The landscape of Boulder Highway is set to undergo a dramatic change as Boyd Gaming Corporation moves forward with plans to demolish the Eastside Cannery Casino-Hotel, a property that has remained dormant since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Confirmed by officials from Boyd Gaming, the decision comes after an extended period of shutdown, surpassing five years of silence within its walls. "It has been more than five years since we closed Eastside Cannery, and there is not sufficient market demand to reopen the facility. Given this, we are finalizing plans to demolish the building," a company spokesperson said in a statement obtained by FOX5 Vegas.
Conversations are currently underway to potentially sell the soon-to-be-vacated land for residential housing development, a shift that would repurpose the site to better match market demands. Existing in a state of limbo since its closure, the property was once a bustling hub, succeeding Nevada Palace, which stood until 2008 when it was replaced by the Eastside Cannery. The hotel and casino opened later that year, enduring as a monument to gaming and hospitality on the historic Boulder Highway corridor. "Given this, we are finalizing plans to demolish the building," the spokesperson also specified in an email as reported by KTNV.
The property, acquired by Boyd Gaming in 2016 – including both the Eastside Cannery and the Cannery hotel-casino on Craig Road – has witnessed a storied history, deeply rooted in the memories of local residents. According to a KTNV interview, Jesse Woods, a local who lives off of Boulder Highway reminisced, "I used to go when it was Nevada Palace, so I've been here for a pretty good bit of time, watching them build it." The community's connection to the site underscores the transformation the landscape has continually undergone, and the Eastside Cannery's eventual demolition is but another chapter in the area's evolving narrative.
Boyd Gaming's persistence in securing a temporary extension of the casino's gaming license as recently as May 2024 spoke to an uncertainty about the future of Eastside Cannery. That future, now concrete, demarcates a turning point for not just a physical structure but the social fabric that once thrived within its domain, as per KTNV.
