Railroad Pass Casino

Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino, named after the nearby Railroad Pass, is a hotel and casino located in Henderson, Nevada. The casino features 12,803 square feet of gaming space with 323 slot machines, six table games, and a William Hill sports and race book.

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Located in the far southeast corner of Henderson, the property borders the northwestern portion of Boulder City and is situated between Boulder Highway (US 93/US 95) and the currently orphaned Boulder City spur on the Union Pacific Railroad’s Henderson branch line. The Nevada Department of Transportation’s Boulder City Bypass highway project reconnected these tracks and upgraded Boulder Highway to freeway status as part of I-11 in 2018, with a new interchange maintaining full access to the casino and hotel. The trailhead for the River Mountains Loop Trail is adjacent to the casino. Previously, the original junction of highways 93 and 95 was located in front of the property before being moved about a mile east in Boulder City.

Railroad Pass opened on August 1, 1931, and was the third casino licensed in Nevada, holding license number #4 under its latest name. The casino was popular among Boulder Dam construction workers who lived in Boulder City, where gambling and alcohol were prohibited. In 1975, Bob Verchota purchased Railroad Pass and began modernizing the property. A decade later, in 1985, Verchota sold it to Michael Ensign, William Richardson, and David Belding, owners of the nearby Gold Strike Casino. Railroad Pass then became part of their company, Gold Strike Resorts.

A five-story, 120-room hotel began construction in 1986 and opened on January 8, 1987, making Railroad Pass the first hotel in Henderson with more than 100 rooms. Dining areas and a gift shop were also expanded. In 1995, Railroad Pass became part of Circus Circus Enterprises (later Mandalay Resort Group) when it acquired Gold Strike Resorts. In 2005, MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts International) took over when it acquired Mandalay.

In September 2014, MGM agreed to sell Railroad Pass to Joseph DeSimone, a Henderson-based real estate broker and developer. The sale was completed in April 2015. The casino was temporarily operated by Marcus Suan until DeSimone obtained a gaming license.
In 2021, construction began on a new hotel tower featuring 127 rooms, which would be branded as a Holiday Inn Express.