Goodbye to the Boardwalk

I guess that’s the pessimistic way to look at this story, but since no one in the media mentioned that aspect, I figured it was my duty. MGM Mirage has announced it will build a 4000-room casino resort and urban complex on the site of the Boardwalk casino. From Forbes via AP:

MGM Mirage officials are calling the ambitious plan “Project CityCenter,” and they believe it will help transform Las Vegas into a sophisticated, multidimensional city, one that rivals other major metropolitan areas.

“Our master plan represents a significant new direction for our city and our company,” said Terry Lanni, MGM Mirage Inc.’s chairman and chief executive.

The multibillion-dollar project includes three, 400-room boutique hotels, approximately 550,000 square feet of retail shops, dining and entertainment venues, and a 1,650-unit luxury condominium complex.

The massive development will be built on a 66-acre site between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo hotel-casinos, with the first phase creating 12,000 jobs when it’s completed in 2010.

Forbes.com: MGM Mirage to Build Megacasino in Vegas

The way I see it, two boardwalks get snubbed on this one. First, the Boardwalk on the Strip will be demolished to make way for this–no real loss there, unless you like evil clowns:

I guess that is the price of progress. I somehow doubt that MGM will theme the jewel of their casino empire around evil clowns, so I guess that Circus Circus will be the last bastion for them on the Strip.

The other loser here is Atlantic City, as MGM isn’t going to be building their next project there. That’s a shame, but it’s to be expected. I imagine that the company wants to see what kind of impact Pennsylvania slots have before ante-ing up $2 billion to build a casino. That’s sensible.

On the positive side, this kind of mixed development is great for the Strip, and it’s where I see casino projects heading. The isolated casino resort paradigm that I discussed in Suburban Xanadu has completely collapsed, as Americans seem quite comfortable living near gambling now. This is exactly the kind of project that Atlantic City needs, but with MGM taking a pass, there really isn’t anyone else who could pull it off. If I had $2 billion or so lying around, I’d take a shot at it, but if I had $2 billion lying around, I probably wouldn’t be spending time discussing gaming news on a weblog.