Resorts World set to open in 2016, Crown project in 2018
Steve Wynn doesn’t mind new competition on the Vegas Strip. In fact, he may be one of the most vocal supporters of plans by international investors to create multibillion-dollar resorts that will compete with his own casino hotels.
“If these guys put their money where their mouths are, I’m a big cheerleader,” Wynn recently told the Las Vegas Sun. “KT Lim and James Packer, between the two of them, are talking about $7 billion to $8 billion. Hoo-RAY!”
Packer, head of Crown Resorts of Australia plans to build at the site once occupied by the New Frontier. His partner in the development is Wynn’s onetime resort president Andrew Pascale. Genting Group CEO KT Lim plans to develop Resorts World Las Vegas on the site where Stardust once stood. Boyd Gaming started its Echelon project at the site, a plan that went nowhere when the recession hit.
“I’m really hoping these guys end up with real guts across the street, besides the PR chatter,” said Wynn. “I hope that KT Lim goes through with his plans to spend $3 billion or $4 billion in Las Vegas. It requires a great degree of courage … but they have my extreme support and best wishes, because anything is better than that empty lot across the street.”
The Crown project is scheduled to open by the end of 2018. Resorts World is set to open in 2016 in phases, but construction is not yet under way.
Wynn hopes the grand plans aren’t hype, but the real thing. “We’ll have a parade for them when they have a groundbreaking,” he said. “I want to see that happen.”
