The (near) future of the Strip

Everyone, it seems, wants to know the future. Unfortunately, history isn’t a predictive science, so most people have to make do with vague Nostradmus-type predictions or simple guesswork. But you don’t need a crystal ball to see that, in a few years, the Las Vegas Strip will be a much different place. From the LVRJ:

The five-year, $20 billion building boom under way on the Strip will roughly double the high-end inventory of rooms costing $200 a night or more, a new Standard & Poor’s study said.

This newfound focus on upscale visitors is largely a response to continuing demographic shifts, the report said.

But it will leave Las Vegas vulnerable to the throes of the national economy and could prove challenging to absorb.

Projects that S&P said probably would be completed include:

• The $1.8 billion Palazzo with 3,025 rooms.

• The $1.7 billion Encore at Wynn Las Vegas with 2,054 rooms.

• The $7 billion Project CityCenter with 7,700 rooms.

• The $4 billion Echelon Place with 3,300 rooms.

Projects whose fates S&P called uncertain include:

• The $2 billion Cosmopolitan with 3,000 rooms.

• The $1.5 billion Fontainebleau with 4,000 rooms.

• The canceled $3 billion Las Ramblas with 1,225 rooms.

• The $1.7 billion W Las Vegas with 3,000 rooms.

Las Ramblas was sold to Edge Resorts for $202 million earlier this month.

Together, those projects represent a 30 percent increase in room inventory, gaming space, convention space and retail space.

Strip booms again

While it’s unfortunate to see classic casinos like the Stardust and New Frontier disappear, Las Vegas’s history has been one of “grow or die.” I did a great oral history interview with John Woodrum, owner of the Klondike, last week, and he really drove home how that’s been the attitude in town for the past 40 years. I’d say it goes back at least 60 years.

For another look at the future, read this LV Sun story about the coming Montreux casino. It will replace the New Frontier, and the description of the design is fascinating. Let’s just hope no one goes crazy with a flare gun–even though they’ve got an impressive water feature in the lobby, we don’t need any more “smoke on the water.”