Red Rock cleared to launch new tavern brand in Las Vegas

The Nevada Gaming Commission gave unanimous approval to Red Rock Resorts on Thursday (22 August) to launch a new gaming tavern brand in Las Vegas, as the operator continues its growth in the locals market.

At the hearing, commissioners voiced no opposition to the launch of Red Rock’s new brand, called Seventy Six. The name is a reference to 1976, the year the company was founded. As of now there are seven locations planned around the Las Vegas Valley.

The first two will open in North Las Vegas. A property at Centennial Parkway and North Lamb Boulevard will launch by the end of September and another on Aliante Parkway will open by year’s end. All seven taverns are expected to be operational by January 2026.

Introducing Seventy Six Taverns by Station Casinos, a new Americana-inspired destination offering gaming, spirits, food and sports-viewing set to debut this fall on the corner of Centennial and North Lamb. pic.twitter.com/NCl1uNlWl5

— Station Casinos (@stationcasinos) August 7, 2024

In Nevada, a tavern is a bar and restaurant that can also feature up to 15 bartop gaming machines. Taverns are a huge business in the gaming-crazed Silver State. They offer a smaller, more intimate gaming setting that a large number of locals prefer.

Tavern business is “natural progression” for Red Rock
Red Rock attorney Marc Rubenstein told the commission that Seventy Six is “a natural progression” of its business model. In August 2022, company officials raised eyebrows by announcing that it planned to double its footprint in Las Vegas by 2030.

Since that time, Red Rock has been busy. It opened Durango Casino & Resort last December, its first new property in nearly 20 years. The casino has received rave reviews and is planning for an expansion. The company is currently developing Inspirada Station in the Inspirada neighbourhood of Henderson. That casino is set to open next year. Its Wildfire brand of mini-casinos is also continuing to grow.

With that in mind, taverns represent yet another way for Red Rock to appeal to the Las Vegas locals market, which is extremely lucrative. In June, the sector posted $147m (€132.1m/£112.2m) in gross gaming revenue (GGR), according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. That was a year-over-year increase of 10% – it was also more than Washoe and Elko counties combined ($120.2m).

This tavern ain’t big enough for the two of us
The launch of Seventy Six introduces an interesting storyline between Red Rock and Golden Entertainment. Golden, another locals-focused operator, has long dominated the tavern business, with 71 locations. Its CEO Blake Sartini is also the brother-in-law of Red Rock CEO Frank Fertitta III and vice-chairman Lorenzo Fertitta.

Sartini did not comment on Seventy Six during Golden’s second-quarter earnings call on 8 August. Its tavern segment posted revenue of $28.1m in Q2, only about 12% of the company’s overall revenue. The overall total of $167.3m was a 41% year-over-year decrease.

According to the Nevada Independent, Golden president Charles Protell said its taverns posted a 10% decline in food and beverage revenue. This he attributed to the May playoff exit of the Las Vegas Golden Knights NHL team. Last year, the team won the Stanley Cup and played games into mid-June.