Silverton awarded for hotel design

The Silverton took home three architectural awards at this year's American Gaming Association's Casino Design Awards ceremony.

The three awards were for Best Architectural Design for a Casino/Resort under $100 million, Best Architectural Re-Design for a Casino/Resort, and Best Interior Design for a Casino/Resort and Retail Facility for the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.

The Silverton, formerly known as Boomtown, now has the theme of an ultra-modern lodge, a stark contrast of the former Old West d cor.

"The old mining town theme looked like it was a cross between a Disney version of Knotts Berry Farm meets the 'Wild Wild West,' " Silverton's President Craig Cavileer said.

However, the re-design of the property focused on architecture rather than an elaborate theme for one important and simple reason. "Themes come and go, architecture lasts a lifetime," Cavileer said.

And the design of the 170,000 square-foot Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World has the Adirondack lodge feel to it, just as their other shops throughout the country do, so it fits right into the overall ambience.

"It is a very authentic and real design," Cavileer said.

Part of the draw of having the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in the Silverton, Cavileer explained, is he likes the idea of having non-gaming brand names incorporated into the property. The Silverton has managed to tie several other names to the property as well. For instance, Hootie & The Blowfish are featured in the Shady Grove Lounge and have agreed not to play at any other Las Vegas venues besides the Silverton. Also, the Orange County Choppers customized two motorcycles, one for the Bass Pro Shops and the other for the 117,000 gallon salt-water aquarium.

Peter Mensching, president of Themeing Solutions Inc., said he and his co-workers develop the ideas that are presented by Cavileer and others.

"We get an idea of what the theme is, like a contemporary lodge, and start to envision it," Mensching said. "You get a design standpoint, achieve it and then embellish it. You do that with any project." Themeing Solutions then uses Daina Construction as the installation contractor. Mensching said one of his longest lasting projects has been the pirate ships at The Mirage, and one of his latest is the parasol umbrellas at Wynn Las Vegas.

"There are places that just sign off on design packages, but possibly because we only have one property, we spend more time personalizing it," Cavileer said. "We wanted something unique and we also wanted something cozy and comfortable. And for uniqueness, the Airstream trailer is very different."

The 1964 aluminum Airstream trailer with a small bowling alley inside of it that sits in the Shady Grove Lounge along with pool tables and a variety of Hootie & The Blowfish memorabilia including several gold records decorating the walls.

"(Hootie & The Blowfish) own the place when they're here. They're part of the Silverton family," Cavileer said.

The band held a release party for their new CD, "Looking For Lucky," at the Silverton in July.

The future of the Silverton is all about the additions. "It's not all about gaming," Cavileer said. Some of the future additions include a new hotel, a convention area, new gaming and a new pool area which all look spectacular on the model.

"We'll just keep thinking about keeping it new, and continue to look for more branding opportunities," he said.