Skift Take
The Las Vegas Strip is one step closer to getting a new hotel-casino complex. A project led by billionaire Tilman Fertitta has received approval for a 43-story, 2,420-room development at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard.
Billionaire Tilman Fertitta is one step closer to building a new hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The Clark County Zoning Commission green lit a 43-story, 2,420-room development at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard.
Initial plans call for restaurants, a spa, a wedding chapel, and extensive convention space, as well as a 2,500-seat theater.
“We were pleased with Clark County Commission’s unanimous approval of our development plans today. However, this is just another step in our overall review and planning process. No firm decision has yet been made concerning our future plans,” said Jeff Cantwell, executive vice president of development at Fertitta Entertainment, in a statement.
Under the Fertitta Entertainment conglomerate, Fertitta owns the restaurant giant Landry’s, the Golden Nugget Casinos & Hotels, and the NBA’s Houston Rockets.
In total Fertitta owns more than 600 properties in over 15 countries, including Morton’s The Steakhouse, Rainforest Café, and Joe’s Crab Shack. He also opened the Post Oak Hotel in Uptown Houston, the only Forbes Five Star Hotel and Spa in Texas.
“Tilman has a proven track record in the hospitality industry and in Southern Nevada. His vision for a luxury resort on the famed Las Vegas Strip will be a great addition. We look forward to this project being another chapter in our city’s innovation and reinvention story,” said Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Fertitta purchased the approximately six-acre area where his new building will sit in June for $270 million.
This new property joins a city with the components in place to host meetings, conventions, and trade shows with the 4.6 million-square-foot Las Vegas Convention Center, more than 150,000 hotel rooms, and 14 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space.
In May, DraftKings bought Fertitta’s Golden Nugget Online Gaming for $1.56 billion. Notably, this acquisition did not include brick-and-mortar Golden Nugget casinos, as Fertitta will maintain ownership of those entities.
Barry Diller, chairman at Expedia Group and IAC, holds a 16.5 percent stake in MGM Resorts. Diller shared his views of the casino hotel at Skift Global Forum 2022 in September. When asked if he thinks it faces extinction, he replied, “Not at all. I think it faces enhancement because the relationship between being able to do games and things in sports betting and all sorts of gambling online connect you to the bricks and mortar resort hotel.”
Photo credit: Ameer Basheer / Unsplash
