Durango Casino Resort Model Leaves Guest Pondering Parking

Posted on: August 22, 2022, 09:37h. 

Last updated on: August 24, 2022, 12:41h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Station Casinos’ Durango resort model was unveiled last week at the company’s flagship property Red Rock Resort. It was supposed to excite guests about Southern Nevada’s next premier casino destination tailored towards locals. But the scaled model of the forthcoming $750 million undertaking is leaving many scratching their heads.

Durango Station Casinos Las Vegas gaming
A model on display at Red Rock Resort shows Station Casinos’ planned Durango Resort & Casino. The $750 million project is being built southwest of the Strip along Durango Dr. near the 215 Beltway. (Image: Casino.org)

Station is building its Durango resort along Durango Drive just south of the 215 Beltway near Ikea. The resort has been in the works for many years, the locals casino giant acquiring the 71 acres of dirt more than two decades ago.

Station execs, led by billionaires Frank III and Lorenzo Fertitta, believe now is a most fitting time to expand the company with a new upscale locals destination. But appeasing residents in the community by not building structures excessively high has resulted in some criticism of the casino’s plans.

Paved Paradise, Put Up a Huge Parking Lot

The Durango model’s most noticeable component for many upon first glance is the resort’s expansive parking lots. To appease local concerns regarding obstructing neighboring residential communities’ views, Station Casinos opted to keep Durango’s buildings relatively low. As a result, the casino’s current blueprint includes a small parking garage.

But most guests arriving via personal automobile will need to utilize the casino’s sprawling parking lots. The paved parking areas take up most of the model space displayed at Red Rock.

Casino.org’s Scott Roeben, Las Vegas’ most in-the-know insider, tweeted that Durango will certainly have ample parking. But his VitalVegas followers on Twitter didn’t hold back their sentiments on the vast parking lots instead of a large garage adjacent to the casino.

Looks like it was designed by someone who’s never visited Vegas in the summer. Where’s the garage? Where is the shade? I won’t walk that far in the heat,” commented one Twitter user.

Guests parking in Durango’s more distant planned parking spaces will need to walk more than 1,000 feet to enter the casino — or nearly two-tenths of a mile.

Like all of its casinos in Nevada, Station Casinos says its Durango casino will not charge guests for parking.

Station Casinos officials say Durango will serve a need, as the area where the property is being built is currently without a casino within the immediate five-mile vicinity. The casino, the company adds, will bring new jobs to the area and other economic benefits.

“Station Casinos is bullish on the local and overall Las Vegas gaming market, which is why we are investing $750 million in Durango,” said Scott Kreeger, president of Station Casinos. “This brick-and-mortar investment will create thousands of construction and permanent jobs, generating tens of millions of dollars in economic impact and tax revenue to the state and county.”

Durango Details

Durango plans to offer guests a casino floor measuring 83,000 square feet to blend indoor and outdoor gaming spaces. The resort will feature 200 guestrooms plus four signature restaurants complemented by a food hall concept with fast-casual options.

The property’s amenities include a resort pool, private cabanas, an event lawn, and 20,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.