Gaming license still valid
The U.S. Air Force has acquired a casino resort at Indian Springs, Nevada near Creech Air Force Base, with plans to raze the property and create a “an anti-terrorist security buffer,” according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Air Force paid $11.45 million for the property, which includes a motel, gas station, trailer park and casino.
The gaming license associated with the property may be retained by the previous owners until March 31, 2015, or until a proposal to transfer it to another location is made, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s Tax and License Division.
In 2011, the military began negotiations to take over the 17-acre property, located 45 miles from Las Vegas. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Air Force limited media access to the base, and upgraded protective measures around the perimeter, including concealed machine-gun posts.
Captain Stephani Schafer, of the 432nd Wing at Creech, said the acquisition will result in “demolition of buildings/structures on the land, fuel tank abatement, land restoration, and construction of a new boundary fence.”
About 50 people lost their jobs after the transaction, which was completed October 1. Former resort worker Melissa Trotter told the Review-Journal that one high-level visitor from Washington “said he felt unsafe in the barracks, because the only thing separating him from the casino and the gas station was a brick wall.”
