Hoover Dam Lodge is a hotel and casino near Boulder City, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Richard Craig Estey (Nevada Restaurant Services). It was previously the Gold Strike until it was largely destroyed by an accidental fire on June 16, 1998. It reopened the next year as the Hacienda and then took on its current name in January 2015.
The hotel is located on a parcel of private land surrounded by Lake Mead National Recreation Area, three miles from Hoover Dam. It overlooks Lake Mead and has a 17-story tower with 372 rooms.
The casino has 154 slot machines and a race and sports book operated by William Hill.
History
Gold Strike
The property was originally a patented mining claim owned by Las Vegas real estate developer Patrick Sullivan, who was seeking gold and turquoise. It became known as Sullivan's Gulch. In the 1920s, the Bureau of Reclamation withdrew over a million acres of land for the creation of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, but overlooked Sullivan's land. The National Park Service (NPS) made attempts to buy the land as early as 1936. They saw an opportunity to service drivers going to and from the dam, and little competition because Boulder City prohibited gambling. railroad were added. The project was killed by financing and water supply problems, control reverted to Belding, Raney, and Richardson, and the Gold Strike name returned.
In 1977, Belding and Richardson sold their shares to their sons, Dave and Bill, and Raney sold his interest to Circus Circus executive Mike Ensign.
Hacienda
thumb|right|200px|Hacienda logo (1999–2015)
The property was reopened in November 1999, at a cost of $30 million. A name change had already been planned, because the Gold Strike name had been sold to Circus Circus, so the property was renamed as the Hacienda. The Hacienda name was itself licensed from Circus Circus, which had owned the demolished Hacienda casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The Secretary of Interior allocated up to $20 million for a purchase. The owners ultimately decided not to sell the Hacienda because they were uncertain about their ability to find new jobs for the employees if the property were to close. The company announced plans to renovate the property and build a new gas station and convenience store.
Hoover Dam Lodge
The property was renamed to Hoover Dam Lodge in January 2015.