Most of the new hotel casino development plans on the Las Vegas Strip lately have centered on the North Strip, between The Strat and the Wynn Resort properties.
MGM Resorts International (MGM) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR), which own over a dozen properties on The Strip, expect to see most of their newest competition in upcoming years to come from the North Strip. (While their operations are based on the Central and South Strip).
In addition to hotel and casino competition, the gaming and hospitality giants have to contend with a wide array of other entertainment choices that draw customers away from their properties, including an NBA/NHL-quality arena, concert venues, various virtual reality experiences and even a huge Ferris wheel that includes onboard bars.
Image source: Palms Casino
Growth on the North Las Vegas Strip
The Fontainebleau resort complex is set to open later this year, which could draw some business away from the MGM and Caesars properties and the real estate developer Siegel Group has purchased 10 acres on the North Strip with plans to build a hotel/casino concept on the site.
The North Strip also has a multi-billion dollar NBA-ready arena planned that could attract either an expansion team or relocation of an existing team. The project would likely include a hotel/casino component that would draw even more business away from the Central and South Strip casinos.
With all the new development focus on the North Strip, most of the talk about changes in the Central and South Strip has centered around Caesars possibly selling its Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino or maybe another property.
Now, however, another big new development has become public that will directly challenge Caesars and MGM on their main turf.
A New Player on the Last Vegas Strip
NBA Houston Rockets billionaire owner Tilman Fertitta, who also owns the Golden Nugget casino in downtown Las Vegas, is reportedly planning to purchase prime property on The Strip, located between Caesars' Planet Hollywood and the MGM Grand, to develop a new high-end casino project, sources told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The property, at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue, is also across the street from the Aria, Vdara, and Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas hotels, upscale Shops at Crystal, and Veer Towers condominium complex.
Fertitta, CEO of Fertitta Entertainment, reportedly will pay $200 million for the 6-acre site, which is currently occupied by a Travelodge motel, retail, and restaurant space. The property is currently owned by Spectrum Group Management. One source told the Review-Journal that Fertitta expects to close the acquisition in the next few months, but the deal has not been finalized yet.
Fertitta did not respond to requests for comment by the Review-Journal, and Spectrum managing partner Jeff Schaffer declined their request for comment.
Fertitta's proposed development site is located next to a 9.5-acre site owned by Grindi Capital, which is planning a retail development, the report said.
Las Vegas developer Brett Torino owns a three-story retail complex at the northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon and is building a four-story retail project at the southwest corner of Las Vegas and Harmon.
Fertitta, who Forbes says is currently worth $5.7 billion, purchased the Rockets in October 2017 for $2.2 billion. In addition to the Golden Nugget, he also owns restaurant chains, including Landry's Seafood House, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and Saltgrass Steak House. He had taken Landry's private in 2010 in a $1.4 billion deal.
The billionaire also authored his first book, "Shut Up and Listen" in September 2021 about his career in the dining and entertainment business.
