Golden Gaming was formed in 2001 after Blake L. Sartini obtained Southwest Gaming Services, a company that he founded before selling to Station Casinos. In 2002, the Golden Tavern Group subsidiary was formed and it acquired a chain of taverns.
Expansion occurred in 2004 when Golden Gaming acquired three casinos: the Golden Gates, Golden Gulch and Gold Mardi Gras. In 2006, the company bought Pahrump Nugget Hotel & Gambling from Generation 2000.
The company again strengthened its holdings in 2010, when it took over operations of the United Coin, the Gold Spike, Mount Charleston and Rumor. Then in 2012, it went on to buy out Terrible's Town Casino and Terrible's Lakeside Casino & RV Park in Pahrump and Affinity's slot route operation.
This deal made Golden Entertainment the largest employer and largest gaming operator in Nye County, and the foremost slot route operator in Nevada. They owned and operated about 8,500 machines in 650 locations, making up 45% of the market.
A merger in 2015 with Lakes Entertainment marked a historical moment in the company’s history, as Sartini’s shareholdings went down to 30% and it was renamed Golden Entertainment.
From here, Golden Entertainment added to its property assets, acquiring American Casino & Entertainment Properties for $850m, which expanded the company's casino portfolio by four: the Stratosphere, Arizona Charlie's Boulder, Aquarius Casino Resort and Arizona Charlie's Decatur.
The company consolidated its position as the dominant retail gambling operator in Nevada in 2019 with the purchases of the Colorado Belle and Edgewater casinos in Laughlin, Nevada.
Locations:
Laughlin, Las Vegas, Cumberland, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Pahrump
Key personnel:
President & Chief Financial Officer: Charles Protell
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer: Stephen Arcana
Senior VP, Marketing: Brad Goldberg
Corporate Purchasing, General Buyer: Tony Huynh
