Intent to develop an upmarket resort
Landry’s Inc. owner and CEO, Tillman Fertitta, is buying six acres on the Las Vegas Strip with an intent to develop an upmarket resort, according to sources cited by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
buying the site for over $200m
The Houston billionaire’s Sin City plans emerged on Tuesday, with sources suggesting he’s buying the site for over $200m. The insiders say Fertitta — whose Landry’s portfolio includes Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos in Nevada and other states — is acquiring the six-acre spread at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue.
One source expects Fertitta to close the acquisition within a few months. This source like the others, reports LVRJ, has been granted anonymity to talk about a deal that “hasn’t been finalized and that the buyer and seller haven’t publicly announced.”
Torino backs the plans
The site is next door to Planet Hollywood Resort and across from the CityCenter Complex, home to the Aria. Fertitta already owns the Golden Nugget Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in downtown Vegas, so the purchase would extend his footprint in the heart of the world’s gambling capital.
Real estate reporter for LVRJ, Eli Segall, shared news of Fertitta’s property market move Wednesday via Twitter:
According to Segall, Vegas real estate developer Brett Torino described a Fertitta luxury hotel as “fantastic” for that part of the Strip. He has reportedly heard many people discussing the billionaire’s plans for a property at the Las Vegas Boulevard, Harmon Avenue intersection.
“You have the opportunity to squeeze — I don’t know if this is his plan — a massive amount of construction and development on that site,” he told the Vegas daily.
Welcome news for the Strip
Torino added that the site across from CityCenter Complex — which also hosts the Vdara and Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas hotels, condo complex Veer Towers, and upscale mall Shops at Crystals — is “just begging to be developed.”
If the rumors are true, it could prove great news for The Strip, which has seen an exodus of many Vegas casino giants over recent months. For example, Las Vegas Sands has now completely vacated the Strip, finally closing the sale of its The Venetian, The Palazzo, and The Venetian Expo Center in February.