The South Coast is becoming the South Point as Michael Gaughan completes his purchase of the hotel and casino that he’s buying back from Boyd Gaming .   .   .

The same hotel he conceived and began building before selling his collection of Coast Casinos to Boyd some two years  ago.

It opened last December as a work of art still very much n progress.

Translation: It was short some amenities and roadway construction in the  neighborhood  meant it was not  contributing to the Boyd bottom line in a way calculated to put a smile on the faces of Wall Street bankers.

During the months since then Gaughan decided he was not cut out to spend his time as  a corporate figurehead in the very corporate Boyd organization. He and longtime friend Bill Boyd cut  a deal that returns the South Coast,  whoops, South Point to Gaughan.

Gaughan said he expects to be on the October agendas of state and county gaming regulators, which means the  deal will be complete by about the end  of the month.

Don’t expect anything more from Gaughan once he gets the property tuned up and running right.

There will not be another Gaughan hotel and casino. He will, in effect, be, uh, gone with the wind.

“I’m gonna tell them (the Gaming Commission, Control Board and County) that they can get a camera and take a picture of me because that’s the last time they’re going to see me.”

Gaughan says he has some ideas in mind for adding features but won’t be talking publicly about those until regulators have officially signed off on the  change of control.

Gaughan believes the hotel and casino on Las Vegas Boulevard South about five   miles south of Tropicana will get a big boost once the I-15 interchange at Silverado Ranch is complete next November. The first part of the interchange will be ready about March.