Nevada’s gaming destinations breezed through the boom years, investing in new and upgraded properties as they upped the ante, betting on continued growth. Then came the economic meltdown, leaving unprecedented deals in its wake.
Now, for the most part, Nevada casino resorts are seeing better days ahead.
Las Vegas, which saw the debut of the 67-acre CityCenter last December, will see the 2,995-room Cosmopolitan opening this December. The city entered 2010 with 6 percent more rooms to fill, but no new resorts are expected to open next year.
Many Vegas resorts have been investing in ultra-luxury beach clubs and expansive new pool areas, with a number opening in time for the summer season.
Other gaming destinations, including Henderson, Reno, Laughlin and Mesquite, have also been upgrading their resort offerings. They are also diversifying by promoting new events and successfully targeting national and international sports markets.
New in Vegas
Last year saw another 8,600 guest rooms enter the Vegas market following a similar number of additional rooms in 2008, which included the 3,068-room Palazzo Las Vegas, the 1,282-room Trump International Hotel & Tower and the 2,034-room Encore.
The bulk of 2009’s new crop came with the year-end unveiling of the components of MGM Resorts International’s long-awaited CityCenter, a massive complex with hotels and entertainment options.
Deutsche Bank’s $3.9 million Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is set for a soft opening on Dec. 15. Wedged on an 8.5-acre site between CityCenter and Bellagio, its 2,995 rooms will be in twin 52-story towers. It will have more than 150,000 square feet of convention space, a 100,00 square-foot casino, a 50,000-square-foot spa and fitness center and 275,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space.
Notable halted projects are Boyd Gaming Corp.’s $4.8 billion, 5,000-room Echelon Place, where construction stopped in summer 2008, and the 3,800-room Fontainebleau Las Vegas, where construction stopped last year. The Fontainebleau, 70 percent of which was completed, was acquired by financier Carl Icahn earlier this year.
CityCenter boasts the 4,004-room Aria Resort & Casino, its 1,000-seat theater featuring a Cirque du Soleil show celebrating Elvis, plus 300,000 square feet of function space, an 80,000-square-foot spa, 16 restaurants and 10 bars and lounges.
Other components include Crystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district; the 392-room Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas with 12,000 square feet of meeting space, and the 1,495-room Vdara Hotel & Spa with 10,000 square feet of meeting space. Construction has halted on the 400-room Harmon, which is in litigation.
Last November, downtown’s Golden Nugget opened the $150 million, 500-room Rush Tower, which features a seafood restaurant with a 50,000-gallon aquarium, an expanded casino, a new pool and new stores.
As part of its $750 million expansion, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, with an existing 640-room tower, opened the 490-room Paradise Tower in July last year and the 359-suite HRH Tower in December. The project also included 60,000 square feet of meeting space, 40,000 square feet of new casino space, a nightclub, a spa and three new restaurants.
Planet Hollywood Resort, which opened a 52-story, 1,200-suite residential hotel tower in January, was purchased earlier this year by Harrah’s, joining the seven other properties marketed by Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment. Another Harrah’s property, Caesars Palace, unveiled a 110,000-square-foot convention facility in July 2009.
Tropicana Las Vegas embarked on a $165 million renovation with a South Beach Miami theme earlier this year. It transformed its 100,000 square feet of meeting space and then unveiled its Paradise and Island Tower deluxe rooms and suites. In December, it opens a new attraction, The Las Vegas Mob Experience, featuring more than 1,000 artifacts that once belonged to organized crime members.
Tropicana will debut the world’s largest Nikki Beach operation next spring, including a lounge, nightclub, cafe and four-acre beach club.
The Tropicana is following a beach club trend, which also includes the Palazzo’s Azure pool with luxury amenities, promoting the opulence of the French Riviera; Mandalay Bay’s extensive pool complex; and Wynn Las Vegas’ new Encore Beach Club and Surrender Nightclub. The 60,000-square-foot Encore complex has cabanas, eight two-story bungalows, a restaurant and poolside gaming.
Part of Hard Rock’s expansion featured the new HRH Beach Club, unveiled last summer, which doubled the pool area to five acres that include a sandy beach, daybeds and cabanas, a bar and grill, eight spa villas, swim-up blackjack, a gaming lounge and the new Skybar. Caesars Palace recently debuted its expanded Garden of the Gods, a five-acre complex with eight pools and luxury villas.
Henderson
Southeast of the Strip lies Henderson, Nevada’s second-largest city, offering more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space and more than 3,000 hotel rooms at such properties as the Green Valley Ranch Resort and the M Resort, Spa and Casino.
"We continue to focus on association business, but with our attractive sports facilities we are also targeting sports organizations, and we continue our free annual events that attract more tourists each year," says Ed Kirby, national sales manager for Destination Henderson, the city’s CVB.
