Yesterday ground broke on Resorts World Las Vegas. The new multiple hotel and casino complex will open in 2018. We were treated to a slew of new renderings of the property yesterday while the mainstream media was at the groundbreaking ceremony.
You can find even more renderings in the media gallery at the Resorts World Las Vegas website which also just launched. The gallery also includes this snazzy video of the renderings.
The renderings have changed at least once since Resorts World Las Vegas was first announced. Expect more changes as construction gets moving. Sometimes plans are easier to create on a 3D rendering than real life. Regardless of the changes I can’t wait to see what this looks like in 3 years.
Follow Resorts World Las Vegas info directly from the source. In addition to the website they’ve just launched the following social media accounts:
Original Resorts World Las Vegas Rendering – Already Different As You See Below
Genting is breaking ground on Resorts World Las Vegas as I type this. The ceremony offered more renderings of what Resorts World Las Vegas will look like. I’m not at the groundbreaking so I’ll be pulling new renderings I find from social media during the ceremony.
The new property was scheduled to break ground last year and open in 2016 or 2017. Fast forward to January of 2015 and insert <sad trombone>.
Christian Goode, the top executive for the planned $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas development, has departed the project, the company said Wednesday.
That’s not a good sign but construction was supposed to be underway so maybe this is just a bump in the road. Well, not quite.
In an email, Genting Vice President of Corporate Communications Michael Levoff said the company hopes to break ground on the development between April and June.
Resorts World Las Vegas is now behind schedule by at least one year. Their projected 2-3 year construction means that Resorts World Las Vegas won’t open until 2017 or 2018 at the earliest.
Genting was having a lot of success with their overseas casinos but that run ended last year as the Asian gambling market began to soften. I’ll have to relax on my excitement for Resorts World Las Vegas. We can discuss when construction actually begins.
Speculating on the future of Vegas is fun. Instead of full-blown posts about specific subjects I think it’s more fun to be short and concise. Here’s my take on two potential moves that would shake things up on the Vegas Strip.
Topic: Now that Cosmopolitan has been sold which Vegas casino will be the next to go? LVH,Riviera and Caesars Entertainment have been rumored to have casinos on the market for a while. Caesars may have multiple properties on the market that they need to sell so they can reduce debt and avoid filing for bankruptcy.
Speculation: My guess is that Caesars will be the first to move. Their current fire sale and shell game seems like a brighter fire than the other two possibilities.
If there’s a dark horse in this race it could be Derek Stevens moving quickly to add the Riviera to his portfolio of The D and Golden Gate. On a personal note, I’d love this. The D and Golden Gate are two of my favorite places to roll dice.
Update: On a detail specific note, you may remember that Stevens owns a small percentage of Riviera. (H/T Chris Robbins on Facebook for the reminder that some people may not know this)
Palms
Topic: What is Dan Lee’s next step now that he’s resigned as CEO of Palms after less than a year on the job?
Speculation: I’m going to speculate that Dan Lee’s next job will be something big. If he has a non-compete clause with Palms or just needs time away from work he might look for a major role with Genting as they open Resorts World Las Vegas.
If that’s too far ahead perhaps a move to another independently operated casino in Vegas might make sense.The Cosmopolitan might make sense as they’ll likely add new leadership when Blackstone takes over operations.
If you’re not familiar with Dan Lee, Vegas Tripping had a really detailed post when he was named CEO of Palms last year.
Genting is currently in speaking with the Nevada Gaming Control Board and giving details on what Resort World Las Vegas will be and how it will be operated. The item that stood out to me is that they will operate the sportsbook themselves.
Goode – Genting Resorts World LV – will operate race and sports books. Goode says will have small gaming salons that comply w/Nevada law
The property will be huge. Howard Stutz from the Las Vegas Review Journal is tweeting specifics (see details on his timeline) about the overall plans. You can see Resorts World Las Vegas renderings here.
It will be interesting to see who they bring in to operate the sportsbook. It’s nice to see that there will be an independent sportsbook operator on the Vegas Strip. We’re still a few years away from Resorts World Las Vegas opening but I can think of one person that would be great for the job.
When the news broke that Resorts World Las Vegas would be build across the street from Wynn and on the lot that was once destined to be home of Echelon, I was simply stunned that a new casino would be built in Las Vegas more than anything else. I didn’t look to see what the casino would offer.
After looking at the Resorts World renderings and the excellent breakdown of those renderings on Vegas Tripping I realized that Resorts World Las Vegas was going to be an Asian themed casino. Even girlygirlcommented about the Asian theme. It’s pretty obvious when you actually look at the renderings (Note to self, look).
Since that initial moment there have been rumors of a Panda “Habitat” being part of the casino. That would fit nicely into an Asian themed casino. Seriously, who doesn’t like Panda’s?
The video below has an interview with Paul Steelman who designed Resorts World Las Vegas (skip ahead to 20:27 left in the video). I learned a few more things about Resorts World from the video.
– There will be a covered pool open all year around. The first of its kind on the strip.
– This is the first themed casino to be built on the Vegas strip since Bellagio which opened in 1998. UPDATE: The Venetian is themed and opened in 1999. Thanks for being incorrect Mr. Steelman and Mr. Ralston.
– Genting (Owner of Resorts World) owns the largest aquarium in the world.
Dr. Dave Shwarz is interviewed after Mr. Steelman in case you crave more discussion about business in Las Vegas.
