Durango casino lights up southwest valley with marquee bearing opening date
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Construction of the Durango casino-resort, Station Casinos’ latest project, has been turning heads on the 215 Beltway as it grows to its 15 floors. But now the LED sign can pull passersby’s attention, bearing news of the property’s opening date on Nov. 20.
“There’s already been a lot of buzz about this,” General Manager David Horn said. “People I know, people I don’t know — we all get bombarded with (questions) and it’s nice to have a vehicle to send that message out to everybody. Now we’ve got 60-by-55 feet of messaging to give to them as they’re driving by.”
Located on South Durango Drive off the beltway, the resort will include 200 hotel rooms, convention and meeting space, a resort pool, outdoor social areas and free parking. The $780 million project is expected to be the only unrestricted gaming property in a five-mile radius and is in one of the fastest growing areas of the Las Vegas Valley.
The project was initially expected to cost $750 million, but parent company Red Rock Resorts told investors in a May earnings call that the price tag grew because of a decision to expand the gaming area. Horn said the additional 315 gaming machines, plus the infrastructure associated, would improve guest experience.
“You don’t want to go into the casino where it’s elbow-to-elbow, chair-to-chair and this allows us to expand seating, banks of slots, walkways and cafes so it’s something that’s a good experience,” he said.
The opening date, pending regulatory approval, will come only a few days after the Las Vegas Strip is expected to be flooded with visitors in town for the Formula One Grand Prix. The main event race will be held Saturday, Nov. 18.
An internal hiring push for the roughly 1,500 jobs has begun and many Station Casinos employees who live on the west side of the valley have expressed interest, Horn said. External postings are expected to ramp up on Aug. 14.
McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com.@mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.