The ITU Triathlon Championships will be held in Henderson in November 2011, the first time the event has been in the U.S. in many years. Annual events include the St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival, Super Run Classic Car Show, Ho’olaule’a Pacific Islands Festival and the Nevada Silverman Triathlon.
According to Kirby, downtown’s 13,000-square-foot Henderson Convention Center saw a 260 percent increase in booked revenue during the first half of this year.
"Word spread that it was open for business," he says, adding that plans to close it in late 2008 for a 12-month expansion have been put on hold.
The convention center has 10,000 square feet of column-free meeting space, and the adjacent Henderson Events Plaza has over 60,000 square feet of outdoor function space, including a 4,000-seat pavilion.
Henderson also has Lake Las Vegas, a 3,600-acre master planned residential and resort community 17 miles from the Strip. It has the 493-room Loews Lake Las Vegas, which has 45,000 square feet of meeting space, and Aston MonteLago Village Resort. Free shuttle service to the Strip was launched in January.
In April, the new MonteLago owners brought in Honolulu-based Aston Hotels & Resorts to manage the 200-condo resort operation. The 348-room Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas closed May 2, which Kirby says led to the misconception that the whole community was bankrupt.
Henderson’s newest property, M Resort, opened in March 2009 less than eight miles south of the Strip. It has a 1,900-slot casino, over 60,000 square feet of meeting space, nine restaurants, a spa and a 100,000-square-foot pool and entertainment plaza, plus a free shuttle service to the Strip.
Early this year, it launched a new show, "Martini Time with Chef Tina Martini," scheduled four days a week. Similar to a television cooking show and held in a custom-built 40-seat studio, it can be customized for groups.
Laughlin, Mesquite, Primm
On the Colorado River, 90 miles south of Las Vegas, Laughlin is just two miles upriver from Lake Mohave, part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and draws heavily on Southern California and Arizona markets.
"Laughlin offers great all-around value. For those seeking a lower-key environment, it fits the bill," says Meg McDaniel, senior manager, regional sales/extended destinations for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Nine casino hotels offer more than 10,000 guest rooms. Seven have meeting space, which totals more than 100,000 square feet. Under new owners, several completed major renovations before the downturn, including the 1,907-room Aquarius Casino Resort, formerly the Flamingo Laughlin, which spent $20 million; and the 1,500-room Tropicana Express, the former Ramada Express, which spent $11 million.
"We get regional association meetings. SMERF groups are still meeting but in smaller sizes and they are not planning with as much lead-time," McDaniel says. "Weddings are still a good segment, and Laughlin’s proximity to military bases and its affordability continue to make it attractive for reunions."
Two years ago, Laughlin launched new branding with the tag "It’s Like You Own The Place," which promotes outdoors recreation.
"Annual special events continue to be a driver for visitation and we feel that we are gaining momentum with the wildlife enthusiast," McDaniel says, adding that the second annual Wings and Wildlife Festival in March attracted about 450 participants this year, up from 300 last year, and the annual river regatta in August attracts more than 7,000.
Located in the Virgin River Valley 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas and close to the Arizona and Utah borders, Mesquite boasts seven golf courses.
Meetings-ready casino hotels are the 450-room CasaBlanca Hotel and Casino with 47,000 square feet of meeting space; the 720-room Virgin River Hotel & Casino with 1,900 square feet; and the 215-room Eureka Casino Hotel, with 6,300 square feet. The non-gaming Falcon Ridge Hotel has 5,949 square feet of meeting space.
"Mesquite has a small town feel yet offers amenities found in big cities," McDaniel says. "It’s a great location for small to midsize meetings that need the most value for their budget dollar. Like Laughlin, special events are driving visitation. Golf groups, athletic sports, SMERF and motorcoach groups are the strongest markets."
Held annually in Mesquite, the RE/MAX World Long Driver Championship was held last year in the city’s new $20 million, 650-acre Mesquite Sports and Event Complex for the first time. And the first annual Mesquite Tri-State Marathon drew 400 runners last year and will be held again in November.
Black Gaming owns and operates CasaBlanca, which has an 18-hole golf course and a gun club, and Virgin River, which has a 24-lane bowling center. Citing economic reasons, it closed the 900-room Oasis Casino for reservations two years ago, but continues to use its rooms for overflow.
"Overall, our meetings business has been steady but one area that has decreased is our golf group business," says Ann Sunstrum, Black Gaming’s sales director.
Virgin River has spent more than $2 million this year renovating guest rooms along with adding new meeting space, and CasaBlanca recently renovated its spa and pool area.
Primm, 30 minutes south of Las Vegas on the California border, has Terrible’s Primm Valley Casino Resorts, which include a 6,000-seat arena, a 21,000-square foot conference center and a 12,000-square-foot spa. Primm also offers two golf courses, a designer outlet mall and an amusement theme park.
