Fontainebleau Adds High-End Casino Option To North End Of Las Vegas Strip
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After years of stops and starts, refinancing, ownership changes, and a bevy of other delays, the Fontainebleau resort casino has finally opened in Las Vegas. The $3.7 billion property welcomed a bevy of celebrities and VIPs last week as part of a ribbon cutting and party to officially welcome the new casino to the Las Vegas Strip.
Fontainebleau Development CEO Jeffrey Soffer thanked those involved in bringing the project to completion.
“When you build a building like this, it usually takes about six years to plan and build it,” he said. It’s so big and massive. So, to do that in less than three years, it doesn’t happen without a great development team.”
It may have been three years for current developers, but the project was originally proposed back in May of 2005.
Aiming For High End
“I’ve been living here for 23 years, and I didn’t want to miss this casino opening,” Carlos Aguirre told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “[Construction] started in 2007 and took forever. I expect the latest of the latest.”
The site was originally home to the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino, which opened in 1948, and later changed names a few times before settling on El Rancho Hotel and Casino, closing in 1992. The building was imploded in 2000 to make room for a project that was later canceled because of the Sept. 11 attacks. Turnberry Associates bought the land, including the next-door site that used to be The Algiers Hotel.
Initially scheduled to open in 2008, instead the property was faced with lawsuits, numerous financial issues including bankruptcy, new ownership, and a new name that was ultimately reverted back to the original.
As part of the grand opening festivities, the property highlighted the high-end ambiance the Fontainebleau development hopes to offer. Models donning white wigs and gowns greeted guests on the gaming floor, and there was Chinese dragon dancers and live music to keep the atmosphere energetic before the casino started taking bets.
The event featured quarterback Tom Brady, singer Cher, rock star Alice Cooper, and actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. Singers Paul Anka and Justin Timberlake later put on special performances to debut the BleauLive theater. Anka even became the first player to roll dice at the craps tables.
The company operates hotels in resorts in Miami, Boston, and Nashville as well as several residential properties. In Las Vegas, the new Fontainebleau includes a 67-story, 3,644-room hotel, 150,000 sq. ft. of casino space with 42-foot-high ceilings, a 3,800-seat, 90,000 sq. ft. theater, a 50,000 sq. ft. nightclub; and numerous restaurants and bars. However, the property doesn’t have a poker room.
North End Of Strip Growing
Not only is Fontainebleau the latest property on the Las Vegas Strip, but insiders expect the project to be part of a rebirth for the north end of the world-famous stretch of roadway.
“I think it has cleaned up a lot towards this end of the Strip bringing in these bigger, nicer casinos,” Peppermill assistant manager June Martin told KVVU. The restaurant has been located in the area for more than 50 years. “It’s great. Business is always great,”
Recent years have also seen the reopening of the Sahara, and the debut of Resorts World at the north end of the Strip. The Las Vegas Convention Center was also expanded in 2021 and the Westgate Casino is also located in the area just off the Strip.
In 2022, Houston businessman and billionaire Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Golden Nugget, announced plans for a new casino at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue.
Fertitta hopes to build a property with a 2,420-room hotel and 59,000 square feet of casino space. Filings with Clark County estimated the project to begin in March with completion set for March 2025.
Howard Hughes Holdings also recently announced plans for a new Strip casino as well. The company is planning a new casino tower rising above the Fashion Show Mall at the north end of the Strip as well.
