The Montage Reno is a high-rise residential building in Reno, Nevada. It previously operated as a hotel and casino from 1978 to 2005, under various names, including Sahara Reno, Reno Hilton, Flamingo Hilton Reno, Flamingo Reno, and Golden Phoenix Reno.

The building was converted into a condominium tower from 2006 to 2008. It was formerly connected to Fitzgeralds Reno by a sky bridge.^[1] It is owned and operated by ST Residential LLC.

History[edit]

Primm never gave up his licensing attempts, and finally, on June 28, 1955, he was licensed for four 21 games and forty-nine slots. The casino was the first licensed on the west side of Virginia Street and was named the Primadonna Club. It opened on July 1, 1955. The specifics of Primm's business deal were spelled out during his license hearing. 1955 - Reno, NV. The Primadonna Club opened at 241 North Virginia Street.the first major casino allowed to cross the 'red line' and operate on the west side of Virginia Street. In July of 1964 five showgirl statues were placed on the club's marquee; the center statue was 35 feet tall, the other four were each approximately 20 feet.

Sahara Reno (1978–81)[edit]

The main hotel/casino, on North Sierra Street, was originally opened in 1978 as Sahara Reno. It was owned by the Del E. Webb Corporation, which also owned the Sahara resort in Las Vegas. The Sahara Reno was designed by David Jacobson Associates and constructed by the Del E. Webb Corporation.^[2]

A separate casino building, located on Virginia Street, had previously operated from 1955 until 1978 as the Primadonna, before becoming part of the Sahara. The Virginia Street building was later reopened as Siri's Casino in 2014.

Hilton/Flamingo (1981–2001)[edit]

In 1981, the Sahara Reno became the Reno Hilton,^[3] then was renovated in 1992 and became the Flamingo Hilton Reno.

In 2000, Hilton declined to renew its licensing agreement with the Flamingo brand, and the Flamingo Hilton Reno became simply the Flamingo Reno, returning to the original brand formed in the 1940s in Las Vegas.

The 602 room hotel-casino made a profit until its corporate owner Park Place Entertainment, owned by a subsidiary of Hilton Hotels, decided the resort was no longer profitable in a declining gaming market. They decided to close the property on October 21, 2001. The property was sold soon after closing to Vista Hospitality LLC of New York who pledged to renovate and reopen the hotel-casino.

Golden Phoenix Reno (2002–05)[edit]

The new name—Golden Phoenix Reno—was announced in early 2002.^{[citation needed]} The property's hotel reopened on April 2, 2002. It included 604 rooms, a Benihana steakhouse, a coffee shop, and a nightclub.^[4] The property's casino area opened in summer 2003, with an official grand opening. Prior to the casino's grand opening, the movie The Cooler was filmed at the Golden Phoenix.

Chicago real estate developer Fernando Leal put a bid in to buy the hotel-casino. Leal won his bid, and announced plans to convert the hotel-casino property into 'The Montage' following a $170 million investment that would take the hotel property down to its concrete support columns, and rebuild condominiums based on the original platform.

Leal closed the Golden Phoenix on December 6, 2005 and his crews began gutting the hotel building in spring 2006.

The Montage Reno (2008–present)[edit]

The Montage Reno was completed in April 2008. Originally, Leal envisioned The Montage Reno as a flourishing condominium resort with a signed lease for Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and the other retail pad planned for the high-profile Cafe Med. Both would fall out. And as a result, Leal would hand the completed project back to its lender to avert a foreclosure disaster in December 2008.

The Montage is now owned by Chicago-based ST Residential, a subsidiary of Starwood Assets and Holdings, a global company. The property is still marketed as a condominium resort with Reno's most exclusive condo amenities such as a 24-hour doorman, resort style pool deck, owners lounge and top grade finishes.

References[edit]

1. ^'The Montage Reno Project'. DowntownMakeover.com. May 28, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2006.
2. ^'Webb Spinner 1975-1978'(PDF).
3. ^'Local'. Reno Evening Gazette. December 11, 1981. Retrieved August 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ^'Golden Phoenix rising in Reno'. Las Vegas Review-Journal. April 4, 2002. Archived from the original on August 6, 2002.

External links[edit]

• Official website

Coordinates: 39°31′40″N119°48′50″W / 39.527716°N 119.813853°W

Browse The Chip Gallery
To browse the entire gallery by casino, just use the casino links to the left

Search Chip Gallery
This link, above and to the left, is the best way to find specific chips or types of chips. For example, you can find all commemorative chips in Reno, all $1 house chips, only chips that are for sale, etc.

Browse and search results are presented at 50 chips per page. Chips are displayed by casino, then in category order of House, No Cash Value, Roulette, and Commemorative. Within categories, chips are sorted by denomination then date, except in Commemorative where chips are sorted by date then denomination.

Browse New Issues
Chips are organized by year of issue. You can also check out the newest issues, and learn how my New Issues Service works.

Browse Specific Themes
The Specific Themes link takes you to chip collections grouped by specific themes. Here you will find chips organized by events such as the Reno Air Races and Hot August Nights.

Shop
I have many duplicates available for sale or trade. This is indicated in the Gallery to the right of the chip picture. If the chip is in stock, the price is also listed. In the Search dialog, you can include In Stock as a search criterion. Someday I will have a fancy shopping cart like everyone else. In the meantime, just send an email to Larry@RenoCasinoChips.com listing the chips and quantities you are interested in.

Please note! The chip pictured is usually NOT the exact chip you will receive. Most chips will be in similar condition to the one pictured. Recent Issue chips are usually in new or slightly used condition. Please ask on the older chips if you are concerned about condition.

Quantity prices are available. Shipping is $3.00 per package for US Domestic First Class mail, $6 for US Domestic Priority mail. Insurance is available at cost, based on value. I am not responsible for uninsured packages. Foreign shipping is at cost, and insurance may not be available. I accept PayPal at Larry@RenoCasinoChips.com, or check or money order to the following address.

Primadonna Casino Reno Nv

Larry Hollibaugh
59 Damonte Ranch Pkwy #B130
Reno, NV 89521

Primadonna Casino Reno Nevada Reopening

Look around and enjoy! Check back often, as I post new images frequently. Please let me know if you find any bugs or data errors, or have any suggestions for improvements