George Maloof Jr. and the Palms Casino story
The story of George Mallof Jr. and his family in Las Vegas begins with his arrival as a student at UNLV where he graduated in casino management in 1987. His love of Vegas made him stay in town and try to transform the way entertainment was done at the time – the late ’80s, early ’90s, only it took money…and vision.
George Maloof Jr
Maloof Family
The family money came through the work of his father, George Maloof Sr. who ran a Coors beer distribution business based in Golden, Colarado. The Maloof family was large and close-knit and included four sons (George Jr., Gavin, Joe, Phil) and one daughter (Adrienne).
Getting started in the casino business
The first casino George Maloof Jr. opened was in Central City Colorado and was called Central Palace Casino. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. In 1994 he opened the Fiesta Hotel & Casino establishment in North Las Vegas which also had a Hotel (100 rooms) and a Casino. It was the first casino built in the area and was a risk for investors, but George Jr. always believed in the project. The whole thing took 5 years, from 1989 (buying the land) to 1994 (official opening) and cost between $25 and $35 million. The business grew nicely and became popular in the area, attracting the attention of larger investors like Station Casinos. They bought the business in 2001. It’s now called Fiesta Rancho.
Palms Casino Resort, the dream of George Maloof Jr.
With the proceeds from the sale of Fiesta Casino, Maloof Jr. is taking it to the next level and plans to open one of the most impressive projects ever built in Vegas, the Palms Casino Resort.
Palms Las Vegas
In 1997, he bought the land (more than 12 acres) and three years later began construction on the resort. The project included 700 hotel rooms and over 8,000 m2 of casino space. On November 15, 2001, the Palms Casino Resort opened and George Jr. and his family’s dream became a reality. The building had 42 floors. Four years later, the 40-story Fantasy Tower opens next to the first tower, which will house the first Playboy Club.
The vision of Maloof Jr.
Maloof said he wanted to create “the coolest party hotel in the world.” The complex included various restaurants, a nightclub and a 14-screen cinema. The eastern part of the property was for tourists, containing the hotel tower, nightclubs and several restaurants. The western part included facilities geared towards locals, such as a food court and cinema. The latter was part of the Brenden Theatres chain. It was the first venue of its kind to open in Las Vegas. The Palms also had 840 m2 of convention space. In later years, the complex added other features such as a medical center and a tattoo parlor by Carey Hart and John Huntington.
Maloof’s exceptionally high standards of quality and service coupled with marketing strategies aimed at attracting celebrities as well as high rollers have brought Palms worldwide recognition and positioned the brand as one of the strongest in the gaming industry. In 2005, the Palms embarked on a multi-million dollar expansion, which in addition to the Fantasy Tower (mentioned earlier) meant building several more landmarks that had the mission of attracting more people to the Palms: the Studio at the Palms, The Pearl Concert Theater and the Palms Place Hotel & Spa.
Back in the day, in the years 2000-2010, it was said that if you’ve been to Vegas and haven’t partied at The Palms, then you’ve never really been to Vegas. If other casinos had nightclubs, here the entire Palms was a nightclub. The Palms had become a fad, the place where locals and tourists met celebrities.
He built the Pearl Concert Theater specifically for rock n’ roll shows. He brought young, up-and-coming music stars to Vegas who would never have played the Strip. The Pearl was the only place cool enough for them. Twenty years later, those stars are now playing the Strip… The Maloof family, who owned the Sacramento Kings basketball club at the time, brought NBA stars to town, so sports, entertainment and gambling were sitting at the same table. The Nevada Gaming Commission didn’t take kindly to this, but 20 years later the Las Vegas Knights (hockey team), Las Vegas Raiders (American football team) or Formula 1 have saved Las Vegas after Covid. Now this mix of celebrities, sports and casinos is a natural thing in Vegas.
The Palms struggled financially during the Depression years caused by the housing bubble in the United States and in 2011 was sold to Texas Pacific Group and Leonard Green & Partners, and they in turn sold on to Red Rock Resorts (Station Casinos’ parent company) in 2016 for $312.5 million. As of 2021 the resort went under the ownership of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians for $650 million making it the first resort in Las Vegas to be owned by a Native American.
Philanthropic activities
Believing that there is no greater asset to a business or community than its people, George has supported the Maloof Family Scholarship at William F. Harrah College and the Rebel Athletics Fund Scholarship at UNLV. Other community involvements have included, among others, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, North Las Vegas Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. and Lake Mead Hospital Medical Center.
George Maloof Jr. stands alongside Benny Binion, Jackie Gaughan and Bill Harrah as one of the personalities Nevada gave to change Las Vegas forever through their vision and ambition to make dreams come true.
Sources: Wikipedia, UNLV Foundation, ggbnews.com
