Station Casinos looking to sell Strip land parcel for $40 million

Station Casinos is trying to sell nearly 57 acres of undeveloped land on the far south end of the Strip for $40 million although one of the sale requirements is that the land not be used for gaming.

The casino operator listed the 56.63-acre site with CBRE Las Vegas. The land fronts Las Vegas Boulevard, south of the South Point Hotel Casino and Spa, and along Cactus Avenue, where a new interchange with Interstate 15 recently opened.

According to the listing, the land is being marketed for a potential for resort, mixed-use or high-density residential development. However, a deed restriction precludes any gaming being operated on the site.

Station Casinos declined comment on the listing. Representatives from CBRE did not return phone calls.

The move comes after Station Casinos filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month for an initial public offering covering the privately held casino operator. The company has not given a timetable for the IPO, only saying it hopes to raise $100 million through the stock sale.

Union Gaming Group analyst Christopher Jones told investors last month the size of the stock offering seemed small but was in line with expectations.

"The IPO will serve as the pivot point for the reorganization of the company's corporate structure while also feeling the market on valuation and creating an exit outlet for some of the company's investors," Jones said.

After a 2011 bankruptcy reorganization, company founders Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta kept a 45 percent ownership stake in Station Casinos because of a $200 million investment the brothers put into the company. A year later, the Fertittas paid $73 million to buy out JP Morgan Chase & Co.'s ownership stake, giving the family a controlling 58 percent ownership. German-based Deutsche Bank owns 25 percent of Station Casinos.

Station Casinos operates 19 large and small casinos throughout the Las Vegas Valley. The company also manages two Indian casinos, one in Northern California and one in Michigan.

In the SEC filing, Station Casinos said it controls six gaming-entitled development sites in Las Vegas and Reno, covering 290 acres.

In Las Vegas, the company owns a 70-acre site near the intersection of Durango Road and the 215 Beltway, 58 acres near the intersection of Flamingo Road and the 215 Beltway, 45 acres on Via Inspirada near Bicentennial Parkway in Henderson, and 30 acres at the intersection of Boulder Highway and Oakey Boulevard, which once housed the Showboat.

Station Casinos also owns 76 acres adjacent to the Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel, which is on a 20-acre site near Tropicana Boulevard and I-15. The company had announced plans to build a massive hotel-casino complex on the land before the recession and its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization halted development.

In Reno, Station Casinos owns 8 acres on South Virginia Street near Interstate-580, across from the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. The company sold a 101-acre parcel in Reno last year.