Publicly held Monarch Casino & Resort Inc. Sands Regent was purchased by Herbst Gaming in 2007.Large publicly held companies with ownership of large gaming properties in Reno-Sparks today include Caesars Entertainment (Harrah’s) and MGM (Circus-Circus and one-half of the Silver Legacy). He’s been a casino executive in Reno since the mid 1980s, including a 10-year stint as general manager of the Sands Regency.In his role as president of Sands Regent Corp., the publicly held company that owned the downtown hotel and casino, Szony acquired Gold Ranch and the Dayton property. Mereulo bought Grand Sierra from JPMorgan, which ended up with the property through foreclosure.Szony is no stranger to Northern Nevada.

Truckee River Gaming joins M1 Gaming, which purchased Boomtown from publicly held Pinnacle Entertainment last year, and the Mereulo Group, which owns Grand Sierra Resort, as the newest players in the regional casino market. “I am looking forward to getting back to northern Nevada.”Affinity, the publicly held company that arose from the bankruptcy ashes of Herbst Gaming, is the latest large corporate entity to shed Reno-area assets. 1, but if the offer goes through Szony expects to be back in northern Nevada by the end of the first quarter of 2013.“Reno is home, and it always has been,” he says.

Affinity will entertain other, higher bids until Oct. The return of Ferenc Szony to the Reno gaming market marks yet another shift away from large corporate ownership of Northern Nevada gaming properties.It’s a trend that’s likely to continue.Szony, a longtime Reno gaming executive, heads newly formed Truckee River Gaming, which bid $19.2 million to purchase the Sands Regency in Reno, Gold Ranch Casino in Verdi and Terrible’s Casino in Dayton from Las Vegas-based Affinity Gaming.

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