In a North Las Vegas proxy war, Station Casinos handed defeat to Boyd Gaming when its preferred candidate, Councilwoman Shari Buck, trounced a colleague, to become the city's next mayor. Both Boyd and Station contributed to both candidates but slight biases were evident.
Station and partner Greenspun Corp. gave $32,600 to Buck, $28,500 to opponent William Robinson. Boyd and its NLV partner, Olympia Group, gave $37,500 to Robinson, as opposed to $25,000 for Buck.
Hence, the outcome of the election will not be good news for Boyd, especially if Station comes back to the city council, asking for a zoning variance so it can build Losee Station … right across the street from Boyd's as-yet-untitled joint venture with Olympia. Outgoing Mayor Michael Montandon had opposed expanding the number of casino enterprize zones in NLV until all the existing ones have been developed, a process that might have required waiting until Hell is dripping with icicles. With Montandon out of the picture, all bets — so to speak — are off.
