so we can learn all the details of issuing cards, comps, etc. I'm going to give it a chance and see how I like working with the new people. If I don't, I can always retire again, lol.

Great information, Sue.

As a consumer I tend to think we are better served by more choices so I look at this favorably. I understand some might frown that they can't benefit at Aliante based on play at Station casinos.

PS: Please mail me my new players card on November 1. Equivalent of Chairman's level, por favor.

LOL. I'm afraid you'll have to come in to get your new card.

It's encouraging to hear that there are professionals who still think there's a dollar to be made at a casino located so far from the action as Aliante. Just because it's been a money pit for years doesn't mean it has to be one forever.

I hope they're right, it'd be a very good sign for the region as a whole. If Aliante can make it, any can.

Sue thanks for the great information. You always had the inside info.

I liked our stay at Aliante and we have made the trip to play there a few times. I never thought that Stations advertised it well, and very few tourists have ever heard of it. I hope the changeover goes well and the place thrives. If they send me offers, I might give them a try. I wonder if they will pick up the mailing list from past hotel stays?

But will I still be able to use the 2 for 1 MRKT coupon in our book?
Hopefully a new company means more competition. The casino industry is getting too consolidated in too few names.

Aliante is NOT "so far from the action" for anyone who lives in the north part of the Valley. It is and always has been a NEIGHBORHOOD casino. What part of that don't you understand??? It has also been profitable for quite some time now, not a "money pit" as you describe it. If Stations had not gotten themselves into a financial mess leading to bankruptcy, they might still own it, instead of giving it to their creditors.

Our hotel is always full. We cater to people in the "neighborhood" and their out-of-town guests. We cater to the military due to the proximity to Nellis -- large groups of them stay here frequently. We host countless business meetings, private events, weddings, etc. Our catering department is very busy.

It's also a beautiful property, still clean after 4 years in operation.

In response to Gruberbox -- I don't know what will happen to the LVA coupons. You'll have to ask the LVA staff to talk to the new management to see if they'll accept them (and possibly renew them for 2013's book). I don't know if anyone at LVA is even aware of what's going on or has spoken to anyone about it. I posted this question on the Questions to Staff board.

Thanks for the fine and informative update, Sue. I have never been to Aliante and will make it one of my must do's in December.

You're welcome.

We're already seeing signs that the new casino will be popular with the locals. Many of our regulars are already cashing out their Stations points or using them up on meals, because they say they don't want to go to the other Stations. Aliante is close to home and has the atmosphere and amenities they want. They don't intend to drive 15-20 minutes to Santa Fe or Texas Station. We're hearing this from so many people. (This is also the reason I'm still here -- I live practically across the street and don't want to drive farther to work, lol, so I passed up opportunities to transfer to other Station properties.)

With a lot of good promotions, and some fresh, new restaurants, I think it'll do well. And of huge importance to many of our neighbors -- the bingo room will still be there. LOL