Enter the Dragon

It’s not clear what Lady Luck owner Andrew B. Donner has on his mind but he’s been gobbling up obscure little hotels over on the east side of Downtown. It’s out past the defunct Western casino, so we’re talking way off the beaten path. The Dragon Hotel, at 117 N. 9th Street was Donner’s latest purchase. The transfer of deed hasn’t been recorded yet but a Donner rep says he paid $2 million. That’s awfully “george” for a third of an acre. At that price, he’s not buying the Dragon for its palatial cash flow. He recently bought another low-rise motel, further east on Fremont Street. And since the ‘Fremont East‘ area is the trendiest in town, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that condo conversion is the intended fate of these two hostelries. If the young professionals keep gravitating to the general vicinity of the El Cortez, Donner could be well positioned, geographically, to cater to their residential needs.