The Gold Spike in Las Vegas is owned by the estate of Tony Hsieh, the late CEO of Zappos, and is managed on a day-to-day basis by DTP Companies, formerly known as the Downtown Project. Hsieh bought the property at 400 East Ogden Avenue in 2013 for $22 million, and control passed to court-appointed administrators after his death in November 2020. The property has been listed for sale since December 2023.
How the Hsieh Estate Came to Own It
Hsieh acquired the Gold Spike through the Downtown Project, the entity he founded in early 2012 with a $350 million commitment to revitalize the area around Fremont Street. Under his ownership the property shed its remaining casino floor and was reworked into a bar, hotel, and social venue aimed at locals and visitors.
Hsieh died on November 27, 2020, at age 46, from injuries suffered in a house fire in Connecticut. He left no spouse and no children. No will was found at first, which meant his assets would pass to his parents under Nevada’s intestacy rules, and his father, Richard Hsieh, was appointed to administer the estate. Estimates of the estate’s total value have ranged from $500 million to over $800 million.
A disputed will later surfaced and the probate case became contested. Lawyers for the estate argued in court filings that Hsieh lacked the mental capacity to sign contracts in the period leading up to his death. Two men named as co-executors in the purported will have sought to have it recognized, which would substantially change how the wealth is distributed. A judge considered ordering forensic testing of the document but had not issued a final ruling as of the most recent public reporting. The probate case remains open.
Who Actually Runs the Property
While the probate case works through the Clark County courts, DTP Companies continues to manage the Gold Spike. The estate’s administrators carry fiduciary duties under Nevada law. They must file a true inventory and appraisal of all estate assets within 120 days of appointment and mail copies to interested heirs within 10 days of that filing.1Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 144 – Inventory and Appraisement Because Hsieh held most of his properties through limited liability companies, the administrators also have to work within the operating agreements that govern each LLC’s management and ownership transfers.2Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 86 – Limited-Liability Companies
Nevada also sets a statutory formula for executor compensation on estates of this scale, and courts can approve additional fees for complex matters involving multiple properties and business interests.3Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 150 – Compensation and Accounting The size of the estate generates substantial administration costs, which is part of the pressure to sell properties and convert them to cash.
The Property Is on the Market
The Gold Spike and the adjoining Oasis property have been listed through Logic Commercial Real Estate since December 2023, at an undisclosed asking price. The combined parcels cover roughly 1.5 acres with about 70,861 square feet of building space. No buyer has been publicly announced, and the listing still shows the property as available.
The sale is part of a broader liquidation of Hsieh’s downtown Las Vegas holdings. Several other properties connected to the estate have been marketed in recent years as administrators work through claims and move toward distributions.
The Gaming License That Comes With It
The Gold Spike holds a non-restricted gaming license that predates a 1992 Nevada law requiring new non-restricted licensees in counties with more than 100,000 residents to operate as resort-hotels with at least 200 rooms, a permanent bar seating 30, and a round-the-clock restaurant seating 60. Because the license existed before that law took effect, the property has grandfathered status and does not need to meet those standards.
The catch is that grandfathered status expires if gaming is absent from the property for more than 24 consecutive months. The Gold Spike has not run regular gaming operations in years, so the owners have held brief, temporary casino events to keep the license alive. For a prospective buyer, that license is likely a meaningful piece of the property’s value, since obtaining a new non-restricted license at this location would require meeting the resort-hotel standards the current building cannot satisfy.
Earlier Owners of the Gold Spike
The building at 400 East Ogden Avenue opened in 1976 as the 112-room Rendezvous, owned by an entity called the 76 Corporation. It went through at least one name change before Jackie Gaughan, one of downtown’s most recognizable casino operators, bought it in 1985 and rebranded it as the Gold Spike. Gaughan ran it for nearly two decades as a no-frills locals’ casino alongside a portfolio that at its peak included the El Cortez, the Plaza, the Las Vegas Club, and the Western.
In 2004, Gaughan sold the Gold Spike to Barrick Gaming as part of a package valued at approximately $82 million that also included the Plaza, the Las Vegas Club, the Western, two motels, additional downtown parcels, and an option to buy the El Cortez.4Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 132 – General Provisions Barrick held the Gold Spike until 2008, when the Siegel Group, a Las Vegas real estate firm founded by Stephen Siegel, bought it during the early recession. Siegel also owned the adjacent Travel Inn Motel, combined the two properties, and rebranded the result as what the company called the first boutique hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas. The Siegel Group sold the property to Hsieh and his investment partners in 2013.