Virgin Hotels Las Vegas has been granted the first step towards regulatory approval of a new company taking over the casino part of the business.
Cliff Atkinson and Chad Konrad, the property’s current president and CFO, respectively, have formed a new operator to begin running the casino once approved. The casino part of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas was previously run by the gambling arm of the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut.
The new business is called C&C 445. The Nevada Gaming Control Board approved the license this week. Konrad and Atkinson spoke before the NGCB on Wednesday. They were joined by officials from the Las Vegas Culinary Union, with which Virgin Las Vegas is an ongoing dispute, who also gave their take on the probable new ownership.
C&C455 still needs approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission before it can take over the casino’s operations. However, NGC is expected to give them the green light.
Virgin Las Vegas is currently embroiled in a long-running dispute with Culinary Union 226 workers that has seen some 700 employees on strike for more than three weeks. Apart from their main disagreement over a new contract offer, union reps this week criticized Virgin’s management for creating a new company to join an operation that already has multiple layers of ownership.
The New Operator
Virgin Las Vegas’ casino has been run by the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut since 2021. It was the first partnership between a U.S. tribal casino operator and a Las Vegas Strip casino, and made Virgin’s casino the first tribally operated gambling venue in Sin City.
However, the venue’s revenues have seen a preciptious fall since the experienced Mohegan took over. Income at the Las Vegas property fell some 434% over two years, the tribal operator’s 2023 financial reports revealed. That was with its Nevada casino competitors booming in revenues over the same period.
Over the past year gamblers, and online reviewers such as YouTube documentarian JacobsLifeinVegas, have visited the casino floors and found them almost empty. Its confusing and not particularly generous reward program has also been criticized.
The new casino operator, or at least a business founded by Atkinson and Konrad to formally take on the role, will join an expansive list of companies with an interest in Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Despite being under the brand of the British multinational corporation Virgin, none of the operation is owned by them. It does, however, have investments in the operation. The main backer is JC Hospitality, with LiUNA Pension Fund of Eastern and Central Canada (LPFCEC), Fengate Asset Management, and Juniper Capital also listed as investors.
While the striking union criticized adding a further corporate entity to the structure of the casino hotel, Atkinson and Konrad told NGCB members they were confident Virgin Las Vegas can turn things around.
“We both have a similar belief in the property, in the casino specifically, and in our ability to really drive this casino from a performance standpoint forward and to keep this thing running, keep the doors open on this thing,” Konrad said this week, speaking to NGCB members.
The Labor Dispute
Some 700 Virgin hotel workers have now been on strike since November 15.
Virgin’s management says they cannot afford to pay the same rates as Union contracts negotiated in 2023 with most other major Las Vegas casinos.
The Union has contested that analysis. It says Virgin Las Vegas may not currently be doing well financially, but its various deep pocketed investors (including Virgin’s billionaire owner Richard Branson) can afford to pay up if they’re serious about keeping the operation going.
“These companies have extremely deep pockets,” said Tedd Pappageorge, also speaking before the NGCB.
“So the idea that these Canadian economic entities would come to Las Vegas to try to destroy our standards of living that we’ve worked for decades to build is just unacceptable…and if they don’t agree to Vegas standards, (they should) go back to Canada.”
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas has remained open throughout the continuing strike, with some parts of its operation closed or on reduced hours. The Union has held a near constant picket line outside the venue, and has criticized Virgin’s use of temporary workers to fill shifts left open by those on the picket line.
At one point, the casino put up boarding to block the view and some of the noise from protesting workers outside. But that didn’t work for long, as the picket moved to the main entrance shortly after. The strike continues into its third week.
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.
