Resorts World Opens in Las Vegas, Helping Revive North Strip  

Posted on: June 24, 2021, 02:38h. 

Last updated on: June 24, 2021, 02:53h.

Larry Henry Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

Resorts World’s grand opening Thursday on the Las Vegas Strip marks the first time in 11 years a new hotel-casino has debuted on the resort corridor.

At $4.3 billion, the red-tinted Resorts World Las Vegas is the most expensive hotel-casino in Nevada history, surpassing the $4.1 billion Cosmopolitan. The Cosmopolitan opened in December 2010, the last new resort on the Strip prior to Thursday’s event. 

Resorts World is at the northwest end of the Strip, just south of Circus Circus and the smaller Slots-A-Fun casinos. The Cosmopolitan also is on the west side of the Strip, towering over the older Jockey Club near the Bellagio.

The 3,506-room Resorts World is owned by the Malaysian-based Genting Group. It features three Hilton-branded hotels, each with its own entrance. Midweek room rates start at $149. 

The fanfare surrounding Thursday’s 11 pm opening mirrors the excitement over earlier grand openings that helped transform the Strip. This includes the 1989 opening of the Mirage. The Steve Wynn-built Mirage ushered in an era of themed megaresorts designed in part to attract families.

That era has given way to other concepts, including resorts that restrict smoking. At Resorts World, smoking will be limited to the casino.

This revival includes a $1 billion addition to the Convention Center just east of the Strip and an underground Tesla people-mover system by Elon Musk’s Boring Co. The transit system ultimately will have a station at Resorts World, connecting it to the Convention Center.  

Licensed Sexologists 

Among the attractions at Resorts World are nine swimming pools and 40 dining and drinking establishments. One ice cream shop at the resort will sell vegan, plant-based ice cream, while another will sell alcohol-infused ice cream. Also on the property are shops selling items ranging from crystal-encrusted handbags to fine wines.

Also included is a Kardashian Kloset pop-up store selling clothing that members of the blended Kardashian-Jenner family have worn. Another feature is Pepper, a sexual wellness shop with licensed sexologists on staff.

Among the stars already set to perform at Resorts World are Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. Singer Miley Cyrus is scheduled to appear at a July 4 event featuring a fireworks show beginning at 11 pm. 

We’re excited about what the Genting Group has created and for people to experience Resorts World Las Vegas,” says a post this week on the Clark County government Facebook page.

Resorts World and the other large hotel-casinos on the Strip are in Clark County, outside Las Vegas city limits.

Stardust Memories

The Resorts World site is where the Stardust Casino was in operation for decades until it closed in 2006. The 1,500-room Stardust was imploded on March 13, 2007.

The Stardust achieved widespread recognition with the 1995 publication of Nicholas Pileggi’s book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. The book focuses on Chicago oddsmaker Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who oversaw the Stardust and other Las Vegas casinos for Midwestern crime families. 

Other Mob-connected casinos from that era, including the Sands, Desert Inn, and Dunes, also have been demolished and replaced by modern resorts.