Sacramento businessman Steve Ayers, formerly the owner of a steel fabrication company, now wants to open a casino in the downtown’s historic Elks Tower.
Ayers has dreamed for years of operating his own casino, in this case a 24/7 card room called the Elks Tower Casino and Lounge, which would open with five tables. It would share the building with a Claim Jumper restaurant.
In describing his dream Ayers told the Sacramento Bee: “We’re not looking to create a Denny’s. We’re looking to go over-the-top in design with Las Vegas-style elegance.” He knows about Las Vegas, having grown up there.
What prevents him at the moment is the need for state approval and lawsuits from rival card club owners. He has applied to the state’s Bureau of Gambling Control to transfer the license of the former Casino Royale, which the state ordered closed three years ago. The bureau says it will issue a decision this fall. Once he has the license in hand he plans to open in October. He is confident enough of getting the license that he has begun spending “millions” renovating 23,000 square feet, which would eventually enable him to have 17 tables in a space designed to harken to the speakeasies of Prohibition.
The Downtown Sacramento Partnership is wishing him luck in trying to help that part of the downtown turn the corner towards profitability. The Partnership is hoping that “people come early and stay late,” in the area.
Tourist officials hope that the card room will add to the amenities that can be sold to attract conventions and visitors.
Rival card clubs Capitol Casino and Parkwest Casino Lotus are suing the city of Sacramento for allowing the city to get the old Casino Royale’s license. A court date has been set for October.
Another opponent is the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, the largest Indian casino serving the Sacramento market. A spokesman for the United Auburn Indian Community calls the proposed card room “a “far cry from anything that remotely resembles a Las Vegas casino,” and accused it of having the “potential to be the expansion of urban gaming.”
