The Eastside Cannery Casino Hotel in southeast Las Vegas has had its closure quietly extended until next year.
The Boyd Gaming property closed its doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and has not reopened.
Boyd Gaming’s license to run the property has been on hold over the four years since. The license pause was due to expire on March 30 this year, but Nevada Gaming Control Board documents reveal this has been recently changed to March 31, 2025.
Boyd acquired the property in 2016. It operates 11 other casinos across Las Vegas. Currently, signs outside the shuttered Eastside Cannery redirect gamblers to Sam’s Town casino, which is a mile north on the Boulder Highway.
COVID Closures
Although all the major Las Vegas Strip casino resorts have rebounded from the pandemic with record revenues, various more locals-oriented casinos in and around Sin City’s suburbs have either simply not reopened or permanently closed.
Station Casinos closed all four of its local casinos during the pandemic, and never reopened them. Texas Station, Fiesta Rancho, Fiesta Henderson, and Wild Wild West have now permanently closed.
However, in its case, Station used the opportunity to focus on its downtown Las Vegas casinos and building its brand new locals venue.
The Durango Casino and Resort opened in 2024, and has shown solid revenues since. Station has bold plans to open several new locals market casinos in the coming years.
However, things have not been going so well for Boyd Gaming.
Boyd’s Troubles
The extended closure of the Eastside Cannery comes at a challenging time for Boyd. It is facing falling net income in most areas of the business, even though revenues are rising.
In Q4 2023, it reported a 46.4% year-on-year fall in net income, despite revenues increasing 3.4% over that period.
In both its yearly and Q4 reports, the operator noted that it lost $100 million on intangible asset impairment charges. In other words, the properties it still owns but aren’t operating, like Eastside Cannery, are losing value.
Boyd executives maintain that comparisons are challenging at this point. That’s because 2022 was a gangbusters year for Las Vegas locals casinos in particular. And since then, the giant Las Vegas Strip operators have lured many big ticket events into town, pulling in record revenues, as well as drawing crowds from farther-out locals casinos.
Boyd is due to report its first quarter 2024 results on April 25 in an earnings call with investors. It has previously said it would not rule out reopening Eastside Cannery, should market conditions change.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
