History
It originally opened in 1976 as the 112-room Rendezvous. In 1983 Jackie Gaughan purchased the property after it had been closed for several months. The Gold Spike for years has been known as an inexpensive hotel with few amenities.
On December 6, 2002, Gaughan agreed to sell the Gold Spike and three other casinos to Barrick Gaming. This sale, along with several other downtown Las Vegas hotel/casinos, was completed in 2004, for a combined total of about $82 million. Barrick Gaming Corp was in partnership with Tamares Group. After the purchase, management discontinued the table games and only offered slot machines. In a few years the property was offered for sale.
On July 23, 2007, Greg Covin bought the property for $15.6 million with the intention of turning it into a boutique hotel.
He sold it on February 4, 2008 for $21 million to The Siegel Group.
The Siegel Group set out to completely renovate the property and combine it with an old and forgotten 52-room motel located next to the property. As one author wrote, the Gold Spike now has "Quartz walls, tile floors, wood accents, and new everything", making it "a very modern boutique hotel in the heart of downtown". The first floor, containing the gaming floor, the bar, and the restaurant, was completely renovated by February 2009.
By April 2010, all guest floors and the exterior of the hotel has been completely remodeled and renovated. In May 2010, the Oasis Pool opened, giving Gold Spike a swimming pool.
In April 2013, it was reported that the property's debt had been acquired by Tony Hsieh's Downtown Project, a campaign to revitalize downtown Las Vegas. Siegel then announced that it had sold the Gold Spike to the Downtown Project, and that the casino would close on April 14. Siegel retained rights to the Gold Spike name, and said that the company needed to dispose of smaller properties on its way to owning larger casinos on the Strip. Hsieh was reported to be considering several ideas for the property, including a boutique hotel, specialty retail space, or a club, but ruled out a casino, saying that he was "trying to help build a community".
Read more about this topic: Gold Spike Hotel And Casino
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