Clark County commissioners gave billionaire Tilman Fertitta the green light to develop a high-rise hotel-casino on the Strip this Wednesday. The commission approved Fertitta’s plans for a 43-story, 2,420-room project in this tourist-packed southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue.
Fertitta envisions an upscale resort, which would include restaurants, convention space, a spa, a wedding chapel, an auto showroom and a roughly 2,500-seat theater. Also included would be suites and villas, VIP salons, a bar and a lounge for high-limit gamblers.
The billionaire has owned the downtown Golden Nugget venue for years, although he recently sold its online branch to DraftKings for $1.56bn. Upon completion of this deal, Tilman became an active member of the board for DraftKings and one of its largest shareholders.
Additionally, he owns Landry’s Inc, the NBA’s Houston Rockets and is the owner and CEO of Fertitta Entertainment.
This proposed tower casino would be the next step in Fertitta claiming a strong foothold in Sin City, having driven a bold surge of real estate activity in Las Vegas Boulevard over the past year.
Project representative and attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber, Rebecca Miltenberger, spoke in front of the Clark County commission on Wednesday. She said the development would be a “high-end casino resort.” She further commented: “We are very excited to bring this project to fruition over the next two years.”
Fertitta purchased the 6-acre spread of land it will be built on in June for $270m. The sale included the Tex Mex Tequila Bar & Grill building, a grouping of souvenir shops, and a 1960s-era Travelodge motel property.
