Las Vegas officials declined to lend aid to the developers of a proposed Asian-themed casino and hotel on West Sahara near the Las Vegas Strip.
The Lucky Dragon sought a tax break from the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency and hoped to obtain an incremental tax liability, but the agency denied its request on November 18.
Agency officials said they weren’t comfortable lending aid to the private developer, particularly given strong opposition from other casino owners and developers, who argued it would be an unfair advantage.
Lucky Dragon developers still have not submitted final plans for the proposed resort and said they just wanted approval for the incremental tax to factor into their financial planning.
In its application for the tax assistance, the Lucky Dragon said it already has obtained most of the financing it needs for the $127 million project and had hoped the tax break would help it to obtain better lending terms.
The Lucky Dragon would be located in a nine-story tower with 200 hotel rooms located above the ground-level casino, which would cater to Asian gamblers with table games popular among Asian gamblers, such as baccarat and pai gow.
The Penta Group is the project’s general contractor and in September topped off the Lucky Dragon’s tower.
