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John Ascuaga Honored for Philanthropy at Summit Awards

Reno/Sparks, NEV – John Ascuaga, Sole Proprietor of John Ascuaga’s Nugget, received the Dermody Properties Philanthropic Award at the Seventh Annual Summit Awards on April 28.

The awards ceremony honors achievements in commercial real estate and development, as well as salutes the individual accomplishments of property managers, philanthropic contributors, and those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty for the region.

Founded and sponsored by Dermody Properties, the Philanthropic Award recognizes an individual or company that has made financial and/or time contributions towards the betterment of Northern Nevada communities. Dermody Properties provides philanthropic support to the communities in which it does business and recognizes others who do the same.

Under Ascuaga’s guidance, the Nugget has grown from a small 60-seat coffee shop with a handful of slot machines to one of Nevada’s largest casino-hotels.  Today John Ascuaga’s Nugget is the largest employer in Sparks, and includes 1,500 hotel rooms, casino areas, convention facilities, 8 award-winning restaurants, five live entertainment venues, the Celebrity Showroom and a unique indoor swimming pool.

Ascuaga is most proud of the contributions he and his family have made to the community and especially of the Nugget Scholarship Program. A fervent believer in higher education, he has given $625,000 in scholarships, including the 25 college scholarships he is awarding next week.

Ascuaga and the Nugget also contribute and help raise money for a number of other community organizations including: Washoe Country School District, St. Vincent’s Dining Room, United Way, Sierra Arts Foundation, University of Nevada Foundation and Wolfpack Athletics.

For information visit summitawardsnevada.com.

John Ascuaga’s Nugget is one of the few family-owned casino resorts left in the country. Founded as a coffee shop with a few slot machines on March 17, 1955, John Ascuaga has built the Nugget into a world-class, full-service gaming resort destination.