Who Owns Las Vegas Airport Slots?

In the early days of Las Vegas’ history, the airport slots were owned by a single entity – the City of Las Vegas. However, as the popularity of gambling in Las Vegas increased, so did the number of people wanting to own a piece of the action.

In the early 1960s, a group of investors led by Kirk Kerkorian purchased the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, which included the airport slots. Kerkorian’s group was not the only one interested in owning a casino; other groUPS, such as those led by Moe Dalitz and Jackie Gaughan, also bought into the Las Vegas casino market.

As more and more casinos were built in Las Vegas, the airport slots became more valuable. In order to keep up with the demand for gambling opportunities, the City of Las Vegas began selling off parcels of land that contained airport slots.

The first sale was to Kerkorian’s group, which paid $3 million for 30 acres containing 36 airport slots. Dalitz’s group followed suit, paying $5 million for 40 acres containing 42 airport slots.

The sales of airport slots continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s, as new casinos were built and old ones were demolished to make way for them. By 1980, there were only 24 airport slots left in Las Vegas; all of them were owned by either Kerkorian or Dalitz.

In 1981, Kerkorian sold his share of the Flamingo to Hilton Hotels for $250 million; included in the sale were 18 airport slots.

Dalitz died in 1987, and his heirs sold their share of the Stardust Resort & Casino – which included 9 airport slots – to Boyd Gaming for $320 million. This left Kerkorian as the sole owner of airport slots in Las Vegas.

He continued to hold onto his properties until his death in 2015.

Today, there are 22 airports slot locations in Las Vegas. They are all owned by either corporations or private investors; there are no longer any owned by the City of Las Vegas.

The majority are owned by MGM Resorts International (which owns 10), Caesars Entertainment Corporation (which owns 6), or Wynn Resorts (which owns 4).