A Henderson gaming landmark that has outlasted six decades of change is switching hands once more. The Pass Casino on Water Street has agreed to be acquired by ECL Water Street, the operator of the neighboring Emerald Island and Rainbow Club casinos. One company will now control all three gambling properties in downtown Henderson, with the casino shutting its doors August 1 for roughly a year of major renovations.
One Company Now Holds All Three Water Street Casinos
DeSimone Gaming owner Joe DeSimone confirmed the sale to ECL Water Street, which is owned by businessmen Marc Falcone and Ron Winchell. Financial terms of the transaction were not publicly disclosed, and the deal still requires formal approval from Nevada gaming regulators before it can close.
The push to buy The Pass began taking shape in late 2025. ECL’s ownership saw a clear opportunity to consolidate its position along the Water Street corridor, with Emerald Island and the Rainbow Club already sitting directly across the street from The Pass.
“For us to expand our footprint downtown, it made sense for one property to have control of all three casinos,” said Tim Brooks, general manager of the Emerald Island and Rainbow Club.
ECL Gaming is no small operation. The company runs roughly 50 properties in Nevada alone, plus four casinos in Kentucky, one in New Hampshire, and 26 in Wyoming, making this Henderson consolidation a natural extension of an already expansive portfolio.
What Happens to 60 Workers When The Pass Shuts Its Doors
About 60 people are currently employed at The Pass. DeSimone plans to move as many of those workers as possible to two other properties he is seeking to operate: the Bighorn Casino in North Las Vegas and the Longhorn Casino on Boulder Highway in Las Vegas.
The timing of the sale announcement was no coincidence. DeSimone was set to appear before the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday to seek gaming licenses for both the Bighorn and Longhorn casinos, signaling a deliberate pivot away from The Pass and toward a new phase in his gaming career.
Here is what The Pass currently offers before any renovation work begins:
- Casino floor: 17,756 square feet
- Slot machines: About 350
- Table games: Six
- Sportsbook: Circa Sports-operated race and sportsbook
- Dining: Ristorante Italiano and Emilia’s Cafe
When The Pass reopens after its renovation, ECL plans to bring the slot count up to between 450 and 500 gaming devices. The company also confirmed it will add 50 new jobs, meaning The Pass could eventually support a larger workforce than it carries today.
Brooks did not leave much to the imagination on what the rebuild will deliver. “We’re going to upgrade the food and beverage, remodel the entire inside, and make it a beautiful property,” he said.
Six Decades of History Behind This Henderson Casino
This is not the first time The Pass has changed hands. This sale marks the fifth ownership change in the property’s 65-year life, a history that runs deeper than most people in Henderson likely realize.
The casino first opened as the Wheel Casino on February 15, 1961. It closed within a year, then attorney Bill Boyd and his father Sam Boyd stepped in and acquired it. They reopened the property as the Eldorado Casino on July 1, 1962, making it the very first casino the Boyd family ever owned and the quiet birthplace of what would grow into the Boyd Gaming empire.
Boyd Gaming formally absorbed the Eldorado into its corporate portfolio in 1993. The company used the property as a training ground for young executives, prizing its small size precisely because it demanded a fully hands-on management approach.
The COVID-19 pandemic ended that chapter. Nevada ordered all casinos to close in March 2020, Boyd kept the Eldorado shut and eventually sold it to DeSimone Gaming in December 2020. Joe DeSimone then invested $7 million into a 45-day renovation, adding new restaurants, bars, and event space, before unveiling the property as The Pass in April 2021.
After the casino sale wraps up, DeSimone Companies will not disappear from Water Street entirely. The company will continue to own and operate the adjacent 90-room Atwell Suites hotel, which was built on what was once the casino’s parking lot.
A Booming City Is Making This the Smartest Bet in Nevada
There is a bigger story driving this deal. Henderson is growing at a pace that few Nevada cities have seen, and smart operators are racing to get in position.
The Cadence master-planned subdivision sits about a mile from The Pass and is among the fastest-growing communities in the entire country. About 7,500 homes have already been built there, with thousands more on the way. A separate residential development roughly four miles to the east is set to bring another 3,000 homes to the area.
Henderson is already Nevada’s second largest city, and the surge of new residents pouring into east Henderson was the single biggest reason ECL moved to lock down all three Water Street casinos under one roof.
Boyd Gaming read the same signals and opened its new Cadence Crossing casino near the Cadence community earlier this spring. Red Rock Resorts is working through entitlements for a new resort in the Inspirada neighborhood. The message from every major operator in the state is identical: east Henderson is now one of the hottest gaming markets in Nevada.
| What Changes at The Pass | Detail | |—|—| | Slot machines | 450 to 500 devices (up from ~350) | | Interior | Full remodel from top to bottom | | Food and beverage | Complete upgrade | | New jobs added | 50 additional positions | | Renovation window | Roughly one year starting August 1 |
ECL currently employs about 340 workers across its two existing Water Street casinos. Adding a rebuilt Pass Casino to that number signals genuine confidence in the district’s long-term future, not just a quick land grab.
The Water Street District has been rewriting its own story for years now, with new restaurants, boutique hotels, and entertainment venues steadily filling in around the casinos. What is unfolding in downtown Henderson is more than a gaming acquisition. It is the story of a neighborhood that survived decades of neglect, a global pandemic, and multiple false starts finally getting its moment. For the 60 workers navigating the transition, the regulars who have played those slots for years, and a city watching its downtown finally come alive, the next year of construction will not be easy. But if ECL’s ambitions and Henderson’s growth trajectory mean anything, what opens on the other side of that renovation could be one of the most exciting chapters yet for Water Street. What do you think about one company now controlling all three downtown Henderson casinos? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
