Fiesta (1994–2001) George J. Maloof Jr. had wanted to own a casino in
Las Vegas, The property for the eventual hotel-casino – at the northeast corner of North Rancho Drive and West Lake Mead Boulevard in
North Las Vegas, Nevada – was purchased by the family in 1989. The Maloof Companies announced the $15 million However, George Maloof ultimately spent three years trying to obtain financing for the project: "It was tough to put it together. A lot of people questioned the location. I looked at the growth in the area and was convinced it could work. I just had to convince other people."
Groundbreaking eventually began in April 1994, with the completion and opening scheduled for December. The hotel-casino was constructed at a cost of either $25 million, The Fiesta was the first hotel-casino to open in
North Las Vegas, Nevada, and only the second hotel-casino in the northwest Las Vegas area, after the nearby
Santa Fe, also on North Rancho Drive. A future competitor, the
Texas Station, opened across the street from the Fiesta in 1995. The Fiesta had a Mexican theme, and the hotel featured 100 rooms in a five-story tower. with 608 slots, 14 table games, and a bingo hall.
Garduño's, a Mexican restaurant chain in the Maloofs' home state of
New Mexico, was among the five restaurants in the Fiesta, which also included a steakhouse and a buffet. while George Maloof served as the president of the hotel-casino.
1995 expansion George Maloof, speaking about the casino's success, said, "We figured out quickly that it was too small when we opened." George Maloof enjoyed spending time on the casino floor so he could get customer flowback, and that led to him having the buffet remodeled as part of the expansion project, which ultimately was expected to cost between $15 million and $20 million. Sports on the Run, a
drive-through sportsbook addition that uses
pneumatic tubes, was built at a cost of over $500,000 and was opened in September 1995. The
St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that it was probably the only drive-through sportsbook in the world. with an additional 700 slot machines. Later that year, the Gaming Control Board filed a 17-count complaint against the Fiesta.
1999 expansion In February 1999, Maloof announced plans for a $22 million expansion, to be completed by mid-December 1999 for the celebration of the
New Millennium. By July 1999, the expansion was expected to cost $26 million. According to Maloof, "The thrust of our expansion is entertainment, things we didn't have before. It's going to be highly themed and entertainment-oriented. It'll appeal to different markets, some younger crowds. You build these things for different times of the day." and was among nine other Las Vegas casinos to offer SportXction, a new interactive betting system. Up to that point, the casino had paid out over 118,500
royal flushes won through its video poker machines, and had been proclaimed as "the Royal Flush Capital of the World." At that time, 1,000 of the casino's 1,400 slot machines played video poker. The casino's sign would also give passers-by the casino's current total of royal flushes paid out. The expansion was constructed on the east side of the property, Also added was Roxy's Pipe Organ Pizzeria, which featured a large 70-year-old
pipe organ that was once part of the
Roxy Theater in New York. Garduño's was moved to the expanded area and renamed Garduño's Restaurant, Cantina and Margarita Factory; Later that year, Maloof said the casino's coinless slot machines had been successful with customers.
Sale After six years of successful operation, the Fiesta's clientele was 99 percent local, and George Maloof wanted to expand the Fiesta brand with a new location on property he owned on
Flamingo Road, west of the Las Vegas Strip. Maloof planned to use the money from the sale to fund his new $250 million hotel-casino on Flamingo Road, In October 2000, Station agreed to purchase the
Reserve hotel-casino in
Henderson, Nevada, and considered redesigning it and renaming it as another Fiesta location. Station's $185 million purchase of the Fiesta was finalized in January 2001, After the acquisition, the Fiesta's 1,100 employees were laid off and replaced with employees from other Station casino properties as part of an attempt to "Stationize" the Fiesta.
Fiesta Rancho (2001–2020) In March 2001, the hotel-casino was renamed Fiesta Rancho. In April 2001, Station announced that The Reserve would be renamed as
Fiesta Henderson, as the company had hoped to turn Fiesta into a successful brand name. Station Casinos'
chief financial officer said that some day, there would "almost certainly" be more than two Fiesta casinos in the
Las Vegas Valley. The Fiesta also had a reputation among local gamblers for its loose video poker machines, but many customers felt that this was no longer the case after the sale to Station. Anthony Curtis, publisher of the
Las Vegas Advisor, said, "Any time there's a little change, these people (local gamblers) are very fickle. They'll fly off the handle, get crazy and leave. All of a sudden, they don't feel at home anymore." Station launched a large-scale marketing plan to promote the Fiesta Rancho and bring back its clientele. The Fiesta Rancho's sister property, the Fiesta Henderson, opened on December 29, 2001. By December 2003, Station planned to remove the ice arena from its
Santa Fe Station, as it was not financially viable. Instead, Station planned to begin construction on a 1,400-seat ice arena at Fiesta Rancho in April 2004, for an autumn 2004 opening. The ice rink opened under the name SoBe Ice Arena. It later became the
Pepsi Ice Arena. In February 2008, the casino's table-game minimums were lowered and its "Royal Flush Capital of the World" tagline was reintroduced as part of a new promotional tactic to promote the casino as its own brand, distinct from Station. A new restaurant, Big Ern's BBQ, was added in 2015. As of 2017, the casino was . In June 2019, employees voted in favor to unionize the property by 85 percent. It was organized by the Bartenders Union and the
Culinary Workers Union and supervised by the
National Labor Relations Board.
Closure and demolition Nevada casinos were among businesses required to close on March 17, 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and
its effects on the state. Casinos in the state were allowed to reopen on June 4, 2020, although Station Casinos planned to keep Fiesta Rancho closed for a year due to economic uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. The ice rink did reopen, however. and its customer base largely relocated to the company's Santa Fe property after casinos reopened. Texas Station and Fiesta Rancho had a combined total of nearly 3,200 slot machines, and North Las Vegas saw decreased gaming revenue following their closure, while most of the state's other gaming markets experienced record profits during 2021. Station announced on July 15, 2022 that it would demolish the Fiesta properties and Texas Station, and subsequently sell the land. Analysts viewed the demolition plan as a defensive move to prevent future competition from gaming rivals.
Pat Spearman, a mayoral candidate for North Las Vegas, had suggested saving Fiesta Rancho and repurposing it as a skills training center for people who lost their jobs to technology. Demolition began in April 2023. The Pepsi Ice Arena remained after demolition and would continue operations until Station sold the land. The Fiesta's parking garage was also left intact. City officials had considered purchasing the Fiesta and Texas Station properties for redevelopment as
affordable housing. However, the purchase price was deemed too high. In July 2023, plans were announced by Agora Realty & Management to redevelop the two properties as a mixed-use project, known as Hylo Park. The former Fiesta land would include a 150-room hotel, retail space, and two new ice rinks, while the existing rink would be converted into a
field house. Construction, to be done in phases, is expected to begin in early 2024 and conclude by late 2025. ==Awards==