Reserve ready for new 'Fiesta Henderson' look

Executive decision-makers at Station Casinos didn't necessarily hate the jungle-themed look of The Reserve.

"It has done well for us," said Bart Pestrichello, the general manager at the casino and hotel on Lake Mead Drive and Highway 95.

Instead, he said recently, turning The Reserve into Fiesta Henderson is strictly business.

"It's just a matter of branding and advertising together," he said of the Station Casino's plan to link Fiesta Henderson with its other property in northwest Las Vegas, which will become known as Fiesta Rancho.

The two casinos will be linked in advertising campaigns, and players' club cards will be good at both sites.

Fiesta Henderson will have its grand opening in November, tentatively.

Between now and then, the bulk of a $13 million renovation will be completed in sections, with plans calling for the work to proceed on 30 modules, each taking about 10 days to complete.

What's changing at The Reserve? Everything.

From the carpeting up to the midnight-blue ceiling -- which will feature thousands of fiber-optic lights to resemble the twinkling stars of a Mexican evening -- and just about everything in between will either be replaced or painted over.

The renovation of the casino property and the renaming to Fiesta Henderson is phase two of a four-step process being undertaken at The Reserve. The first phase was $3 million in work on resurfacing and expanding the parking lot. The third phase will be a 6,500-square-foot expansion of the casino floor and construction of a parking garage, which will cost a combined $30 million to $40 million. The fourth phase is remodeling all of the jungle-themed hotel rooms, at a cost which has not yet been estimated.

Pestrichello said the new theme can be considered Mexican beach resort.

"It will have a Cabo feel," he said, referring to the oceanside resort of Cabo San Lucas.

"It will be very sunny and colorful."

The Reserve was built around earth tones -- dark colors, with lots of brown. Fiesta Henderson will be reds, greens and sandy beaches.

Artists renderings of the final product show the bright colors that Pestrichello loves, plus new names on the lounges and restaurants.

Fuego will be the name of the steak house. Baja Beach Cafe will be the new coffee shop, which will be adorned with the existing "crashed" airplane, only the new version will be on a sandy beach under a palm tree. Cervaza Cantina will be a lounge, featuring a conveyer belt holding hundreds of brands of beer, many of which will be available in the cantina. Out in front of the Cervaza Cantina (which is now Monsoon Mary's) will be a fountain sculpture of fiber optics and beer bottles, replacing the current hippo scene. The Funky Monkey bar will become Coco Loco, Lava will be the name of the new entertainment lounge (now called Simba's), and the Serengeti Spaghetti Co. will be replaced by the MacKenzie River Pizza Co. The buffet will be known as the Festival Buffet, and will be designed as a Mexican street scene. Staying put with no name change is the Nils Lofgren Guitar Bar.

There will also be lots of Mexican-looking canopies and awnings, plus strings of lights and lanterns to give the casino floor the look of a Mexican resort.

As a final good-bye to The Reserve, the casino is going to auction off the monkeys, birds, giraffe heads and other decorative items to members of its players' club. Throughout August, players with cards earn "auction bucks" in addition to their regular points. Those auction bucks can be used Sept. 4 and 5 to buy the old decorations."

The giant elephant tusks which form the outside entryway to The Reserve will be taken down, and Pestrichello has been told by experts they are so weatherized, they'll probably disintegrate when they are dismantled.

Pestrichello said the workers at The Reserve -- whom he called "great team members" -- will retain their jobs when the transition to Fiesta Henderson is complete.

Station Casinos bought The Reserve in January from Ameristar Casinos for $70 million.