Lucky Dragon Hotel and Casino will be sold at an auction on September 10th

The Asian-themed Lucky Dragon Hotel and Casino that opened in the Las Vegas Strip in 2016 will be sold at an auction on September 10th. The resort was one of the first to be built in Las Vegas after the recession, but could only manage to keep up its operations for a year before it was declared bankrupt. The hotel which spanned 2,500 square meters and featured 203 rooms was considered small compared to some of the neighboring resorts. Nevertheless, it aimed at a particular group of customers with the Asian theme, so the investors thought they wouldn’t have any trouble maintaining a solid customer base.

The resort was built next to Allure Las Vegas and initially, the developer owning the property, Andrew Fonfa, planned to build the second Allure tower, but during the Great Recession, the plans were scrapped because of financial troubles. “We realized we were going to need cash buyers. We went to LA and San Francisco and Vancouver and San Jose and put ads in all the Chinese newspapers in those communities. And we were very pleased with what came back, which was over 100 units sold to Chinese buyers,” – said Fonfa. In 2012, the Lucky Dragon Project was announced, but it wasn’t until 2016 that the resort opened to the public.

Lucky Dragon’s plan to cater to the Asia-Pacific region failed leading to bankruptcy

Unfortunately, the idea to attract predominantly Asian customers didn’t prove successful as the project failed to draw customers. There are analysts who believe that Asian customers simply didn’t see the need to fly all the way to Las Vegas in order to enjoy something there was ample of much closer to home. There are also opinions that the resort couldn’t offer competitive services that rivaled those of the neighboring hotels and casinos. As a result, at the beginning of 2018, the company management announced that they were closing the resort temporarily, looking to reorganize some of the processes. “While this is a difficult decision, this repositioning paves the way for Lucky Dragon to establish new partnerships that will enhance the property’s long-term positioning and provide a better guest experience.” – was the company’s statement. The plan was to reopen the casino in six months.

By the end of January, the Lucky Dragon publically reported its default status and the foreclosure action was scheduled for February 6, which would be delayed until February 22 because of a special request of First American Title Insurance, a trustee of the company. On February 16th, the company entered a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to the court files, the company did so in order to preserve the jobs of its employees. At that time the company employed 98 people.

Although there have been reports that some investors are interested in the property, the creditors have said that the company has been trying to sell its assets for a year at no avail. There were even talks of dropping the sale altogether as it would create additional costs for the owners. One of the reasons why it might prove hard to find a buyer of the property is its location. The resort is located in an area that doesn’t have a lot of pedestrian traffic, which means that there are no customers who wander in or come upon the casino by just walking around the city. That could’ve also been one of the reasons why Lucky Dragon failed to attract visitors.