Low-key Meruelo sees LA Latinos as key part of his highest-profile bet: a Las Vegas casino
Three decades ago, a 23-year-old kid from Whittier, Calif., the son of Cuban immigrants, had an idea for a new kind of pizzeria - one that would serve predominantly Latino neighborhoods and offer then-uncommon toppings like chorizo and jalapenos.
He took over a failed pizza joint in Huntington Park, called it La Pizza Loca and, within five years, had more than two dozen locations and sales of nearly $10 million.
That bet on an untapped market became the foundation of the business empire of Alex Meruelo, a low-profile investor and entrepreneur who has just made his biggest and highest-profile bet yet - on a historic but faltering casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
His company last month finalized its purchase of the SLS Las Vegas, which for decades operated as the Sahara before L.A. nightlife impresario Sam Nazarian bought it for a reported $300 million to $400 million, and then spent at least that much trying to transform the old property into a hipster hangout.
But the top-dollar acquisition on the eve of the recession proved to be an ill-timed bet on Las Vegas - followed
