Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Taking the 90-minute drive from Las Vegas to Mesquite, civilization quickly falls to the wayside as the desolate landscape turns a deep red.
Those earthy tones of the Mojave Desert are also found everywhere in a $100 million renovation of Eureka Casino Resort, one of three resorts in a city of about 23,000 residents.
Announced in May, the first phase is revamping its steakhouse, ballrooms, gaming floor, hotels and exterior. There is no estimated completion date.
A $60 million second phase will develop surrounding property for condominiums and apartments.
In the redesigned Gregory’s Mesquite Grill, bartenders formed an assembly line, churning out Manhattans on a black marble countertop.
The new steakhouse is elegant, with red carpet and pricey wines, but also cozy and intimate with private dining rooms.
With dim lighting, wood walls and gold trim, the bar gives off vibes of New York and Chicago of the 1970s.
Eureka CEO Andre Carrier said he thought about the renovation “almost like a set designer,” referencing the ornate bars featured in James Bond films.
“This is definitely a period piece, taking people a little bit back in time when things were a bit more elegant,” he said.
Designing for Mesquite
Like Las Vegas, Mesquite isn’t the same place it was a few decades ago.
While the outlying area still has some farming industry, the city is filled with master-planned communities. The population has more than doubled since 2000.
Carrier said he’s seen the quality of everything from housing to health care improve in the region over the past 20 years.
“Mesquite has grown and changed a lot since my parents and I built this building,” Eureka Chairman Greg Lee said in a statement. “We want Eureka to grow and change with it from an architectural and design perspective.”
But Eureka is avoiding the glass-tower look common on the Las Vegas Strip.
“Mesquite is a desert city where there is old and there’s new,” Carrier said. “Authentic to Mesquite is certainly the agricultural ranching society … (which is) still present in parts of the valley. At the same time, Mesquite is a new city when it comes to residential leisure living. So you have to bring those two elements together in an architectural design.”
Though Carrier said Mesquite is a “locals environment,” the resort is also supported heavily by visitors from Utah.
They make up a quarter of the tourists in Mesquite, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
The average visitor to Mesquite spent around $215 on food during their trip in 2023. The average gambling budget was $500, up from $300 in 2019, according to the LVCVA.
H. Fletch Brunelle, the LVCVA’s vice president of marketing, said many tourists head to Mesquite for golf. There are seven courses within a 10-minute drive of Eureka, and the city hosts the Mesquite Amateur golf tournament.
An employee-owned expansion
Employees at Eureka have a vested interest in the renovation. The resort has an employee stock ownership plan where employees receive shares of a trust that they can sell back later at full market value.
“They connect differently, I think, with the business and what we do,” Carrier said. “The purpose of Eureka is to show that people and profits can’t just coexist, they can thrive. You don’t have to choose one over the other.”
In an industry where some company turnover rates easily eclipse 70%, Eureka’s turnover has dipped below 7%, Carrier said. Employees are staying longer and seeing the wealth from their ownership stake grow and grow, he said.
Carrier is quick to emphasize that the focus on employees is more than just the stock plan but the property’s philosophy. As part of the second construction phase, the resort will develop 35 acres of land for housing, some of which will be for Eureka employees.
“We think this site is among the most beautiful in Mesquite,” Lee said of the property. “Sensational views of our mountains and golf courses and the convenience of being close to Eureka’s resort facilities will make it a tremendous place to live.”
Longtime Eureka visitors said they notice a difference in how the staff works with guests compared with other casinos.
Regular guest Sheila Raj said the cocktail waitresses genuinely care about how she’s doing.
“They have the vested interest, so they show the personal interest in you and your welfare in the casino,” she said.
Carrier said those types of relationships with employees help drive customers to Eureka.
“This is a weird business,” he said. “Nobody needs to go to a casino. So this is a want, and really that want or desire is primarily driven by the relationships you have with the people who work there. That’s just the truth.”
[email protected] / 702-990-8923 / @Kyle_Chouinard
