One-day temporary casino known as Trailer Station to make return

Trailer Station will return after a two-year hiatus.

Gaming regulators gave Station Casinos and United Coin Machine preliminary approval to operate a one-day temporary casino at the 26-acre site of the since-imploded Showboat/Castaways property on the edge of downtown near the Boulder Highway.

State regulations require the company to operate a casino on the land every two years in order to retain the gaming rights for the site. Owners of other shuttered casinos in Las Vegas, such as the demolished Moulin Rouge, have used one-day casinos to keep a location’s gaming rights alive.

However, holders of Station Casinos’ player loyalty cards won’t earn points for action at Trailer Station.

“Our ‘We Love Locals’ campaign won’t be part it,” said Station Casinos spokeswoman Lori Nelson. “But we will offer our exceptional customer service.”

In the past, the one-day casino has attracted mostly the curious and very few gamblers. Normally, the operation takes just one employee.

Slot machine operator United Coin will locate a 40-foot trailer with 16 slot machines on the land for eight hours on Dec. 10. The Gaming Control Board approved the plan Wednesday and the Nevada Gaming Commission is expected to sign off of the idea later this month.

Station Casinos owns the land, which originally housed the Showboat. The casino opened in the 1950s and was known for its 106 lanes of bowling and was considered one of the first true locals casinos.

The property was renamed the Castaways after its was sold in 2000. Station Casinos bought the site in 2005 after the building was closed following a bankruptcy.

The company demolished the old hotel-casino structure in 2006 to prepare for a potential development. However, the company never built on the site. Nelson said Thursday there are no immediate plans for the land.

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