Yes, you're right. Thanks for the correction.
The Golden Nugget opened in 1946, downtown Las Vegas’ original carpet joint.
In 1972, Steve Wynn bought 100,000 shares of Golden Nugget stock and, within a year, he controlled the place. At age 31, he was the youngest casino owner in Las Vegas history up until then. In 1977, he built an $18 million 579-room tower, turning the Nugget into a hotel for the first time. He added a second tower in 1984 and a third in 1989, giving the Nugget nearly 2,000 rooms.
In 1989, Wynn, at age 49, also opened the Mirage and purchased the Nevada Club in Laughlin, rebranding it as Golden Nugget Laughlin. He then went on to build Treasure Island and Bellagio in Vegas and Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi.
In 2000, as the November 25 QoD explained in great detail, Kirk Kerkorian acquired Wynn’s six properties.
The Golden Nugget, though a profitable property, wasn’t part of Kerkorian’s plan to consolidate the west side of the Strip, which he eventually accomplished by buying up Mandalay Resort Group and building City Center.
So, a few years later, in 2004, he sold off the Golden Nuggets in downtown Las Vegas and Laughlin to Poster Financial Group, owned by thirty-somethings Timothy Poster and Thomas Breitling, for $215 million.
