Station Casinos Opening Vegas' Most Expensive Off-Strip Casino Resort

LAS VEGAS-The most expensive off-Strip casino ever built in the Vegas area will open this week in the master planned community of Summerlin. Located about 10 miles west of the Strip and 20 minutes from the airport, the $925-million Red Rock development also is the largest entertainment venue ever built by publicly held Station Casinos Inc.

Adorned with some three million Swarovski crystals, the 68-acre resort will open tomorrow with about 400 of its planned 850 guest rooms, a 25,000-sf “adventure” spa, nine restaurants, a nightclub, and a full slate of gaming activities. A three-acre pool area offers a main pool with an interactive fountain, private pool areas, cabanas, wading pools, poolside gaming featuring blackjack tables, a cafe and poolside beverage service.

Station Casinos owns and operates 15 resorts in Southern Nevada. Traditionally focused on the residents of Las Vegas more so than the visitors, Station Casinos officially reached out for more tourists in 2001 when it opened Green Valley Ranch, a 500-room resort that is rated Four Diamonds by AAA and located near the airport in Henderson, NV. Red Rock, its second such offering, is expected to earn a Five Diamond rating, AAA’s highest.

A source at Station Casinos tells GlobeSt.com that while its newer properties have more amenities designed to attract tourists, locals are still its bread and butter. Even at Green Valley Ranch, the source says about 75% of its revenues are generated by locals playing slot machines and then going home.

Acknowledging that, Red Rock has a separate hotel entrance that allows guests to access their rooms without having to cross the casino floor. The resort’s standard rooms begin at 525 sf and rent for as low as $129 per night while luxury suites start at $750 per night and run as large as 4,400 sf.

Rooms offer views of the Strip and the Red Rock mountains. Amenities include 42-inch high-definition plasma televisions, Bose sound systems with iPod connectivity, guest robes and slippers, in-room martini bars and 15-inch LCD televisions in the bathrooms.

In addition to traditional services, the spa includes a boxing ring, men’s and women’s salons, a workout center, VIP day suites, nutrition counseling and cooking classes and a private lap pool. For the “adventure” part, the spa offers hosted excursions that include rock climbing, hiking and white water rafting.

The nightclub, Cherry, is a product of nightclub operator Rande Gerber of Midnight Oil Company. The company’s other Vegas nightclub, the Whiskey, is located at Green Valley Ranch. The nine restaurants include Feast Buffet and Texas’ famed Salt Lick BBQ, as well as fine dining tha includes Terra Rossa Italian Bistro and T-bones Chophouse and Lounge.

On a five-acre parcel adjacent to the resort, Station Casinos also plans to develop some 400 high-end for-sale residential units in a joint venture with Cloobeck Molasky Partners I LLC. Station Casinos will own 80% of the joint venture and Cloobeck Molasky Partners I LLC will own 20%. Subject to local approvals and market conditions, sales of the residential towers are expected to begin sometime this year.

Meanwhile, Station Casinos is preparing to expand Green Valley Ranch and two of its other Vegas properties. At Green Valley Ranch, the company is planning a $110-million addition slated to include a 1,500-space parking garage, additional slot machines, a new race and sports book, a new poker room, a 500-seat entertainment lounge, 14,000 sf of convention space and two new restaurants. Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2006 and run through early 2007.

Sometime in the third quarter, construction work will begin for a $130-million, 125,000-sf expansion of Santa Fe Station that is expected to include a 2,900-space parking garage, a 500-seat buffet, 400 additional slot machines, a remodeled and expanded race and sports book, a 15,000-sf meeting and banquet facility and a new center bar. Work is slated for completion by the end of the year.

Also in the third quarter, Station Casinos plans to begin construction for a $70-million expansion of Fiesta Henderson. The work will include a 1,500-space parking garage, 350 additional slot machines, a remodeled and expanded race and sports book and a 12-screen movie theater complex. Completion is expected in the summer of 2007.

Station Casino’s next new development could be Aliante Station, a $450-million hotel and casino in the Aliante master-planned community located in North Las Vegas. Its joint venture partner is Greenspun Corporation, which for its 50% stake is donating to the JV a gaming-entitled 40-acre site on the northeast corner of Interstate 215 and Aliante Parkway. The first phase of Aliante Station is expected to include 200 hotel rooms, approximately 2,000 slot machines, multiple full-service restaurants and a multi-screen movie theater complex. Construction is expected to begin in late 2006 or early 2007.