For some reason, we get this question all the time. We don't know what it is about this shuttered casino downtown that so many people miss or are anxious about, but when something, anything, happens there, we feel compelled to put inquiring minds at ease -- at least for the moment.
In January 2006, it was announced that the Lady Luck would close within a month for a year-long remodeling. The venerable downtown hotel-casino, which opened in 1964, did indeed shut down on Feb. 11, but it’s been closed ever since.
Last June, CIM Group, a Los Angeles-based developer, partnered up with the Las Vegas-based Donner Investment Trust, which owned the North Third Street property. CIM specializes in developing upscale office, residential, and retail space in downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Santa Monica. Reported at the time were CIM’s hints that the focus of its plans for Lady Luck might not include a casino and could extend outward from the closed property.
A few more details have recently been revealed along those lines. CIM and Donner are now proposing to "revive Third Street" by turning it into a "new urban destination" with retail and entertainment venues and as many as three new hotel towers.
Donner and CIM have been making inquiries about buying buildings along Third Street between Fremont and Stewart. Speculation has it that the Lady Luck partners would like to control the property adjacent to the Fremont Street Experience to enhance the link along between Stewart Avenue and Fremont Street.
CIM has submitted preliminary plans to the city that outline "a pedestrian-oriented retail and entertainment armature" along the two-block stretch.
At a recent City Council meeting, CIM, whose portfolio of urban real estate totals more than $4 billion, reported that it would release design documents by November 1. It also appears that CIM is actively seeking a casino operator and that gambling might be in the Lady Luck’s future after all.
