Golden Gaming Inc. hopes to complete its acquisition of the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Gambling Hall by Nov. 1, Vice-President of Operations Steve Arcana said this week.

"We hope to be on the October agenda for the Gaming Control Board and subsequent to that for the Gaming Control Commission. That being the case, we hope the deal closes at the end of October or Nov. 1," Arcana said.

Golden Gaming announced the takeover of the Pahrump Nugget in early June from Generation 2000, which built the property in March 2001.

Golden Gaming operates three divisions: Golden Casino Group, operating low-stakes gaming in Black Hawk, Colo.; Golden Tavern Group, Nevada's largest tavern operator with 43 establishments including the PTs brand; and Golden Route Operations, Nevada's third largest slot route operator.

Arcana said he wanted to assure employees concerned about losing their jobs in the wake of a notice of the termination of all 310 employees sent to Pahrump under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

Arcana described the process as "a formality" whereby the Pahrump Nugget employees would merely fill out an application to be rehired by Golden Gaming. He said Golden Gaming has an agreement with Generation 2000 assuring the seller that it will go through the hiring process for all their present employees.

"Just through my observations and feedback, our team members do a terrific job taking care of the customers," he said. "We're in here to take what the Ensigns have done, take a great team and moving it forward."

William Ensign is the 35 percent owner of Generation 2000, which also operated the Hacienda Casino near Boulder City. Ensign is the adopted brother of U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

"I think Pahrump Valley is a great place for Golden Gaming to be. We focus on niche markets. We're the largest operator of restricted gaming in the state. We'll be operating 45 taverns by the end of this year," Arcana said. "We feel the property is the market leader. The Ensign family has done a great job out here."

Golden Gaming is eyeing up the potential for future expansion; it will also own 38 acres of land at the main intersection in Pahrump.

But for the moment, Arcana said, "We're going to come in, focus on great service, a great environment for team members and use our experience in local marketing to keep the property going in the direction we wanted."

Golden Gaming Inc. operates the 31 PTs Pubs in Las Vegas, and Arcana was asked whether one will be coming to Pahrump.

Arcana smiled broadly, as if he might be showing a poker face, but wouldn't confirm anything.

"We are considering it. We actually haven't looked at any specific opportunities for it. But we feel the PTs brand would fit in great in Pahrump," he said.

The casino bar will be offering Sierra Gold draught, a label offered at PTs pubs.

Arcana also addressed rumors that the Pahrump Nugget food court would be closing. McDonald's closed down by choice, while Yellow Submarine, Dairy Queen and Orange Julius are still tenants.

"We're going to operate the property as it is right now. We have no intention to make any drastic changes. We'll make decisions as we get comfortable in the market. We'll make decisions that benefit the customers and what their wants and desires are," Arcana said.

Generation 2000 originally had plans to open up movie theaters, but they eventually opened up a bowling alley instead. They also built a child care facility and bingo room. The casino celebrated its fifth anniversary last spring. Live music has been added on weekends.

"We will definitely keep the entertainment going. It's a great deal. It's something that's needed," Arcana said.

The Pahrump Nugget management held an all-day marketing summit Tuesday to discuss entertainment, slot promotions and other plans, Arcana said.

"We want to be part of the business community," he said. "We're going to continue to do charitable events. We want to be a leader in different community events here."

Arcana said the Pahrump Nugget could be a nice complement to other amenities in Pahrump like the Winery and the Mountain Falls golf course.