The burgeoning Henderson master-planned community Cadence has Boyd Gaming seizing on the opportunity to not only serve the residents of that development but the ongoing growth in east Henderson out to Lake Las Vegas.
The opening of a modern property gives residents in the area a more upscale option compared to the older properties along Boulder Highway. It’s also a new option to replace those who frequented the Fiesta Henderson on West Lake Mead Parkway that was closed by Station Casinos in 2020.
Cadence Crossing, which will open in mid-2026, will replace Boyd Gaming’s Jokers Wild Casino that will remain open during the construction of the new facility. It was previously called the Cattle Baron and changed to Jokers Wild when Boyd bought the casino and renovated it and reopened it in 1993.
The 24,000-square-foot Jokers Wild has a little more than 300 slot machines and two restaurants. Cadence Crossing will feature 450 slot machines with no table games, initially. It will have several food and beverage outlets to serve the surrounding neighborhoods. Those food options haven’t been announced but Boyd suggested it will create a more modern experience that’s going to draw customers that haven’t gone to Jokers Wild in the past.
Cadence has about 5,000 homes and is expected to more than double that at its build-out. It was listed as the No. 3 master plan in the nation in terms of sales during 2024. A growing Lake Las Vegas to the east no longer operates a casino.
“We’re going for an experience that allows us to grow our customer base, and that’s a significant customer base we will be drawing from and hopefully throughout that part of Henderson,” said David Strow, spokesman for Boyd Gaming. “It’s a very appealing opportunity for our company.”
There’s land next to Jokers Wild to build Cadence Crossing, which is going to be a larger property and be a phased development with the initial footprint; and as Cadence grows the casino has the ability to expand.
“We not only have the existing site, but once Jokers Wild’s building is demolished we have additional acreage to develop,” Strow said. “We have plans to develop a hotel and add additional casino space and restaurants.”
Only site preparation has been done so far and construction will begin soon on erecting the building.
Boyd’s last casino project in Las Vegas was the former Stardust on the Strip that was sold in 2013 to the Malaysian-based Genting Group and opened as Resorts World Las Vegas in June 2021.
“We have been active across the country, and the comparison to Cadence is the Treasure Chest Casino near New Orleans where we had a 30-year-old (riverboat) casino that was 30,000 square feet and replaced that with a land-based casino with additional gaming space and restaurants. That has done fantastically well and exceeded all expectations in terms of performance since we opened it in June. It does give you optimism when you look at products like that, that customers will respond.”
Boyd Gaming’s last completed development was South Coast in the south valley that was later sold to Michael Gaughan, who renamed it the South Point. That property opened in late 2005.
“There’s nothing in terms of new ground-up development that we’ve announced,” Strow said. “We have our ongoing work at the Suncoast (in Summerlin) to enhance and upgrade that property. We opened a new sportsbook and are now working on a complete remodel and modernization of the casino floor. That’s taking a 25-year-old property to position it for today’s customer. The Suncoast serves a growing part of the Las Vegas Valley and by investing in that property we hope to draw more customers to the Sun Coast that we may not have seen before.”
Boyd Gaming has finished a remodel of its (700 hotel rooms) at the Gold Coast on Flamingo Road on the west side of Interstate 15 and is preparing to start a renovation (of 1,800-plus hotel rooms) at The Orleans on Tropicana Avenue west of the Strip that will be completed in 2026.
Boyd Gaming has been busy with other renovations in Las Vegas by remodeling and expanding the Fremont Hotel & Casino where additional casino space and a food hall were added and renovation of the Main Street Station in downtown.
Boyd’s expansion and renovation comes as it faces more competition from Station Casinos that opened the Durango Casino & Resort in the southwest valley in December 2023. Station Casinos has plans to build casinos near the South Point and in Inspirada in west Henderson.
Strow said all Boyd Gaming can do is control what it does and make its properties the best they can be.
“We understand that Las Vegas is a very competitive market,” Strow said. “If we want to keep customers coming back and attract new customers we have to offer them a reason to come back and visit us. That’s what motivates our property investments. Stay tuned. We will continue to look for opportunities to make further improvements to our properties.”
