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It was Mesquite's fourth casino, and was operated by Longhorn Group, which also owned two casinos in Las Vegas. The Rancho Mesquite casino opened on February 14, 1997, in a separate building located on the same property. The hotel was affiliated with the Holiday Inn brand and opened in August 1996, with 215 rooms, located in a four-story building. Construction was halted by the city at one point because the general contractor on the project had failed to comply with building codes. Lee still had some concerns about whether the city could sustain more gambling, as three new casinos – the others being Players Island and the Mesquite Star – would be opening in Mesquite within a year of each other. Groundbreaking took place on August 22, 1995. Planning for Lee's project, now called Rancho Mesquite, was underway again in early 1995. He put his project on hold when construction began across the street on a rival hotel-casino called the Virgin River, which opened in 1990. Lee initially intended to name his hotel-casino 'Conastoga'. At the time, the only casino in Mesquite was the Oasis.

However, he was skeptical that Mesquite, with its small population, could sustain another casino property. The group wanted to build a hotel and casino on the land, but eventually abandoned the project and sold the property around 1989 to Lee, who proceeded with the idea. Mesquite was considered one possibility, and a month later, an investment group from that city contacted Lee about a possible investment on property located at the intersection of Pioneer Boulevard and Mesa Boulevard. He was later surprised to learn of Laughlin's rapid growth within a few years, and decided to figure out which city in Nevada could be next for such growth.

Real estate developer Ted Lee had considered making a land investment in Laughlin, Nevada during the 1980s, but ultimately passed on the idea. In 2016, the Eureka was sold to its 550 employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), becoming one of two casinos in the United States to be employee-owned. Because of confusion with other businesses, the name was changed to Eureka in 2000. The Rancho Mesquite was owned by the Lee family, who were the only Nevada casino owners to be of Asian descent. The hotel portion, originally part of the Holiday Inn chain, opened in August 1996. It initially operated under the name Rancho Mesquite.

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