A casino complementing the Trump Las Vegas Hotel and its 1,232 luxury suites and rooms might be in the works.
Casino mogul Phil Ruffin recently told the Wall Street Journal he hopes to work with Donald Trump to build a casino, in which he and Trump would be equal partners. Ruffin owns the Treasure Island Casino, which is located near the Trump Hotel.
Ruffin said the casino project is in the early stages of planning, but expects the pace to increase greatly in planning and getting everything in place to move forward with construction of a $100 million casino project.
Initial plans call for building the casino next to an existing parking structure used by the hotel and share the parking facility, which would connect and commonly serve the two properties.
The $800 million, 64-story Trump Las Vegas opened in 2008 near the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, and Trump’s son, Eric, runs the family’s hotel chain and told the Wall Street Journal and said he would enjoy working with Ruffin on the project.
If Donald Trump moves forward with the casino plan, it would be his first foray into the casino industry after several tries in Atlantic City ended in four separate business bankruptcy filings, and Trump got out of the casino business.
In 2014, Trump said the casino industry in Atlantic City is too competitive, but Las Vegas enjoys largely casino-free states, aside from a few tribal casinos, and Las Vegas is the world’s top destination for trade shows and conventions, as well as gambling.
Las Vegas casinos also are deriving their profits from entertainment, food and beverage, and event services, more so than gambling, and that makes them a better business investments.
