Joining the Game

Meetings & Conventions: Joining the Game - June 1998
June 1998
Joining the Game

New places to stay - and play - are opening soon

Betting on Meetings | Veiled Vegas | -->Joining the Game | Being There

Casinos have been so successful in many towns - both new and established gaming destinations - that chains continue to build new properties. Here's a roundup of new projects in the works.

Atlantic City
Several projects have been proposed, but most are too tentative to provide details. Among the most definite is Mirage Resorts' 2,000-room Le Jardin, originally intended to be part of a 5,000-room complex that would include two other casino resorts by partners Circus Circus Enterprises and Boyd Gaming. The project has been delayed because Mirage is in legal disputes with its former partners. At press time, the three were in negotiations and a resolution was expected. Also proposed is a 2,500-room MGM Grand property.

Detroit
As the most recent major metropolitan area to approve gaming, the city has selected three casino projects to be built as early as 2001 (project details were still sketchy at press time). MGM Grand is building an 800-room hotel with meeting space and a 100,000-square-foot casino. Circus Circus and local partner Atwater Casino Group will build an 800-room hotel and a 4,000-seat performing arts theater. Greektown and the Chippewa Indian tribe are behind a project for a 1,000-room hotel and 1,600-seat theater.

Las Vegas
The metro area is expected to add about 20,000 hotel rooms by the turn of the century, through expansions and through new development. Among the projects on the books:

Aladdin Hotel & Casino/Planet Hollywood Music Hotel
Company: Aladdin Gaming/Planet Hollywood International
Location: Las Vegas Strip, redevelopment of Aladdin Hotel, which was imploded in April
Opening: spring 2000
Guest rooms: 3,600 (2,600 in Aladdin; 1,000 in Planet Hollywood)
Meeting space: 100,000 sq. ft.
Features: Desert Passage, a massive dining, entertainment and retail complex; 7,000-seat theater; 1,400-seat theater; spa; separate high-end casino
Sales office: (702) 736-7114

Bellagio
Company: Mirage Resorts
Location: Las Vegas Strip
Opening: Oct. 15, 1998
Guest rooms: 3,000
Meeting space: 125,000 sq. ft.
Features: 14 restaurants, original European artwork, artificial lake and entertainment by Cirque du Soleil
Sales office: (888) 744-7687

Four Seasons Resort
Company: managed by Four Seasons, owned by Circus Circus
Location: 35th to 39th floors of Circus Circus' Mandalay Bay
Opening: first quarter 1999
Guest rooms: 417
Meeting space: 30,000 sq. ft.
Features: separate entrance, check-in, dining and meeting areas
Sales office: (702) 632-5000

Hyatt Lake Las Vegas
Company: Hyatt Hotels
Location: Henderson, Nev., along north shore of Lake Las Vegas
Opening: not yet announced
Guest rooms: 500
Meeting space: details not available
Features: Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course (two other courses are planned nearby), a spa and a shopping village
Sales information: (312) 750-8261

Mandalay Bay
Company: Circus Circus Enterprises
Location: Las Vegas Strip
Opening: first quarter 1999
Guest rooms: 3,700
Meeting space: 100,000 sq. ft.
Features: 10-acre lagoon with sand beach and swim-up shark tank, 3/4-mile lazy river ride, 12,000-seat arena, House of Blues restaurant/nightclub
Sales office: (877) 632-7100

Marriott Marquis at the MGM Grand
Company: managed by Marriott, owned by MGM
Location: Las Vegas Strip, at MGM's City of Entertainment
Guest rooms: 1,500
Opening: first quarter 2000
Meeting space: 40,000 sq. ft., plus access to MGM's conference facility
Features: no casino within the hotel
Sales office: (800) 929-1112

Paris Casino Resort
Company: Hilton Hotels Corp.
Location: Las Vegas Strip, adjacent to Bally's Hotel/Casino
Opening: early 1999
Guest rooms: 2,900
Meeting space: 130,000 sq. ft.
Features: 50-story Eiffel Tower topped with a restaurant and observation deck, working winery, gondola rides, spa and shopping arcade
Sales office: (702) 739-4401

The Resort At Summerlin - The Regent Las Vegas and The Regent Grand Spa
Company: Regent International Hotels
Location: Summerlin residential area of Las Vegas
Opening: April 1999
Guest rooms: 270 in Regent Las Vegas and 286 in Regent Grand Spa
Meeting space: 50,000 sq. ft.
Features: Surrounded by five golf courses; 40,000-square-foot spa
Sales information: (612) 449-2963

The Ritz-Carlton Mountain Spa Resort
Company: Ritz-Carlton
Location: northwest Las Vegas Valley
Opening: not yet announced
Guest rooms: 526
Meeting space: details not available
Features: golf course, spa, 40,000-square-foot casino, executive homes
Sales office: not yet available

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel at the MGM Grand
Company: managed by Ritz-Carlton, owned by MGM
Location: Las Vegas Strip, at MGM's new City of Entertainment
Opening: possibly 2001
Guest rooms: 500
Meeting space: details not available
Features: no casino within the hotel
Sales office: (800) 929-1112

Venetian Casino Resort
Company: private owner, Sheldon Adelson (founder of COMDEX)
Location: Las Vegas Strip
Opening: April 1999 for Phase One; no date set for final completion
Guest rooms: 3,036 in Phase One; final total of 6,000
Meeting space: 1.6 million square feet in the expanded Sands Expo Center
Features: 30 restaurants, replicas of Venetian architecture such as the Doges Palace and Piazza San Marco
Sales office: (702) 733-5008

Mississippi gulf coast
In Biloxi and Gulfport, many existing casino hotels plan to add hotel towers and meeting space. The Grand Casino Biloxi, for example, opened its second property, the 500-room Bayview Hotel at Grand Casino Biloxi, with a 42,000-square-foot convention center. Grand Casino Gulfport will add a second property, with 500 rooms, by mid-1999. Other projects under way:

Beau Rivage
Company: Mirage Resorts
Location: Biloxi
Opening: first quarter 1999
Guest rooms: 1,780
Meeting space: 50,000 sq. ft.
Features: 1,550-seat showroom with performances by Cirque du Soleil, 12 restaurants, spa and marina
Sales office: (800) 239-2771

Casino Magic Biloxi
Company: Casino Magic Corporation
Opened: May 1998
Guest rooms: 378
Meeting space: 6,600 sq. ft.
Features: four restaurants, live shows, fitness center
Sales office: (228) 435-2559 or (800) 562-4425 ext. 3019

Imperial Palace Biloxi
Company: private owner, Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino Las Vegas
Opening: partial opening this past February, remainder this summer
Guest rooms: total of 1,088; 500 open at press time
Meeting space: 22,000 sq. ft.
Features: 18 restaurants and bars, movie complex, classic auto collection, 700-seat theater, shopping plaza
Sales office: (800) 436-3000, ext. 3216

Shreveport/Bossier City, La.
Existing riverboat casinos are expanding by opening hotels. The Horseshoe Casino opened a 606-suite hotel at the end of 1997. Upcoming projects include a hotel at Casino Magic Bossier City and plans for a Hollywood Casino and hotel in Shreveport. Also to come:

Isle of Capri Casino & Hotel
Company: Casino America
Location: Bossier City
Opening: early 1999
Guest rooms: 306 suites
Meeting space: 10,000 sq. ft.
Sales office: (318) 678-7799

Back to Current Issue index
M&C Home Page
Current Issue | Events Calendar | Newsline | Incentive News | Meetings Market Report
Editorial Libraries | CVB Links | Reader Survey | Hot Dates | Contact M&C