{"id":7362,"date":"2014-05-07T18:21:09","date_gmt":"2014-05-07T18:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/05\/07\/4-billion-resorts-world-licensing-looks-like-a-sure-thing\/"},"modified":"2014-05-07T18:21:09","modified_gmt":"2014-05-07T18:21:09","slug":"4-billion-resorts-world-licensing-looks-like-a-sure-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/05\/07\/4-billion-resorts-world-licensing-looks-like-a-sure-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"$4 billion Resorts World licensing looks like a sure thing"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tThe Resorts World Las Vegas project by the Genting Group would occupy the site where the Stardust stood for nearly five decades. Boyd Gaming officials halted construction on Echelon in 2008, and economic uncertainties have kept the project on hold until now. (Courtesy)<\/span><\/p>\n

\tRJ-Howard%20Stutz.jpg
\n\tHoward Stutz
\n\twrites the weekly column Inside Gaming, reflecting what is happening in the industry. It appears Sunday and Wednesday in Business. Follow him on Twitter: @howardstutz<\/p>\n

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\n\tFollow on: INSIDE GAMING: A new era in Las Vegas history set to openInside Gaming
\n\tMore Columns\/Blogs
\n\tBy HOWARD STUTZ
\n\tLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
\n\tThe next phase of Las Vegas starts today in, of all places, the Sawyer Building.<\/p>\n

\tNearly a dozen representatives and executives from Genting Berhad, the Malaysia-based company that acquired the unfinished Echelon project on the Strip for $350 million 14 months ago, will face questions from the Gaming Control Board.<\/p>\n

\tThe corporation and several of its entities seek a finding of suitability from Nevada casino authorities. Genting wants to build the $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas on the largely vacant 87-acre parcel and will proceed after it receives approval.<\/p>\n

\tState gaming agents spent much of the past year investigating the multifaceted corporation, traveling to Malaysia, Singapore, London and New York. It might be the agency\u2019s most expensive and largest probe ever.<\/p>\n

\tThe Echelon parcel once was home to the long-demolished Stardust. Genting\u2019s project would result in the Strip\u2019s first new megaresort in nearly a decade. Construction will incorporate much of the unfinished Echelon, which was shut down in 2008.<\/p>\n

\tThe hearing at the downtown state office building could take more than two hours. Expect an elaborate presentation on both the company and Resorts World.<\/p>\n

\tIf there are any issues with the application, they will be minor. The hearing will be thorough, and a comprehensive regulatory record will be made.<\/p>\n

\tThe bottom line?<\/p>\n

\tShort of Genting\u2019s entire board of directors being found to have ties to the Yakuza or Chinese organized crime triads, the company and its representatives will be found suitable by both the Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission, which will review the recommendation May 22.<\/p>\n

\tTake that prediction to the bank.<\/p>\n

\tConstruction on the complex will start this year and result in some 2,000 to 3,000 construction jobs.<\/p>\n

\tIn March, Gov. Brian Sandoval, Clark County officials and local business leaders joined Genting Chairman KT Lim and other company executives in an over-the-top news conference at the offices of architects Steelman Partners to announce Resort World Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\tSandoval said two months ago Genting officials had kept him apprised on the progress toward restarting the development.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI have every confidence that they are moving forward,\u201d Sandoval said in March on the one-year anniversary of the announcement.<\/p>\n

\tGenting is a well-financed operation.<\/p>\n

\tThe company has a market capitalization of more than $40 billion, operates casinos around the world, including Resorts World properties in Singapore, Malaysia and Manila, Philippines, and at New York\u2019s Aqueduct Racetrack. Genting has five separate publicly traded entities that operate casinos and other investments.<\/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, which was shelved after Florida lawmakers rejected casino expansion plans. The company is considering alternatives.<\/p>\n

\tIn April, Genting said it would bid on one of four casino licenses in upstate New York.<\/p>\n

\tThe company\u2019s history and reputation might be one reason Sandoval hosted Lim and the Genting contingent on Labor Day weekend 2012 at the Star restaurant in Elko, where all dined on chorizo sandwiches. At the time, the company was considered its options.<\/p>\n

\tMake no mistake, Sandoval wants Genting in Nevada and the unfinished Echelon site, a north Strip eyesore, made for a perfect development opportunity.<\/p>\n

\tWhile the Resorts World Las Vegas site has sat seemingly untouched for more than a year, the company was working behind the scenes to move the project forward.<\/p>\n

\tIn a 2013 interview with Malaysian media, company officials stressed they wouldn\u2019t move forward without completing the Nevada regulatory investigation, calling the process \u201cone of the strictest you can get.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tDespite the conservative approach, Genting officials expressed confidence they would get a license and \u201ccommence the construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tGenting representatives today will offer elaborate details about Resorts World, maybe even repeating 2013\u2019s suggestion that the development could include a live panda habitat.<\/p>\n

\tA suitability finding is one step below licensing, which would have to be granted before the development opens in 2016 or 2017.<\/p>\n

\tEither way, the next phase of Las Vegas growth and development opens today at the Sawyer Building.<\/p>\n

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The Resorts World Las Vegas project by the Genting Group would occupy the site where the Stardust stood for nearly five decades. Boyd Gaming officials halted construction on Echelon in 2008, and economic uncertainties have kept the project on hold…<\/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-7362","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\/7362","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=7362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7362\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}