Downtown Las Vegas' Gold Spike hotel changes hands in $11.38 million sale

The Gold Spike in downtown Las Vegas has been sold for $11.38 million to local real estate investors Huan “Jeff” Mai and Qing Zhong, according to Clark County property records.

The sale closed June 10 through the estate of former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, who purchased the property and related parcels for nearly $27 million in 2013, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The latest sale price is less than half of what Hsieh paid more than a decade ago.

The acquisition includes the Gold Spike entertainment complex, the adjacent Oasis hotel property, and a nearby parking lot operated by the City of Las Vegas.

Mai's investment portfolio includes several Southern Nevada shopping centers and the recently acquired Macy’s building on Spring Mountain Road in Chinatown.

Originally built in the 1970s, the Gold Spike sits just blocks from the Fremont Street Experience. Once a traditional casino, the property was transformed under Hsieh’s ownership into a nightlife and entertainment destination featuring live music, special events, bars, lounges, and arcade-style games.

The venue’s indoor space includes pool tables, foosball, Skee-Ball, and other recreational attractions, while its outdoor “Backyard” area is known for its eclectic collection of oversized games, decorative art installations, and social gathering spaces.

The property reflects the unconventional vision that characterized Hsieh’s Downtown Project, an ambitious effort to revitalize downtown Las Vegas through investments in real estate, startups, restaurants, and entertainment venues.

Before Hsieh’s ownership, the Gold Spike was acquired in 2008 by The Siegel Group, a Las Vegas real estate company known for its Siegel Suites apartment portfolio.

According to Michael Crandall, Chief Business Officer at The Siegel Group, the company extensively renovated the property, updating hotel rooms and hallways, redesigning the casino floor, adding a new bar and restaurant, and improving the exterior.

The company sold the property to Hsieh in 2013. Crandall confirmed that the casino operations ceased after the sale and that Hsieh subsequently reimagined the venue as the entertainment-focused destination it is today.

Hsieh, the former CEO of online shoe retailer Zappos, died Nov. 27, 2020, at age 46 from injuries suffered in a house fire in Connecticut. Unmarried at the time of his death, Hsieh left behind a vast portfolio of downtown Las Vegas properties, including office buildings, apartment complexes and retail sites.

Through the Downtown Project, a $350 million redevelopment initiative launched in 2012, Hsieh became one of downtown's largest property owners and a driving force behind efforts to revitalize the area. The venture, now known as DTP Companies, invested in restaurants, bars, technology startups and real estate projects throughout downtown.

Among his most visible projects was the Downtown Container Park on Fremont Street, where visitors are greeted by a giant fire-shooting praying mantis sculpture.