The Mint casino opens in former Harrah’s Reno resort

Reno’s newest casino, The Mint, quietly opened on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, inside the former Harrah’s building at 210 N. Virginia St.

The boutique casino is among the city’s smallest, offering just 18 gaming machines. There are no table games or sports betting kiosks. The Mint also features a retro bar with "inventive" cocktails, including the Gold Rush, made with Maker’s Mark bourbon, lemon juice, and honey syrup. The on-site restaurant serves breakfast and quick bites like pizza, wings, and wraps. The casino operates 24/7.

Harrah’s Reno, which first opened on Oct. 10, 1969, was the inaugural casino to carry the Harrah name, founded by William F. Harrah. The resort closed on March 17, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Eldorado Resorts’ acquisition of Caesars. Its 928-room hotel and 40,000-square-foot casino remained vacant for five years after a failed attempt to redevelop the property into the mixed-use “Reno City Center.”

The building, designed by celebrated Las Vegas casino architect Martin Stern Jr., was sold in 2023 to Gryphon Private Wealth Management and Madison Capital Group, who announced plans for “Revival,” a mixed-use development featuring office space, retail, restaurants, bars, and a grocery store. Originally, the redevelopment plan did not include casino gaming.

The Mint casino and bar, a temporary concept, serves as the first amenity for the renamed Reno Revival project. Originally scheduled to open in October, The Mint’s debut was pushed back to late November. An employee confirmed to local media that the casino bar opened on Thanksgiving, with little fanfare.

Madison later partnered with Fine Entertainment, a Las Vegas-based operator, to open the boutique casino. The Nevada Gaming Commission approved the gaming license in 2023. Despite being temporary, the current Mint casino and bar serves the purpose of maintaining that license.

Fine Entertainment manages several other gaming and dining venues, including The George Sportsmen’s Lounge, The Rockhouse at The Venetian, The Oak Room, and BLVD Grille.

Fine Entertainment CEO Jonathan Fine said The Mint is not aiming to replicate Las Vegas. “I don’t think we’re doing what people would consider Las Vegas-style (entertainment),” he said in an interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal. “I think we’re doing a Nashville style, you know, or an Austin style, but with more glam and glitz, and a little bigger than what you’d see in Austin.”