Moon-Shaped Casino with ‘Lunar Surface’ Planned for Las Vegas 

Posted on: September 28, 2021, 03:21h. 

Last updated on: September 28, 2021, 03:45h.

Larry Henry Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

A proposed moon-themed resort with a “lunar surface” could be added to Las Vegas’ evolving casino skyline one day.

Moon World Resort
This illustration indicates what the Moon World Resort would look like. The Canada-based company estimates construction could cost $5 billion. (Image: New York Post)

Moon World Resorts is planning to build moon-themed hotel-casinos in Las Vegas, China, Spain, and the Middle East, according to the New York Post. The company plans to have these built by 2027.

The 1/75,000-sized replica of the moon will include a 292,011-square-foot “lunar surface” on the resort’s top floor. A shuttle will take visitors to the lunar surface atop the 735-foot-tall property.

The fee to visit the surface will be $500 for 90 minutes, according to the company’s website. 

While there is no indication what the surface will be made of, company co-founder Michael Henderson told the newspaper it will be “authentic.”    

People want something unique, something different, something, ‘Wow,’” he said.

The $5 billion resort would include 4,000 suites, a 10,000-seat arena, and a planetarium, the newspaper reported.

The hotel-casino also is projected to have parking spaces for 6,000 vehicles and a 500,000-square-foot convention center. There is no indication where the resort would be constructed in Las Vegas. An illustration on the company’s website shows the giant sphere near the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore hotel-casinos on the Strip.

Setting the Trend

If the Moon World property is built in Las Vegas, it would mark another step in the city’s evolution as a resort destination.

Throughout the Las Vegas Valley’s history, including during the current coronavirus pandemic, newer and more expensive resorts have transformed the area’s appearance.

One of the first trendsetters was the Flamingo Casino, bringing a different level of luxury to the valley. Under the direction of mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, the Flamingo opened in December 1946 on the desert highway to Los Angeles. That portion of the highway is now known as the Las Vegas Strip. The Flamingo is still at the same location, though none of the original buildings remain.

Other Mob-connected casinos followed, including the Sands, which helped attract attention to Las Vegas with performances by the Rat Pack and other celebrities it its Copa Room. The Venetian has been built on the east side of the Strip where the Sands once stood.

In the 1960s and beyond, larger properties popped up on the Strip, including Caesars Palace and the original MGM Grand, now known as Bally’s. A newer MGM Grand is south of there, near McCarran International Airport. 

In 1989, casino developer Steve Wynn opened the Mirage Hotel and Casino on the west side of the Strip. Considered the first megaresort, it helped spark a boom in large, family friendly hotel-casinos.      

Newest Las Vegas Casinos

In the last year, two brand-new properties opened in the area, adding to the changing casino landscape. 

Circa Resort began operating in downtown Las Vegas late last year as an adults-only property. It is the first downtown hotel-casino built from the ground up in 40 years.

South of downtown, Resorts World Las Vegas held its grand opening in June. It is on the west side of the Strip where the Mob-connected Stardust once stood. 

At a cost of $4.3 billion, Resorts World was the first new resort to open on the Strip since the Cosmopolitan began operating in late 2010.