Resorts World Las Vegas, developed by Genting Americas Inc, is to see full construction begin in the third quarter this year, aiming for a 2020 opening. The developer had previously mentioned a 2018 opening.
The property has been described by its promoter as the first major casino property to be built from the ground up in the Nevada gaming hub for nearly a decade.
A Wednesday press release issued by Genting Americas – a unit of Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd – also announced that Edward Farrell had been appointed president of Resorts World Las Vegas. The scheme’s promoters have previously said the resort will be Chinese-themed and of particular appeal to Asian customers.
The developer decided to postpone the opening as the result of an overhaul of the original design meant to attract younger gamblers, said Mr Farrell as quoted by the Associated Press.
Wednesday’s release described the scheme (pictured in a rendering) – located on the Las Vegas Strip on the site of the former Stardust Casino – as a “multibillion-dollar integrated resort”, but didn’t specify the current budget. Media reports have mentioned a US$4-billion price tag.
Genting Americas said construction activity on the site would “continue to ramp up” with the installation of tower cranes for work on the casino podium and hotel towers.
It added that site preparation and servicing work had already started and a 3,000-space structure for car parking had been completed.
The release stated the project would employ approximately 1,000 construction workers on site by next year, increasing to several thousand in the two years leading up to the opening in 2020.
“Once in operation, the resort will employ more than 3,000 union employees with thousands of more indirect jobs also being created,” said Genting Americas.
Mr Farrell has worked in the casino industry for more than 30 years. Prior to joining Resorts World, Mr Farrell was senior vice president of finance for Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, both in Connecticut, United States.
“As the shareholder of Resorts World Las Vegas, we have full confidence in Ed’s ability to lead a well-organised team of highly-qualified professionals to collectively shepherd Resorts World Las Vegas through development and into successful operation,” the release quoted Tan Kong Han, president and chief operating officer of Genting Bhd, as saying.
“Resorts World Las Vegas presents a unique opportunity to bring the Genting Group’s experience – in developing and operating Asia’s leading integrated resorts – to the United States, offering visitors to Las Vegas a new and compelling reason to stay on the north end of the Strip,” said Mr Farrell as quoted in the release.
