How Much Does a Casino Cost to Build (or Buy)?

Every time I’m gambling in a casino I look around and think the only people making any money are the ones who own the casino. So, I often ask myself, how much does a casino cost to build or buy?

The range it costs to buy or build a casino ranges a great deal. At the low end, you might be able to buy a small casino for as low as $1,000,000. And at the top end, building or buying a big casino in Las Vegas can run close to $10,000,000,000.

For those who don’t like long numbers, the range goes from $1 million to $10 billion.

I know the range is big. But by the end of this post, you’re going to understand why.

Historical Casino Cost Data

The first thing I researched was the cost of casinos in Las Vegas. Las Vegas has the most casinos in a small area. And the purchase and construction costs are usually widely reported and available.

MGM Grand cost $1 billion.

Wynn Las Vegas cost $2.7 billion.

The Palazzo cost $1.9 billion.

Steve Wynn sold the Mirage to MGM for $6.4 billion.

Though the article was published in 2013, the Las Vegas Sun offers a slide show showing the cost of many of the leading Las Vegas casinos.

I cover this more in the next section, but casinos in Las Vegas tend to cost more than casinos in other places. If you want to compete in the Las Vegas casino market, you’re playing in the billions area. And even $1 billion doesn’t get you in the top range of casinos in Sin City.

However, there are also many smaller casinos in and around Las Vegas. And some of them cost a lot less than the big casinos located on The Strip.

Century Casinos purchased the Nugget Casino, outside Reno, NV, for $195 million in 2022. So this shows you don’t have to have a billion or more to build or buy a casino.

I mentioned the low end in the opening of around $1 million. You’re not going to buy much of a casino for $1 million. If you can buy one for this amount, it’s going to be small, probably in a poor location, and likely be in bankruptcy.

So even if you can buy a casino for $1 million, you’re going to need more money for operating expenses, improvements, and to have a chance to make it profitable.

Casino Location

I’ve already mentioned this, but the location of a casino plays a huge part in cost. It doesn’t matter if you’re buying a casino or building a casino. A casino in Las Vegas on The Strip requires a much large investment than a casino in Reno or most other places.

When I worked on my MBA, one of the things I learned was the importance of location in business. I’ll admit that it was a long time ago, and there weren’t many online businesses yet.

But in every business where you need customers to visit your location, one of the most important considerations will always be your location.

However, location can be relative.

Here’s an example:

If you want to have the best location in Nevada, The Strip in Las Vegas lands at the top of the list. But if you could build a casino anywhere in a random state with little or no competition, the location might not be as important.

When your casino is the only game in town, people who want to gamble will travel a long way. I used to drive three hours to get to the closest casino.

But when you have a lot of competition, like every casino in Las Vegas, you have to invest more money to have a good location.

Land Cost

How much does land cost where you live?

In some places, you can buy land for $1,000 to $5,000 an acre. But land costs more in and around big cities than in most rural areas.

Of course, if you’re buying an existing casino, the purchase price usually includes the land. But this brings up an important point.

Not every casino for sale includes the land. You might have to buy the casino and lease the land from another company. This falls in the you need to know everything before you buy a casino category.

When you want to build a casino, the cost of land depends on where you want to build. It also depends on how much land you need.

While you can build a small casino with parking on 10 to 20 acres of land, a large casino with a hotel and plenty of parking requires more land.

If you need 50 acres and land costs $10,000 an acre where you want to build, you have $500,000 in the land before you start building. And in competitive areas, you might have to spend millions on the land you need.

Construction and Materials Cost

If you build a new casino, in addition to the land, you need to invest in material and construction costs.

Your biggest costs when building a casino are the land, construction, and materials. And there are too many variables to give you an exact estimate.

The size of the casino influences the cost. And the price of materials changes frequently. And labor costs vary depending on where you’re building.

You need to talk to large construction companies and get multiple estimates and bids for any project as large as building a casino.

But even if you purchase a casino, you probably need to have a renovation budget.

Hotel or Not?

When you build a casino, you need to decide if you want a hotel with the casino. A hotel raises your total cost quite a bit, but a hotel can add profits in the long run.

According to research completed by RS Means and Gardian, a four to seven story hotel has an average cost of over $24 million.

Of course, many casinos build larger hotels, so your total cost depends on land cost and total rooms and stories.

Games, Chips, Table, Machines, and Everything Else

Finding land and building a casino doesn’t complete your financial obligations. You still need to fill your casino with games.

You need to buy or lease slot machines, and if you offer table games you have to buy the games, tables, and seats. And when you offer table games, you have to invest in chips for your casino.

And you have to have employees. You have to find the right employees when you start, and you have to invest in training them.

While you might be able to avoid some of these costs if you buy a casino, the odds are high that you’re still going to face a lot of expenses in these areas.

Operating Expenses

Once your casino opens, you have ongoing expenses. Of course, hopefully, your casino creates enough profit to cover your expenses. But you have certain expenses, whether your casino makes money or not.

Your biggest operating expense will probably be employees. But in some areas, the licensing and regulatory fees can be as high as or higher than employee costs.

Like everything else that comes with building or buying a casino, you need a complete picture of your operating costs before investing.

Licensing Fees

Whether you buy a casino or build a casino, there are licensing fees. The state or country where your casino sits charges fees. And there are all kinds of taxes you’re responsible for.

Building or buying a casino comes with a lot of responsibility. And in some areas, you can’t legally own or operate a casino.

Speak with an experienced attorney early in the process so you don’t start down a path you can’t afford to travel.

Build or Buy

Because location plays such an important role in the casino industry, buying an operating casino in a good location can be a good investment.

But when you buy another business, you often buy problems. Of course, building a new casino offers challenges as well.

You need to do a lot of research to determine if buying a casino or building a casino offers the highest return on your investment.

Building a new casino takes a lot of time. So if you’re in a hurry, buying an operating casino might be faster. But remember that you usually have to do some renovations and improvements when buying an operating casino. And these can take time too.

Conclusion

While there are outliers, you can expect to invest $100 to $200 million for a small casino, and $5 billion or more for a big casino. Of course, a well-run casino in the right location can make a lot of money, so investing a lot of money can give you big returns.

But buying or building a casino isn’t in the cards for most people. It simply costs too much money.

The closest most people come to owning a casino comes from buying stock in a publicly traded company that owns casinos.