O.C. Hotelier Rolls the Dice on Las Vegas Casino Venture

Hotelier Tushar Patel has expanded his California holdings once again--and now he’s setting his sights on Las Vegas.

The Costa Mesa businessman says he expects next month to complete the purchase of the Bourbon Street Hotel & Casino, a 200-room hotel and gaming facility a block from the storied Vegas Strip.

It’s Patel’s first venture outside the familiar Southern California market, where he now owns 14 hotels in partnership with family members.

With close to 100,000 hotel rooms, the Las Vegas market is as cutthroat as they come. But Patel says the property was priced right at only $7.8 million. He plans a major renovation that should help boost occupancy, and he’s already contemplating future expansion.

“We’re getting a good deal,” said Patel, who manages his own properties through his Tarsadia Hotels group. “We see a lot of upside potential.”

Patel has been busy. In August, he purchased the 180-room Ramada Plaza Hotel in Cypress for $9.8 million from Renaissance Hotels International Inc. He owns two other hotels in Orange County, the Crystal Suite Hotel and the Comfort Suites at the Park, both in Anaheim. His other properties are in the San Diego area.