Company has the “business probity” to win in Vegas
The Nevada Gaming Commission has found Malaysia-based Genting Berhad suitable to do business in the state, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. That’s good news for Sin City, which will see its first mega-development in years with the $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas.
The resort will be built on 87 acres that was once home to the Stardust and now is occupied by the scuttled Echelon project.
Gaming Commission Chairman Peter Bernhard said Genting “clearly has the financial stability and business probity” to build the resort. “It will be a game changer and a new step up,” he said.
After the May 7 hearing, Genting was given a preliminary finding of suitability to hold a state gaming license. The company must still apply for a full gaming license.
The initial phase of construction will include a 3,000-room hotel, a casino with a combined 3,500 slot machines and table games, 30 food and beverage outlets, and a 4,000-seat theater.
“We want to bring something new to Las Vegas,” Genting spokesman Christian Goode told commissioners. “That is the goal on the project.” He said the first phase of the property would create 8,500 direct jobs and 3,300 ancillary jobs.
The unfinished Echelon will be put to good use, Goode said: Genting plans to incorporate 80 percent to 85 percent of the existing construction into the new development. He said it will take 24 to 36 months to complete the project’s first phase.
According to the Rakyat Post of Kuala Lumpur, Genting has a market capitalization of more than $40 billion. It operates casinos around the world, including Resorts Worlds in Singapore, Malaysia and Manila, Philippines and at New York’s Aqueduct Racetrack.
Genting bought the Las Vegas parcel from Boyd Gaming in March 2013 for $350 million.
Goode said the resort plans to bring new visitors to Las Vegas from Asian countries and will not cannibalize customers from other resorts.
The goal is to attract people who have never visited Las Vegas, he said.
