Tilman Fertitta Las Vegas Strip Casino Project Gains Clark County Approval

Posted on: October 19, 2022, 04:21h. 

Last updated on: October 19, 2022, 04:48h.

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

Tilman Fertitta has cleared the first step in his pursuit of opening a new integrated casino resort in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip.    

Tilman Fertitta Las Vegas casino resort Travelodge
The days are likely numbered for the Travelodge sitting on the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. Billionaire Tilman Fertitta, who today owns the motel, wants to demolish the structure to make way for a new luxury casino resort. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The billionaire, who owns the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas, gained approval from the Clark County Zoning Commission today regarding his plans to build a new from-the-ground-up casino resort. Fertitta earlier this year acquired 6.2 acres of land along S. Las Vegas Boulevard at Harmon Avenue for $270 million.

Fertitta’s project site is where the now-closed Travelodge sits. The property includes the motel’s paved parking lot and a small Strip-facing strip mall.

Fertitta’s early plans for his first Strip investment include a luxury 43-story hotel with 2,420 guestrooms, numerous restaurant spaces, a spa, a wedding chapel, a convention center, an auto showroom, and a 2,500-seat theater.

We are very excited to bring this project to fruition over the next two years,” attorney Rebecca Miltenberger told the county on behalf of Fertitta Entertainment, the holdings company of the billionaire that is spearheading the Strip undertaking.

Miltenberger told the county that the development will be a “high-end casino resort.”

Prime Location, Bougie Neighbors

Along with the Golden Nugget Las Vegas, Fertitta’s gaming and hospitality empire includes Golden Nugget casinos in Laughlin, Nv., Atlantic City, Biloxi, Ms., and Lake Charles, La.

Fertitta is one of the most well-known gaming billionaires in the US, as are his third cousins, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III, who control Station Casinos/Red Rock Resorts.

But no Fertitta to date has owned and/or operated a Strip casino. Tilman hopes to change that in the coming years, and he’s dipping into his massive fortune, estimated at nearly $7 billion, to bring it to reality.

While Strip frontage and land are scarce and therefore come at a premium price, Fertitta has targeted the center of the world’s most famous gaming drag for his next development.

The Travelodge location sits across from CityCenter, where Aria, Cosmopolitan, Vdara, and Waldorf Astoria — four properties typically among the highest-rated resorts in Southern Nevada by travel experts and guests — are located. CityCenter’s Shops at Crystals offer luxury retailer shopping, a few brands with stores there including Burberry, Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Valentino, and Versace.

Fertitta reps did not detail a time line as to when demolition of the Travelodge and strip mall might begin. A specific budget also was not detailed. But Jefferies gaming analyst David Katz projected this week that it will cost at least $3 billion to construct such a blueprint.

East Side Improvements

The east side of the Las Vegas Strip at CityCenter has long been a stark contrast from the west side’s grand opulence. But along with the Travelodge, changes could be coming to the adjacent Hawaiian Marketplace, located just south of the motel along S. Las Vegas Blvd.

The tenants at the Hawaiian Marketplace and Cable Center Shops strip mall were told earlier this year that their leases were being terminated. Property owner Gindi Capital, a New York-based real estate developer, wants to demolish the current structures to make way for a new 300,000-square-foot complex fitted with upscale restaurants and retail shops.

Gindi acquired the Hawaiian Marketplace and Cable Center Shops in 2019 for $172 million. The properties span about 9.5 acres.