After pandemic closure, Club One casino has its eye on a new Fresno location
Fresno’s Club One casino may have found its new home.
The Fresno City Council at its Thursday meeting held a public hearing for the card room’s permit application to move to Granite Park into the space that formerly housed Club Imperio and Cabo Wabo.
“The feedback we’ve had from others in the complex is strongly positive, frankly, that we’ll be there and provide a little bit of structure ... and continue the track record that we’ve had in the city of Fresno,” Kyle Kirkland, Club One’s president and co-owner, told the council on Thursday.
Club One has been looking to relocate from its former downtown location for a couple years. At one point, the plan was for the casino to buy the iconic spiral garage and the former Gottschalks building connected to it, but the deal with the city fell through.
Kirkland said the casino previously considered the Granite Park location but at that point the area was underdeveloped.
The card room closed last year to comply with coronavirus restrictions.
Club One has operated in Fresno for two decades, employs about 300 people and generates about $1 million annually in taxes for the city.
Club One already has all the licenses it needs to operate, according to a city staff report.
The casino already has moved into the building and cleaned up trash in the area, removed graffiti, restored trees and irrigation and provides 24/7 surveillance, Kirkland said, adding up to around $600,000 in expenses. Kirkland plans to continue improvements over the next 18-24 months that could total up to $12 million.
The city council is scheduled to vote on the permit at its July 29 meeting.