Colorado Belle
{{short description|Former casino hotel in Nevada}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox casino
|name=Colorado Belle
|logo=Colorado Belle logo.png
|image=Colorado Belle.jpg
|caption=The property as seen from the Colorado River in 2018
|location=Laughlin, Nevada, U.S.
|address=2100 South Casino Drive
|date_opened={{Start date and age|1980|11|10}}
|date_closed={{End date and age|2020|3|17}}
|theme=Riverboat
|rooms=1,168
|space_gaming={{Convert|42706|sqft|abbr=on}}
|shows=
|attractions=
|notable_restaurants=
|owner=Golden Entertainment
|names_pre=
|renovations=1997, 2005 , 2012
|website={{URL|coloradobelle.com}}
}}
The Colorado Belle is a former casino hotel on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada, owned and operated by Golden Entertainment. Initially closed on March 17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 18, 2020, Golden Entertainment announced that the Colorado Belle would remain closed "indefinitely," even after casinos were allowed to reopen.{{cite news|last=Velotta|first=Richard N.|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/laughlins-iconic-colorado-belle-to-stay-closed-indefinitely-400-to-lose-jobs-2030754/|title=Laughlin's iconic Colorado Belle to stay closed indefinitely; 400 to lose jobs|date=May 18, 2020|work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|accessdate=May 19, 2020}} As of March 2025, the property remains closed.
The Colorado Belle is a fixed building made to look like a six-deck replica of a 19th-century Mississippi River paddle steamer riverboat, with 1,168 rooms in two seven-story towers. The casino had {{Convert|42706|sqft|abbr=on}} of gaming space with 750 slot machines, and 16 table games.{{cite web|url=http://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=3428|title=Nonrestricted Square Footage Report|date=March 6, 2018|publisher=Nevada Gaming Control Board|accessdate=September 10, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225155040/http://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=3428|url-status=dead}}{{cite report|title=Nonrestricted Count Report|publisher=Nevada Gaming Control Board|date=June 30, 2018|url=https://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=13383|accessdate=September 10, 2018}} The hotel had three restaurants: The Loading Dock, Big Easy Deli, and Pints brewery. The resort also included two pools, a fitness room, two gift shops, a koi pond and an arcade.
History
Advanced Patent Technology, a slot machine maker and slot route operator, announced plans in 1979 to build a hotel and casino, with the hotel to be managed by Ramada.{{cite news|title=Advanced Patent slates gambling-activity boost|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=July 26, 1979|publisher=via ProQuest|id={{ProQuest|134402295}}}} {{subscription required}} Construction began in October, as a joint venture with John Fulton, a Southern California restaurateur{{cite news|title=Advanced Patent starts hotel-casino construction|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=October 8, 1979|id={{ProQuest|134309172}}}}{{subscription required}} and the casino was opened on November 10, 1980.{{cite news|title=Advanced Patent adds 3 directors as part of an SEC settlement|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=November 25, 1980|id={{ProQuest|134405424}}}}{{subscription required}}
In 1983, a preliminary agreement was reached to sell the casino to a group including attorney William Morris and Circus Circus Enterprises executives William Bennett and William Pennington for $1.6 million{{cite news|title=Advanced Patent Technology to sell casino for $1.6 million|newspaper=Dow Jones News Service|publisher=via Factiva|date=January 10, 1983|accessdate=June 26, 2012|url=http://global.factiva.com/redir/default.aspx?P=sa&an=dj00000020011125df1a02m8a&cat=a&ep=ASE}}{{subscription required}} but Morris quit the deal a month later.{{cite news|title=Advanced Patent says talks on sale of Nevada casino off|newspaper=Dow Jones News Service|publisher=via Factiva|date=February 18, 1983|accessdate=June 26, 2012|url=http://global.factiva.com/redir/default.aspx?P=sa&an=dj00000020011125df2i02s2g&cat=a&ep=ASE}}{{subscription required}} The next year, Circus Circus bought the casino for $4 million, and made plans to move it to make room for an expansion of its neighboring Edgewater Hotel and Casino.{{cite news|title=Circus Circus buys casino from Gaming & Technology|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=February 16, 1984|id={{ProQuest|397964596}}}}{{subscription required}}
Plans for Colorado Belle were unveiled in 1985{{cite news|title=Circus Circus: New hotel-casino|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=August 19, 1985|id={{ProQuest|398031945}}}}{{subscription required}} and it opened on July 1, 1987, at a cost of $80 million.{{cite news|title=Colorado Belle sets sail for grand opening|date=June 24, 1987|newspaper=The Courier|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EfNSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hoIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4282%2C6104980|accessdate=March 22, 2012}}
Circus Circus Enterprises later became Mandalay Resort Group in 1999 and was bought by MGM Mirage in 2005.
