Blockbuster Las Vegas Strip casino resort opens after long wait
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The long wait for the opening of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino on the Strip is finally over, as the first customers will visit the resort on Wednesday night. The 67-story luxury resort and casino is reported to be the tallest occupiable building in Nevada and includes 3,644 rooms and suites, a 14,000-square-foot fitness center, a 55,000-square-foot spa, 1,300 slot machines, 128 gambling tables, a 96,500-square-foot luxury retail area, and a six-acre pool setup.
The top five floors of the hotel tower will be Fontainebleau Fleur de Lis, which is described as a luxurious hotel-within-a-hotel concept.
The huge $3.7B project on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip was first announced in 2005, but was disrupted by the economic collapse in 2008-2009 and the original owners declared bankruptcy. Carl Icahn and Marriott International (MAR) toyed with the project separately, without restarting construction. The property was then reacquired by Fontainebleau Miami Beach owner Fontainebleau Development, and Koch Real Estate Investments took over the project in early 2021 to help push it to finish line with a fresh round of financing late last year.
"With Fontainebleau Las Vegas, we have transcended aspiration and set the stage for a new era of luxury hospitality defined by innovation, sophistication, and opulence, with an inextricable link to our roots at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach," stated Fontainebleau Development chairman and CEO Jeffrey Soffer.
What to watch: The Las Vegas Strip lands a new major hotel-casino resort, with tourism still in a post-pandemic boom period. Analysts think the Fontainebleau opening, CES, and the 2024 Super Bowl in a few months could raise the profile once again for Las Vegas even as casino gambling and online sports betting continue to grow in other parts of the U.S. The advantage for Strip operators such as MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM), Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN), and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) is that the Las Vegas Strip continues to be unparalleled entertainment hub, with new music headliners and viral attractions like Sphere Entertainment's (SPHR) Sphere Experience. In the months ahead, the monthly gaming win reports from the Las Vegas Gaming Control Board will get an even deeper look from investors to see which casino stocks may get a boost.
