South American businessman Claudio Fischer has decided not to build on the Las Vegas Strip.
He and his company CB Investments SpA pulled out of a $120 million deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) in the waning hours, it was announced recently.
The plan was for a hotel and casino to occupy 10 acres near the Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall. The resort would have been the newest addition to the famed Las Vegas Strip.
In a statement on Tuesday, LVCVA CEO Steve Hill said the sale failed to close on December 15.
“As a result, the LVCVA terminated the agreement, received the $7 million non-refundable deposit, and re-listed the property,” Hill said.
The deal was announced in 2021, and by all accounts, Fischer seemed enthusiastic about his first resort in North America. When it came time to put pen to paper, however, Fischer had soured on the project.
SBCNoticias, a Spanish-language website that covers Latin American gaming news, reported that Fischer blamed the “economic crisis affecting the U.S.” and rising mortgage rates for his reason to nix the deal.
Fischer’s company is one of the largest property owners in South America. His holdings include casinos, residential properties, as well as commercial real estate.
His casino operating company, Sun Dreams, is the largest in Latin America. He has 19 resorts in Chile, Argentina, Panama, Columbia, and Peru.
The LVCVA had planned to use the money from the Fischer deal to help fund a two-year renovation to the Las Vegas Convention Center’s North, Central, and South halls.
A spokesman for the LVCVA told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the construction would proceed as planned.
