In Las Vegas, the Silverton Casino Lodge goes cowboy chic. By Ryan Slattery
Lodge life has come to Las Vegas. The Silverton Casino Lodge’s recent, $40 million renovation brings a Wild West vibe to the popular off-Strip property — a favorite gambling hall for locals and visitors who enjoy the outdoors.
The Silverton, located on Blue Diamond Road just six miles from the Strip, has had a solid following since its opening in 1994. A complete refresh of the 300-room, boutique hotel in a cowboy glam-style is bringing some new excitement to the property. Executives say they saw an opportunity to get creative and reinvent the property in the spirit of rustic elegance.
The Silverton has a decent-size casino footprint of 90,000 square feet of gaming. It also has a 117,000-gallon, saltwater aquarium with hundreds of sharks, stingrays and tropical fish, plus daily mermaid swims and, is home to a flagship Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.
In addition to the renovated rooms, the Silverton refreshed the pool deck, completely overhauled the sports book, and extended the hours of the Sundance Café to a 24-hour-a-day format. To learn more about what’s happening at the Silverton, Casino Life spoke to Rob Kunkle, the president of the property. Here’s what he told us …
You just completed a major $40 million room renovation. What led to the refresh of the guest rooms?
Having just celebrated our 25th anniversary, our guest rooms were ready for a refresh. We took it one step further, however, and completely renovated the hotel. We closed the hotel temporarily and took the rooms back to the studs — it was like building a new hotel in many ways. It was definitely an ambitious project.
It’s a very unique design that’s been called cowboy glam. Can you explain?
Our guests have always embraced the ‘rustic luxe’ lodge theme of Silverton Casino. So it made sense to continue that into our renovated guest rooms. Overall, cowboy-glam design blends the rugged charm of the Wild West with the sophistication of upscale decor, creating a unique and visually striking style.
The Silverton room designs were inspired by the company’s award-winning sister property, Hotel Drover, in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. How did the Drover come into play when redesigning the rooms?
As we embarked on the planning stage, we had just opened Hotel Drover, the cornerstone of our Fort Worth Stockyards redevelopment. What we did there was really redefine the ‘look and feel’ of a modern cowboy theme with the hotel’s curated art, crafted fixtures, and custom furnishings. Hotel Drover opened to glowing reviews and was even named the best hotel in North Texas by Travel + Leisure magazine. With Silverton’s lodge theme, it seemed appropriate to take design inspiration from its Fort Worth sibling. Just like Hotel Drover, the Silverton designs include rich details with intentional and eye-catching touch points.
The décor has three distinct collections (cowboy kitsch, rustic modern and refined lodge). What are the unique eye-catching aspects of each?
The remodeled hotel features 300 rustic-luxe guest rooms and suites, including three distinct ‘design stories,’ each with its own curated style, decor, and spirit that transports guests into a unique experience during every visit. The Cowboy Kitsch Collection features a quirky blend of rustic chic with tasteful modern accents. The Rustic Modern Collection features natural, age and weathered furnishings with the sense of natural warmth of the outdoors, and the Refined Lodge Collection features rooms inspired by the elegant Rockies glam design, and by the legendary cattle baron’s homes found in the West.
The Silverton is slightly off-Strip. Who is your ideal clientele?
We are a bit of a hybrid casino. We are certainly embraced by locals — especially those living in the growing Mountain’s Edge community. But because of our location off the highway, and our attractions like the Aquarium and Bass Pro Shop, we attract a lot of visitors to Las Vegas as well. With the reopening of the hotel and its boutique-style experience, we expect to attract yet another type of traveler who is looking for such an experience in Las Vegas.
The pool — now called The Swimming Hole — got a refresh as well. The name is playful. Can you tell me about the remodel and the amenities, and also the events you’ll be hosting there —sports, movies, and other entertainment we can expect this summer?
We took the same approach with the pool that we took with the hotel. We tore out what we had and started fresh. This turned into a $10 million project, creating a gem of a pool experience for our guests, complete with cabañas, a new pool bar and even fire pits, perfect for chilly desert evenings.
How has the Bass Pro Shops partnership figured into what you do on property?
More than one million people visit Bass Pro Las Vegas every year. Bass Pro is a unique brand and their stores attract dedicated outdoor-lifestyle enthusiasts. The lodge theme of Silverton complements the Bass Pro experience and vice versa.
You also cater heavily as a gambling hall to locals. What do you do to attract them?
We love our locals, especially those who call Silverton their home casino. You see that enthusiasm play out every year when the ‘Best of Las Vegas’ awards come out from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Last year, we won in 16 categories — a record for us.
You also introduced some new experiences. What is Wine Time?
Wine Time is our new wine-tasting program. Upon check-in, guests are invited to the Mermaid Lounge that evening for a self-guided wine tasting. We feature three vintages every night, giving an opportunity to try something new.
And also Social Hour at Twin Creeks. What can guests expect there?
At Twin Creeks Steakhouse we chose to elevate the happy hour experience with a special menu and cocktails from 4 to 6 p.m.
Sundance Café is now 24 hours. What led to the change?
We had shortened the hours of Sundance Café after our Covid break and had yet to return to the 24-hour-a-day format. With the reopening of the hotel it was time to bring 24-hour dining back into the mix.
The fish tank on property is iconic. I always see young kids and adults in awe of it. What makes it so special and how does the Mermaid Swim appearance play into that?
The Aquarium is a special part of the Silverton experience. Most people don’t realize it’s 117,000 gallons. That’s quite a big home to our thousands of fish. But it’s the resident mermaids that get most of the
attention. Their daily appearances add a quirky element to Silverton, for sure. And they say it is good luck to spot a mermaid … something very helpful in a casino!
The sports book has been remodeled as well. What was done there?
We teamed up with Derek Stevens and the Circa Sports team, to renovate the sports book. The 1,600-square-foot space is located right next to the parking garage for ease of access. We added a huge Daktronics screen that can be configured to show games from all major sports leagues and other streaming services. We have three betting windows and three self-service betting kiosks. We surrounded that with lounge chairs and tables, offering the best seats in the house to watch sports.
You have a number of restaurants on property. Can we expect any new ones or changes to the existing dining options?
Our restaurants are a very important part of the Silverton experience. We continue to make adjustments based on feedback from our guests. For instance, this year we took a fresh look at all of our restaurant menus and revised each of them.
Shady Groove Lounge has become famous for its themed pop-ups.
From Bad Elf to the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, what makes these pop-ups fun to plan and bring to guests?
With the pop-up strategy, we have made the bar a destination. It also gives the casino a seasonal vibe — something new for our guests throughout the year. We also have the Cider Fest pop-up coming in September and October.
Casino Life Magazine would like to thank Rob Kunkle, President Silverton Resort Casino and PR Team for all their help and assistance with this exclusive feature for Casino Life Magazine.