In June 2007, MGM Mirage sold the Colorado Belle and the Edgewater to a partnership of Anthony Marnell III and Sher Gaming for a total of $200 million.{{cite web|last=Stutz|first=Howard|url=http://www.casinocitytimes.com/article/mgm-mirage-selling-two-laughlin-casinos-55224|title=MGM Mirage selling two Laughlin casinos|publisher=Casino City Times|date=October 17, 2006|accessdate=May 6, 2007}}{{cite news|last=Stutz|first=Howard|title=Group gets approval to buy casinos|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/group-gets-approval-buy-casinos|publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=May 18, 2007|accessdate=September 1, 2011}}{{cite news|title=MGM Mirage closes sale of Laughlin hotels|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/brief-32|publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=June 2, 2007|accessdate=September 1, 2011}}
In January 2019, Golden Entertainment bought the Colorado Belle and the Edgewater from Marnell and Sher for a total of $190 million.{{cite news|title=Golden Entertainment closer to operating 2 Laughlin casinos|newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal|first=Richard N.|last=Velotta|date=December 5, 2018|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/golden-entertainment-closer-to-operating-2-laughlin-casinos-1543161/|accessdate=January 14, 2019}}{{cite press release|title=Golden Entertainment completes acquisition of two Laughlin, Nevada casino resorts|publisher=Golden Entertainment|date=January 14, 2019|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190114005753/en/Golden-Entertainment-Completes-Acquisition-Laughlin-Nevada-Casino|via=BusinessWire|accessdate=January 14, 2019}}
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colorado Belle was among businesses that were ordered by then-Governor Steve Sisolak to close on March 17, 2020, to prevent the spread of the virus. On May 18, 2020, Golden Entertainment announced that the Colorado Belle would remain closed indefinitely due to the economic impact of the business closures and uncertainty about the market. Approximately 400 employees were laid off, although some could relocate to Golden Entertainment's other properties, such as the Edgewater and Aquarius Casino Resort.{{cite news|last=Horwath|first=Bryan|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2020/may/18/employees-at-colorado-belle-casino-in-laughlin-lai/|title=Employees laid off 'indefinitely' at Colorado Belle casino in Laughlin|date=May 18, 2020|work=Las Vegas Sun|accessdate=May 19, 2020}}
The Colorado Belle is the only gaming property in Laughlin that has not reopened since the pandemic closures.{{cite news|last=Stutz|first=Howard|url=https://thenevadaindependent.com/en/article/closed-casinos-visitation-declines-hurt-two-clark-county-gaming-markets|title=Closed casinos, visitation declines hurt two Clark County gamingmarkets|date=February 7, 2022|work=The Nevada Independent |accessdate=2022-05-15}} In May 2024, a small room fire was reported in the closed hotel, originating from a bathroom exhaust fan that had burned up.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-14 |title=Small fire hits iconic Nevada casino |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/small-fire-hits-iconic-nevada-casino-3050988/ |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |language=en-US}} As of 2024, the property's website now redirects to KATSU5, an Indonesian online gambling site.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.coloradobelle.com/}}
- {{Commons category-inline|Colorado Belle Hotel & Casino}}
{{Laughlin casinos}}
{{Golden Entertainment}}
{{coord|35.15798|-114.57203|type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NV|display=title}}
Category:1980 establishments in Nevada
Category:2020 disestablishments in Nevada
Category:Defunct casinos in Nevada
Category:Defunct hotels in Nevada
Category:Casinos completed in 1980
Category:Casinos in Laughlin, Nevada
Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1980
Category:Hotels established in 1980
Category:Hotels disestablished in 2020
Category:Hotels in Laughlin, Nevada
Category:Mandalay Resort Group