Siegel Group acquires Las Vegas Strip land for $75M, has option for casino

The Siegel Group operates a popular deli on Convention Center Drive. The company has now purchased land sandwiched between several choice properties on the Strip.

The Las Vegas-based company has acquired 10 acres just across the Strip from Resorts World Las Vegas, to the north of Encore/Wynn Las Vegas and to the south of Fontainebleau. The company closed the deal Monday afternoon.

Founder Stephen Siegel is now reviewing hotel-casino concepts in that choice neighborhood, which it dubs, “The last great piece of land available on the north Strip.”

“We’ve been waiting years to acquire a large piece of land in the Strip, and have been watching this site for a long time,” Siegel said in a statement. “When this opportunity presented itself there was no question that we had to purchase it. This is a phenomenal property that will one day soon have a development worthy of such an irreplaceable location on the Las Vegas Strip.”

Those who walk out of Peppermill after a late-night hang recognize the open site immediately, as it is just beyond that restaurant’s parking lot. The plot also takes over land once occupied by the iconic La Concha Motel, whose former futuristic-designed lobby is now the visitor center of the Neon Museum.

Siegel Group snapped up the Strip property for a price of $75 million to lending company Las Vegas Land Acquisition Company 2020 Co. LLC, which had previously purchased the property from developer Triple Five. The new purchase means the Siegel Group owns 13 acres on the north end of the Strip.

The Siegel Group’s long-term options include a hotel-casino, multifamily apartments, a condo tower and retail outlets. It is too soon for a name to be bestowed on any of the projects. But it isn’t too soon to know that a Vegas company is now operating among multibillion-dollar resorts.

The company owns Siegel’s Bagelmania, abutting the new Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall. The company’s parcels on that site currently house the extended-stay Siegel Select Convention Center, along with Bagelmania, which launched in May , having moved from its original location on East Twain Avenue.

The privately owned company is emphasizing it has made the transaction without the involvement of an outside lender. As a result, the Siegel’s team is working under its own timeline to plan for the land. Siegel said the seller received multiple offers higher than his company’s. But Siegel Group made the purchase because it could close quickly with an all-cash transaction in just 45 days, using exchange proceeds from recent sales.

Widely known for its dozens of extended-stay properties, Siegel Group has been busy in off-Strip transactions. In late March, the company sold the boutique Artisan hotel for $11.9 million to Pro Hospitality Group owner Alex Rizk, who runs the “cannabis-friendly” Clarendon resort in Phoenix. Siegel also sold the Resort at Mount Charleston for $4.6 million in 2018 and for a time owned the Gold Spike in downtown Las Vegas before selling that property to the Downtown Project in 2013.

Siegel is a rarity among operators on Las Vegas Boulevard to independently own a hotel-casino property, joining Treasure Island and Circus Circus owner Phil Ruffin on the Strip and Vegas icon Michael Gaughan to the south at South Point.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com.@johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.