LAS VEGAS (AP) – One of the biggest casino projects ever on the Las Vegas Strip has set a date to open, after more than seven years of planning and building.
The $4.3 billion Resorts World Las Vegas announced Monday that it will open to the public on June 24 and began taking reservations for more than 3,500 rooms at its three Hilton-branded hotels.
The project will be the first all-new hotel-casino to open on the Strip in more than a decade following the 2010 opening of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
The opening of Resorts World comes during a pandemic that has upended the Las Vegas economy with business restrictions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has set a June 1 goal for the 100% reopening of businesses shuttered in March 2020. Casinos – currently operating at 50% – are under the control of state gaming regulators.
The $4.3 billion complex has been under construction at the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard since May 2015, a little more than two years after Malaysia-based Genting Group bought the site for $350 million from Las Vegas casino operator Boyd Gaming Corp.
The site formerly housed the Rat Pack-era Stardust, which closed in 2006 and was imploded by Boyd in 2007. Boyd had originally planned to develop the Echelon project on the site, which was a year into construction when the recession hit. Genting incorporated what Boyd had already built into the Resorts World project.
Scott Sibella, president of Resorts World Las Vegas, acknowledged the years of work that included delays and redesigns to reshape the Asian theme of the big 88-acre property.
“We are filled with gratitude and excitement as we approach our opening … and hope to play a role in Las Vegas’ rebound after what has been an incredibly challenging year,” Sibella said in a statement.
The property has emerged as a curved, red 59-story structure with a huge dynamic LED facade facing Las Vegas Boulevard. The owner calls the 100,000-square-foot display one of the largest in the U.S.
Its three hotels – dubbed Las Vegas Hilton at Resorts World, Conrad Las Vegas at Resorts World, and Crockfords Las Vegas, LXR Hotels and Resorts – are designed to offer a range of amenities.
Announcements in recent weeks have focused on Zouk Nightclub and AYU Dayclub headliners including Zedd and Tiësto, booked with Singapore-based Zouk Group.
The scale of the complex is huge among Strip resorts, with more than 40 restaurants, eateries, and beverage outlets; multiple retail shops and stores; a 117,000-square-foot casino; and 250,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space.
The resort also will include a 5.5-acre pool and spa complex with seven swimming pools.
AEG Presents will partner with the resort in a 5,000-capacity concert and entertainment theater programmed and operated by Concerts West. The Las Vegas Review-Journal has reported possible headliners including Katy Perry, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan.
Resorts World also will have a station connected by developer Elon Musk’s underground Tesla vehicle transit with the renovated Las Vegas Convention Center.
The biggest single development on the Strip was the $9.2 billion CityCenter partnership between MGM Resorts International and Dubai World. It opened in December 2009 on 76 acres (31 hectares) and includes the Aria, Vdara, Waldorf Astoria, and Veer hotel and condominium towers and the Crystals retail and entertainment district. Its Harmon tower never opened due to construction defects and was dismantled.
Other large projects in recent years include the more than $4.1 billion Cosmopolitan and $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas, which opened in 2005. The Bellagio, known for its dancing water fountains, opened in 1998 at a cost of about $1.6 billion.
(CDC Gaming Reports added to this story)
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.
