Derek Stevens buys land beneath Golden Gate Hotel-Casino for $19 million

Casino boss Derek Stevens has purchased the land beneath downtown’s Golden Gate Hotel & Casino for $19 million, gaining full ownership of the historic Las Vegas property.

The deal closed last week, according to Clark County property records accessed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

While Stevens has long owned and operated the Golden Gate, the underlying land had remained in the hands of descendants of Las Vegas pioneer John F. Miller, who built the original Hotel Nevada on the site in the early 1900s.

Miller purchased the land in 1905 during the auction that marked the founding of Las Vegas and opened the Hotel Nevada the following year. The property’s name was changed in 1931 to “Sal Sagev” — “Las Vegas” spelled backward — before San Francisco investors launched the Golden Gate casino there in the 1950s.

The land was held by the Miller family through a company formed in 1908, Sal Sagev Hotel Co. Inc. Stevens said he acquired the property from the family’s descendants, including company president James Reynolds, reportedly Miller’s great-grandson. 

Stevens said he first met Miller’s granddaughter, Carolyn Reynolds, when he and his brother acquired a 50% stake in the Golden Gate nearly two decades ago. The pair took full ownership in 2015, and at the time, they extended the ground lease through 2061.

Stevens said he had always wanted to buy the Golden Gate’s land, but the original owners were not willing to sell, the Review-Journal reports. He said he believes the Miller family wanted to ensure the site remained in responsible hands.

The Golden Gate, located at 1 Fremont Street, sits at the western edge of the Fremont Street Experience. It’s one of downtown’s most compact yet iconic casinos.

Under Stevens’ leadership, the property has undergone several modern upgrades while maintaining its vintage charm. A five-story hotel tower was added in 2012 — the Golden Gate’s first major expansion in 50 years — followed by a larger casino floor and a Jazz Age-inspired entryway in 2017.

Stevens also owns The D Las Vegas and Circa Resort & Casino, which opened in 2020 as the first newly built downtown resort in four decades.

The Golden Gate has deep roots in Las Vegas history. The city’s first telephone was installed in the hotel in 1907, and its first outdoor electric sign went up there in 1927 — a forerunner to the neon era that defined the Strip. In 1959, the hotel introduced the city’s original shrimp cocktail, a staple that became a Vegas icon.

Inside the casino today, visitors can see black-and-white photos of Rat Pack members and vintage memorabilia from every era of the property’s history. Among the artifacts: 1930s hand towels, 1950s chip racks, 1960s casino uniforms, and wood piping that once carried the line for Las Vegas’ first telephone — phone number “1.”