On the north side of the Las Vegas Strip, a new billboard stands close to the ongoing construction site for the long-awaited Fontainebleau casino with a simple, optimistic motto: “Miracles still happen.”
The sign, which features the official name and branding for the resort, can be seen as a symbol for the long and sordid history of the project, which many felt would never make it to fruition after years of ownership changes and bankruptcies.
Pending further complications, the resort is finally scheduled to open sometime near the end of 2023.
When asked about the meaning of the recent billboard, representatives from the project released a statement saying that the building “was always meant to be Fontainebleau Las Vegas,” and that they are looking forward to finally bringing its original vision to life.
Interestingly enough, the building’s original developer, Jeffrey Soffer, is back at the helm after dumping the project in 2010 due to bankruptcy. This time around, Soffer is backed by Kansas powerhouse Koch Industries, who helped him reacquire the property from previous owner Steve Witkoff.
Witkoff had planned to rebrand the casino as the Drew Las Vegas, before the Covid-19 pandemic forced him to quickly shut down and sell off—he is still embroiled in millions of dollars of construction liens.
Before Witkoff, the property also passed through the hands of billionaire financier Carl Icahn, who purchased it from Soffer and flipped it to Witkoff in 2017 without developing it at all.
Last fall, Soffer and the new Fontainebleau team unveiled their plans for the 67-story resort, which will feature about 3,700 rooms and a 100,000-square-foot ballroom.
