“There will be a market for gaming there someday, absolutely, and right now they’re in control of that opportunity,” he said. The deal also lets Station block competitors from potentially building a resort in the area, said Las Vegas real estate broker John Knott, head of CBRE Group’s global gaming group. But its purchase is a wager on a fast-growing area and is a throwback to the pre-recession days, when the company loaded up on future casino sites before it went bankrupt. It’s unclear when Station would develop a project or if the company has drawn up plans for one. The locals-focused casino operator bought around 40 acres of land in the Skye Canyon community, in the upper northwest valley, for $36 million. But that hasn’t stopped it from wanting more. Station Casinos has owned big tracts of land around the Las Vegas suburbs for years without building hotels on them.
