Hooters Hotel sold to New York investment group

Hooters Hotel has been sold to Trinity Hotel Investors, a New York investment group for $70 million, but it’s unclear the new ownership’s plans for the off-Strip property.

Canyon Capital Advisors of Los Angeles has owned the 696-room hotel-casino since 2012, after foreclosing on the development. Canyon said at the time it hoped to sell the property on Tropicana Avenue just east of the Tropicana Las Vegas.

The resort had several names and different ownerships since it was originally opened in the 1970s.

A spokesman for Trinity did not return a phone call for comment.

The investment group owns dozens of small hotels throughout the United States and Europe. On its website, the company said it focuses on “improved asset and property level management, targeted renovation, and strategic repositioning.”

Michael Parks of the CBRE Group in Las Vegas, who represented Canyon Capital in the sale, said Tuesday the deal closed May 1 and did not need approval of Nevada gaming regulators. The Navagante Group has been managing property’s 35,000-square foot casino since 2012 and is continuing in that role.

A deed recorded with the Clark County assessor’s office listed the purchase price as $53.8 million. Parks said that figure didn’t include personal property, which added to the total figure.

The property has been known as Hooters Hotel since 2006 when it was bought by a group of partners associated with the Hooters of America restaurant chain and given a $190 million face-lift.

Prior to Hooters, the casino was known as the Paradise Hotel, Treasury, Polynesian, and Hotel San Remo.

Last month, the Tropicana Las Vegas was sold to Penn National Gaming for $360 million.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Find @howardstutz on Twitter.