Owner of Railroad Pass casino moves one step closer to gaming license

Ever since Joe DeSimone acquired Railroad Pass from MGM Resorts International earlier this year, he’s been removed from the property’s operations because he does not have a gaming license. On Wednesday, the Gaming Control Board cleared DeSimone through the first step of getting licensed — he now needs final approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Marcus Suan, an experienced gaming executive who has been in charge of the casino while DeSimone works his way through the regulatory process, will remain even after DeSimone gets his license. Suan will be the chief operating officer.

DeSimone, who has no previous gaming experience, told the board that his learning curve has been “steep, but at the same time constructive and rewarding.”

Changes have already started since he took control of the property: The casino has received a new paint job, and its roof is in the process of being replaced.

“We have peeled back the onion on an 84-year-old building,” DeSimone said.

Railroad Pass, in Henderson near Boulder City, bills itself as the nation’s longest-running casino. It opened in 1931 — the year casino gambling became legal in Nevada.

MGM took over Railroad Pass when it acquired Mandalay Resort Group in 2005, and the casino is not the only property from that transaction that MGM has sold lately. Previously, MGM soldthe Gold Strike in Jean, and just yesterday the company announced that it’s selling Circus Circus Reno and its half of the Silver Legacy in Reno.