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Silver City's New Owner to Spend Millions to Upgrade Casino

The new owner of the Silver City Casino intends to spend "millions" to upgrade the Las Vegas Strip property, and foresees reopening the casino next summer.

Luke Brugnara, owner of San Francisco-based Brugnara Corp., said he paid "between $30 million and $40 million" to purchase Silver City from previous owner United Casino Holdings LLC. However, that cash infusion is just the first of many for the new property, he said.

"We expect to dump tens of millions of dollars into renovating the property, and have several leases pending with what you would call upscale businesses," said Brugnara. "Our tenants will all be four-star companies."

Brugnara added that he hopes to develop the 8-acre property into a full-fledged hotel-casino within the next five years.

In August, Mandalay Resort Group announced it would close Silver City at the end of this month. The company, formerly known as Circus Circus Enterprises Inc., leased the property 20 years ago and opened the Silver City in 1981. The casino currently employs about 150 people.

Brugnara said that despite his purchase of the property, it will close as scheduled at the end of this month and that he hopes to reopen it by next summer. Brugnara said he can't gain a Nevada gaming license in time to prevent closure of the property.

The Silver City purchase marks Brugnara's first foray into the Las Vegas market; previously, Brugnara made an unsuccessful bid to buy the Desert Inn hotel-casino. However, he already has established real estate credentials: his company owns more than 1 million square feet of commercial space in San Francisco, primarily in the city's downtown core.

Brugnara said he plans to expand his presence in Las Vegas. "We're looking at two other (Las Vegas) properties that I expect we'll announce shortly," he said.

Asked about his chances of obtaining a state gaming licence, Brugnara sounded confident of success. "My lawyer tells me that there's no reason to think we should have any problems," he said. Brugnara said he was taken aback by the scope of the gaming licence application.

"I've filled a lot of applications before, but nothing like the one for a gaming license," he said.

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