Yah baby... https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/fontainebleau-on-las-vegas-strip-sells-for-600m/
Actually, just 2 times. The original group built it, Ichan bought it at a huge discount just to hold it, and these guys are talking it to the finish line. Icahn made about 400 million in 8 years on his investment. I'd take that.
Ahhhh I thought some businessman out of Texas owner it for a while. It would be nice to see the places in that area completed. I almost moved into a condo around Sahara and the strip a few years back. I was thinking the pricing was good and these places in the area wouldn't sit too long but they have and longer than I thought they would. Hopefully they will get construction back going soon.
There's a bunch of dough needed to finish this project but somebody I hope has a plan in place. You'd figure standard hotel/casino/shops/dining/club/1,000 seat theater. The high end high rise strip area residences are the only segment really languishing the rest of the market there (some might say the 1.5 million and up single family fits this description as well). Keep those underground pumps working and let's get this party started!
This place was supposed to be another Citycenter. The problem is they actually over built it. I saw renderings and a model of what it was supposed to become. Absolutely amazing. There's no way they paid $600M to tear it down. I heard a good one today... someone said rename it The Riviera. IMO, that would be pretty brilliant. I think the SLS will be renamed the Sahara again when the new owners from Reno take over in a few months. This makes 4 major projects at the north end. Wynn's "Paradise Lake" project that removes his golf course and extends the hotel all the way to Paradise Rd. Resorts World which is now moving forward and should open in 2 years LV Convention extension which is fully funded and will open a new center on the strip where the Riviera was And the revitalized Fountainbleu, to be named later. There is also a proposed new music / basketball arena if it ever gets off the ground On the South the big construction of course is Raiders stadium which might start this fall. They are already drilling core samples. The big worry is there aren't enough people or cranes to do all the work.
When I was growing up here in the 90's, one of my friend's dads was a electrician foreman. Back then they were making so much in overtime, they would rival good doctors, lawyers, etc. in pay. We may be headed back to those times for a while. Mark
That is very good news for the North end of the strip. Actually the whole city. I just hope what happened in 2008 doesn't happen again. City Center was lucky to be finished. Many projects weren't as we all know.
We still have to figure out where the Raiders parking is going to be. That's another problem that needs to be worked out. Rumor has it the golf course next to the airport may be bought and used for that. There is not enough parking right now available for the stadium. Another rumor is that the monorail will be extended down to Mandalay Bay but I can't see how that alone solves the problem on game days. No way it can handle all those people to shuffle them to other hotel parking lots. Oh and the new stadium needs new roads and the property around the stadium is being bought up fast all the way to Polaris. So, we are not finished yet.
Totally different situation, but worth mentioning; the Golden Knights have their parking situation down cold. For full and partial season seat holders (me! ), you were offered parking in one of 3-4 garages down by the arena. After each game, each garage will empty in a specific direction. Depending on where you live (meaning where you'll be headed after the game), you were offered a spot in the garage that will empty the direction you need to travel. That's excellent. Selfishly, the best part is that since I live on the SW side of the city, I got a spot in the best/closest garage; NYNY! Mark
I may be investing in the central plants/on site generation facilities. all of the projects you cite I am working on. this is a very different look and feel than 2009.
the other arena project you speak of...that is Jackie's project. doubt it will ever get funding. I know it well.
new business model. gaming revenue is up but resorts are less dependent. might clubs, entertainment, retail and conventions will make these "resorts" more bulletproof. they are not "casinos" anymore
Thing is they were already on that model in 2008-9. Any place that depends on tourists can use any model you want but when the economy dumps the tourist stop coming. Those expensive clubs are empty, those expensive restaurants empty, you get the president telling people to stop wasting money in Vegas the conventions stop etc. In order to avoid that again you need to not depend on tourists which is something this city can't live with out. So when the economy dumps this city will go through all that crap again. I just hope next time it's not so bad.
While not on the Strip per se, I think the one place that bucks that trend is Mr. G's South Point, we'll never know his #'s, but it's traditional old school Jackie Gaughan mindset in there and that place is rarely slow. A no frills gambling joint. Although, I heard he has or had the highest grossing coffee shop in Vegas and as many of you know the South Point is traditional Vegas coffee shop all the way. His Steak n Shake inside too is the highest grossing franchise in the USA. His entertainment offerings are decidedly leaning towards the senior citizen market and yet you see the crowds in the place and it's a mix of young and old. No frills, nothing fancy (outside of Michael's restaurant) and nothing trendy and the place kills. I'm not sure if he had his hand in anything to do with the 8 highrise towers of the Grandview Timeshare complex next to him, but even though the SouthPoint is relatively in no mans land in terms of tourist Strip traffic, the consistent flow of ever changing timeshare "owners" staying at those 8 high rises next to him is like a built-in customer base. It's too far to walk to M Resort, it's too far to walk to the Strip so virtually everyone in those 8 towers make that 100 foot walk to the South Point. I wish Michael would go on the Strip once again with his family's mindset, the Blvd. needs that again. Ironically in contrast, it was Michael Gaughan long ago that first opened the door to Victor Drai in Vegas at the Barbary so he was ahead of the curve of how modern day Vegas resorts focus their priorities.
I've heard so many Vegas people whine about this. What was actually said: When times are tough, you tighten your belts. You dont go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You dont blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when youre trying to save for college. You prioritise. You make tough choices. If this is what sent Vegas into a financial slide then my hot roll at a craps table at Bellagio a few months ago is what brought it back.
Well, to not get political here... even Democratic Senate majority leader Sen Harry Reid asked Obama to apologize and retract the statement. It was an implication that people should not go on holiday "blowing cash" and instead should stay home and tighten their belts. Mayor Oscar Goldman (D) refused to meet with Obama on a visit over the statement. For a local, it was big news. You have to remember the times. 2008 was really, really bad. It wasn't what the city needed at the time. Many companies cancelled their convention plans because of backlash by their shareholders specifically stating Obama's statement as the reason. States made it a rule that no one in government or even their suppliers could go to Las Vegas for any business reason for fear of angering the public. It was the opposite of "the only thing we have to fear is .... fear itself". I'm guessing if he said "people shouldn't be going to Cubs games and instead should be home saving for college" --people in Chicago and certainly MLB would be upset by it.
I don't whine about it as due to the economy I got a great deal on my house and our business didn't suffer in fact we kept growing and still are so it didn't affect me. I just think instead of Vegas he could have said gambling but hey that's neither here nor there.
14% unemployment in 2009 was no fun at all. I can't tell you how many of my friends and their friends were hurting at the time. Today its under 6. I hope we never go back there again...
