Israeli hotelier Asher Gabay proposes to build a $350 million 620-room hotel casino on property now occupied by a Motel Six and with much vacant land and boarded up businesses nearby. Nevertheless, it is part of the Las Vegas Strip, and the Mandalay Bay is just across the street.
Gabay’s proposal would be the first tower to go up in this stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in many years.
His plans call for demolishing the motel and replacing it with a 34-story casino tower that would be dubbed Astral, after the chain of international hotels Gabay founded. He expects to break ground next spring with a two-year construction window.
Gabay says the economy in the city and state is strong. “I felt it,” he told Best of Las Vegas. He is timing the opening of his hotel to coincide with the relocation of the Raiders NFL team to the city, where they will play at a stadium a mile away.
Las Vegas hotel broker Josh Smith, of HREC Investment Advisors told Best of Las Vegas, “If he times it just right and has the right business model, it’ll have some success.”