Reno/Sparks
Reno is undergoing a rebranding. The Reno–Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA), which promotes a region that includes North Lake Tahoe, recently started a new campaign called "Reno Tahoe USA... Far From Expected."
"People find this a friendly, exciting region that’s affordable, good value and easy to get around," says Ellie Oppenheim, the RSCVA’s president and CEO. "They find it refreshing with offbeat aspects. We’ve started a consumer campaign and will roll out one for the M&C audience.
"The recession hit us, but we’ve started to see a modest recovery," she continues. "Six of the first seven months of this year were better than last year. And we’ve just signed three events that will bring 190,000 room nights in 2013 and 2014. We are thrilled."
She explains that the city already had the U.S. Bowling Congress’s Open Championship booked for 2013; now it also has the congress’s Women’s Championship booked for 2013 and 2014 and the Open booked for 2014 as well. It will be the first time both tournaments have been held in one city in the same year.
Reno’s walkable downtown has 7,000 guest rooms; six casinos, most with hotels and meeting space; and the 118,000-square-foot Reno Events Center and the adjacent 28,000-square-foot Reno Ballroom.
It also has the National Bowling Stadium, which accommodates groups of 2,000, and the $50 million Reno Aces Baseball Stadium, a Triple-A Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, unveiled last year. Adjoining the ballpark is the new Freight House entertainment and dining complex.
About three miles away is the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, which has over 500,000 square feet of space, and is anchored by the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa and Peppermill Resort Spa Casino.
The 1,000-room Atlantis has spent $100 million on renovations in recent years and will soon complete the new design for all rooms in Tower I and II. Major components completed in 2008 included 26,000 square feet of new meeting space, bringing the total to 50,000, and a 650-foot pedestrian bridge connected to the convention center. A spa opened at the property last year.
The 1,635-room Peppermill, less than a mile from the convention center, rolled out a $400 million expansion in phases between fall 2007 and early 2009 that added a 62,000-square-foot ballroom, a new 600-room tower with Tuscan-inspired decor, a spa and health club, a new nightclub and new restaurants.
In May, the resort began the $15.8 million renovation of its 395 Peppermill Tower rooms, expected to be completed next July. It also recently unveiled a $2.3 million high-tech, two-level executive boardroom.
A year ago, the convention center and two hotels, Peppermill and Atlantis, announced the Reno Resorts Conventions and Meetings Co-Op, a new marketing initiative designed as a one-stop shop to attract larger groups to the city.
"We really felt the need to get together to supplement the work of the RSCVA," says Patrick Flynn, executive director of sales for the Peppermill.
"We are targeting groups that need 1,000 to 2,000 rooms on peak night and at least 125,000 square feet of space. We had a direct mail campaign early this year with a decent response and we’ve just done co-op advertising, but it all takes time."
In June last year, the city of Sparks unveiled its new Whitewater Park at Rock Park spanning almost 1,000 feet of the Truckee River. Sparks also boasts the 2-year-old Legends at Sparks Marina, a $1.2 billion retail and entertainment center that includes a 300,000-square-foot Scheels All Sports.
Carson City
Nevada’s capital, located about 30 miles from both Reno and Lake Tahoe, has a meetings portfolio that includes the Carson Nugget Casino, the non-gaming Carson City Plaza Hotel & Conference Center, the Gold Dust West Casino Hotel and the Casino Fandango with an adjacent Courtyard by Marriott.
Carson City recently became a whitewater destination when the area’s first rafting and kayaking facilities debuted at each end of a nine-mile stretch along the Carson River Aquatic Trail that runs through a scenic canyon with historic relics of Comstock gold mining.
Among other attractions is the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, which runs between Carson City and Virginia City.
Lake Tahoe
Five casinos await on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore, including the 422-room Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa & Casino in Incline Village, which offers 50,000 square feet of function space.
The nearby historic 199-room Cal Neva Resort, Spa and Casino in Crystal Bay, owned by Frank Sinatra in the early 1960s, closed its casino March 31.
The resort, which came under new ownership last year, hopes to reopen by year’s end under a new casino operator. It has 16,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space, including a ballroom that it renovated last year.
The North Shore offers more than 7,000 guest rooms and more than 30 meeting sites. Its newest resort is the 170-room Ritz-Carlton Highlands, which debuted last December at Northstar-at-Tahoe ski resort.
On Tahoe’s South Shore, Stateline, Nev., has four casino hotels: MontBleu Resort, Casino and Spa; Harveys Resort & Casino; Harrah’s Lake Tahoe; and Horizon Casino Resort, which together provide 69,000 square feet of meeting space.
Tony Bartlett has been writing for travel industry publications for over 20 years.
