What Wynn will do with Strip acres still unclear

ALMOST two years ago, Wynn Resorts Ltd. announced a major land deal: It was buying a chunk of the Strip for $336 million.

Today, it’s still unclear what the company will do with it.

During an earnings call last week, after an analyst asked what the casino operator might do with the site, Wynn CEO Matt Maddox said it likes owning the land for its “option value” and is “continuing to think about what could work” there.

Maddox also said that, “in order to really understand what would work,” executives first want to see the nearby Chinese-themed Resorts World Las Vegas and the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium open. Both are under construction and slated to open next year.

In some ways, the question mark hovering over Wynn’s 38 acres next to the Fashion Show mall isn’t a surprise.

Landing funds for a megaresort project in Las Vegas is no simple task. Plus, the north Strip is poised to be flooded with thousands of new hotel rooms in the coming years from current projects, and it’s anyone’s guess how they will impact competitors.

Will the new offerings boost tourism for everyone, siphon tourists

The new company will have 60 casinos with 51,000 hotel rooms, 71,000 slot machines and 3,650 table games. It will take the Caesars name and will be based in Reno.

It’s an interesting acquisition in that Eldorado is a much smaller

company compared with Caesars.

Eldorado, founded by the Carano family in 1973, has long coveted a Strip property. If all goes according to plan, the Reno-based company will end up owning a handful.

Jennifer Roberts, associate director of the International Center for Gaming Regulation at UNLV, told the Las Vegas Review-journal in June that the acquisition is considered

a “very big deal” because it establishes Eldorado’s presence in Las Vegas.

“For a company historically operating in smaller markets and now taking on new locations and the Caesars global brand as well as partnerships with the NFL and other significant alliances, this opens up a new presence for them in the gaming industry,” she said.