A Las Vegas-based operator of retail plazas and lower-end apartments wants to take on Caesars, MGM, and Wynn with a new Las Vegas casino.
Anything can happen on the Las Vegas Strip. That goes for what tourists might do in a place that for years told people that any sins they commit in Sin City “stay in Vegas,” but it also goes for the actual properties on the famed stretch of land.
MGM Resorts International (MGM) – Get MGM Resorts International Report, for example, owns an Egyptian pyramid-inspired casino (Luxor) and one based on New York City which has its own Statue of Liberty (New York, New York). Rival Caesars Entertainment (CZR) – Get Caesars Entertainment Inc Report has a casino with its own Eiffel Tower (Paris), an oversized Ferris Wheel (Linq), and a veritable palace (Caesars Palace).
Those properties are joined by the golden splendor of Wynn’s (WYNN) – Get Wynn Resorts, Limited Report signature property, as well as uniquely-themed properties like MGM’s Excalibur (knights), The Venetian (Venice), and Caesars Flamingo (a lot of flamingos).
These will soon be joined by a guitar-shaped hotel owned by Hard Rock International and another new casino on the North Las Vegas Strip whose owners intend to look to Dubai for inspiration.
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Can a Local Player Compete with Caesars, MGM, and Wynn?
Las Vegas real estate investor Steve Siegel knows Las Vegas. His company, The Siegel Group operates a number of short-term rental properties that rent by the week (no credit check required). It also owns a number of retail plazas and has a past history of operating hotels.
Siegel, who just purchased what he called the “last great” vacant land on the Las Vegas Strip now owns “more than 12 acres of contiguous property along Las Vegas Boulevard and Convention Center Drive, Clark County records show, and says he is eyeing a project that could include a hotel-casino, condo units, and retail, “the Las Vegas Journal-Review reported.
It’s a large tract of land which could support another casino/hotel on the scale of those operated by Caesars, MGM, Wynn, and other Las Vegas Strip operators. Siegel has been vague about his company’s plans — and it’s unclear whether The Siegel Group has the funding or wherewithall to take on a project of this scope — but he did share one important tidbit with the paper.
“We’re planning a trip to Dubai to get some ideas,” Siegel told the Review-Journal’s Eli Segall.
Why Look to Dubai?
Dubai does not offer casinos, at least in the moment, but Wynn has been working on a deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that would lead to construction of a massive resort, which would include “gaming,” though it’s not clear what that means in an Islamic nation where traditional gaming remains illegal.
Caesars also has a property in Dubai, but that particular Caesars Palace does not currently offer gambling.
Dubai, however, has been known as a Western-friendly city full of Las Vegas-like architecture, massive malls, and glitzy (albeit gambling-free) hotels. The Wynn property will be located on Al Marjan island, 15 minutes from the Ras Al Khaimah International Airport and 45 minutes from the Dubai International Airport.
“Al Marjan Island is a pristine setting and an ideal greenfield location for us to create the one-of-a-kind guest experiences for which Wynn Resorts is renowned, said Wynn CEO Craig Billings in a press release.
Siegel has not set a timeline for beginning work on his new Las Vegas Strip casino and nothing appears imminent.
The North Strip did see the openings of the $4.3 billion Resorts World casino and the Las Vegas Convention Center’s $1 billion West Hall last year. The long-delayed Fontainebleau Las Vegas expects to complete its 20-year construction odyssey by the end of 2023.
