Content area
Full text
A San Francisco real estate mogul who tried to land the Desert Inn has settled for the Silver City.
Luke Brugnara purchased the downscale Strip property and its adjoining retail plaza for $32 million and plans to put "tens of millions" more into the eight-acre site at Las Vegas Boulevard and Convention Center Drive.
The property. owned by United Hotel and Casino of Los Angeles, has been a hard-luck corner for years. Its 40,000-square-foot retail plaza is half empty. The 32,000-square-foot casino has been operated by Mandalay Resorts on a $130,000 monthly lease. When that expires Oct. 31, the gambling hall will close.
Brugnara, 35, is in the process of applying for a state gaming license. He says he doesn't plan to re open the casino until he gets the permit, probably sometime next summer.
And while Brugnara has no gaming experience, his attorney, Frank Schreck, has proven adroit at getting his clients through the sometimes-Byzantine approval process.
"He's batting a...