{"id":7072,"date":"2014-03-04T16:30:12","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T16:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/03\/04\/the-next-strip-mega-resort-is-underway-it-just-doesnt-show-yet\/"},"modified":"2014-03-04T16:30:12","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T16:30:12","slug":"the-next-strip-mega-resort-is-underway-it-just-doesnt-show-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/03\/04\/the-next-strip-mega-resort-is-underway-it-just-doesnt-show-yet\/","title":{"rendered":"The next Strip mega-resort is underway – it just doesn\u2019t show yet"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"\"
\n\tAn artist\u2019s rendering shows the Resorts World Las Vegas project Genting will build on the site of the stalled Echelon project on the Strip. Fitch Ratings Service gaming analyst Michael Paladino called the project, which will take at least three years to develop, another critical component of the city\u2019s long-term growth story<\/span><\/p>\n

\tBy HOWARD STUTZ
\n\tLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
\n\tTo the naked eye, not much has changed in the year that passed since Malaysia-based Genting Group announced plans to build the $2 billion to $7 billion Resorts World Las Vegas on 87 acres on the Strip.<\/p>\n

\tThe concrete-and-steel structure \u2014 remnants of the unfinished Echelon development mothballed by Boyd Gaming Corp. in 2008 \u2014 remain standing. A year later, other than a few signs touting the coming of the hotel-casino, the site appears unchanged.<\/p>\n

\tBut Resorts World Las Vegas is alive and well.<\/p>\n

\tGenting representatives and government officials say the development \u2014 the Strip\u2019s first new resort complex since 2010 \u2014 is on track to start construction this year. The Clark County Commission handed Genting the land entitlements for the site in December.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI have every confidence that they are moving forward,\u201d Gov. Brian Sandoval said Monday.<\/p>\n

\tGenting executives and architects recently were in Carson City to brief Sandoval on developments related to the planned 3,500-room Asia-themed hotel-casino.<\/p>\n

\tSandoval said he is comfortable with the project\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n

\tA year ago, the governor, Clark County elected leaders, tourism officials and the business community flocked to a news conference with the leadership of Genting in the Las Vegas offices of architects Steelman Partners.<\/p>\n

\tSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., dialed in by speaker phone from Washington, D.C., to praise the development.<\/p>\n

\tThe over-the-top announcement that Genting had acquired the site from Boyd Gaming for $350 million included large renderings of Resorts World Las Vegas. Developers even teased that the resort would include a live panda exhibit.<\/p>\n

\tThe recession left Echelon and other major developments in limbo. Strip construction jobs dried up.<\/p>\n

\tPoliticians and chamber of commerce types were giddy with excitement that a new megaresort would revive the market. But it has been 12 months since then.<\/p>\n

\tProject spokesman Stefan Friedman said last week that Resorts World Las Vegas is on schedule.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt\u2019s been a busy year, and we\u2019re trying to be thoughtful about the development,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tGenting and people close to the project said much of the final design and planning for the massive resort has taken place out of the public eye. Genting still plans to incorporate much of the Echelon buildings into Resorts World.<\/p>\n

\tFriedman said Genting\u2019s top U.S. official, Senior Vice President of Development Christian Goode, recently moved to West Coast from Miami to oversee the development.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBy the next anniversary, the site will look much different,\u201d Friedman said. \u201cWe really have been flying under the radar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tGenting isn\u2019t shy about spending money in the United States.<\/p>\n

\tA year before buying the Echelon site, Genting paid more than $400 million for 30 acres along Miami\u2019s Biscayne Bay for the planned $3.8 billion Resorts World Miami. That project was shelved after Florida lawmakers rejected casino expansion plans, but the company still owns the site and is considering alternatives.<\/p>\n

\tEstimates of what the company will spend in Las Vegas have varied. In December, Genting controlling shareholder and Chairman Lim Kok Thay told Bloomberg News his company would spend $4 billion on Resorts World Las Vegas\u2019 initial phase.<\/p>\n

\tGenting\u2019s biggest challenge has been an investigation by Nevada gaming regulators into the company\u2019s suitability to operate a Nevada casino. A suitability finding is one step below licensing, which would have to be granted before the development opens in 2016 or 2017.<\/p>\n

\tGenting, which has market capitalization of more than $40 billion, operates casinos around the world, including Resorts World-branded properties in Singapore, Malaysia and Manila and at the Aqueduct Race Track in New York City. The company has five separate publicly traded entities that operate casinos and other business investments.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe group is undergoing regulatory investigations by the Nevada gaming board, which is one of the strictest you can get,\u201d Thay told Bloomberg News. \u201cI\u2019m quite confident we\u2019ll obtain this license, and only with that we\u2019ll commence the construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFriedman said Genting would announce a construction start as soon as it is found suitable.<\/p>\n

\t\u201c(Genting) will deliver a project that complements Las Vegas and particularly the growing north end of the Strip,\u201d Friedman said.<\/p>\n

\tGaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett said the goal is to place Genting\u2019s suitability hearing \u201con the soonest possible agenda,\u201d which is likely to be in May or June.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis may be the largest company we have ever investigated,\u201d Burnett said. \u201cGenting involves multiple industry segments with multiple publicly traded companies. Our agents are overseas, still conducting follow-up work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tLike all potential licensees, Genting is paying for the investigation.<\/p>\n

\tClark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, who represents the north end of the Strip and attended the announcement last year, said the commission is reviewing the fencing for the site and signs the company plans to use during construction.<\/p>\n

\tGenting agreed to use union labor in construction, she said. Coupled with the planned Labor Day weekend opening of the $415 million SLS Las Vegas, Resorts World will spur a revitalization of the Strip\u2019s north end.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMy main concern is how many rooms they actually plan to open,\u201d Giunchigliani said. \u201cI just don\u2019t want to see them flood the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Replies:<\/h3>\n

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An artist\u2019s rendering shows the Resorts World Las Vegas project Genting will build on the site of the stalled Echelon project on the Strip. Fitch Ratings Service gaming analyst Michael Paladino called the project, which will take at least three…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7072\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}