Las Vegas gears up for $3B+ in new openings this year, including Fontainebleau and Durango

As it leaves Covid-19 behind, Las Vegas had a spectacular year for gaming and tourism in 2022, leading Nevada to smash its 2021 gambling revenue record in just 11 months. Much of this success is attributed to the return of tourism, the lifting of pandemic-related measures and the opening – and reopening – of gaming properties across the destination. But while last year was remarkable in more than one way, there is a whole lot more in store for 2023.

The gambling mecca is getting a makeover this year with a slate of million-dollar projects. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s construction bulletin shows 581,000 square feet of new convention space and more than 4,700 new hotel rooms, bringing the total inventory to more than 156,000 rooms, reports KTNV. This marks a 3.1% year-over-year increase and totals $3.2 billion in projects coming online by the end of the year.

The new hotel rooms and convention space are largely tied to the construction of Fontainebleau, whose developers recently secured a $2.2 billion loan to complete the project. The 67-story hotel, gaming, meeting, and entertainment destination is expected to make its debut at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip in the fourth quarter of 2023, adding more than 3,700 rooms and 550,000 square feet of convention space to the area.

Fontainebleau resort, currently in development

Another major project to make its debut in the final quarter of the year is Station Casinos’ Durango Hotel and Casino. The forthcoming $750 million venue will feature a 200-room hotel tower and an 83,000-square-foot casino, in addition to 21,000 square feet of meeting and convention space. Gaming options will include about 2,000 slot machines and 46 table games.

Also targeted for 2023 is the $2.2 billion MSG Sphere at The Venetian, a 17,500-seat entertainment venue that will seat more than 17,000 people. The project, expected to open in the second half of the year, is set to feature massive indoor and outdoor LED screens – billed as “the highest resolution LED screen in the world” – lighting up the Strip skyline.

Rendering for upcoming MSG Sphere

Toward the end of the year, Golden Entertainment is also expected to open its $70 million Atomic Range golf entertainment complex next door to The Strat. The project is described as a 99,000-square-foot golf entertainment destination that will feature more than 100 hitting bays, six bars, 10 putting bays and a multi-use “Astrocade” with large-scale screens to view sports and entertainment.

In addition to new projects, the gambling mecca is also expected to see renovations as existing properties seek to keep up the pace by updating their offerings. Among them is Circus-Circus, which is working to complete a $30 million room renovation; while New York-New York will debut rooms with a brand new look this summer as part of a $63 million refurbishment process.

Another smaller project lined up for completion this year involves the privately held Silverton hotel-casino off Interstate 15 near Blue Diamond Road. The property took 300 rooms offline for a remodeling project last year, which are now expected to be back in Las Vegas’ inventory in early 2023. Also, the Four Seasons Las Vegas, occupying some of the top floors of a Mandalay Bay tower, will wrap up its room renovations by the end of the year.

Durango Casino Resort, another property to open this year

Nearly twice as many new rooms are expected to be added in 2024 and 2025 with 11 new developments scheduled for completion, reports Las Vegas Review-Journal. Among the largest properties projected for 2024 is the 119-room Element Las Vegas and 322-room, $95 million AC Hotel by Marriott on Grand Central Parkway at Symphony Park.

Other projects targeted for completion next year are the 90-room, $20 million Atwell Suites at The Pass in downtown Henderson; the 531-room, $550 million Dream Las Vegas resort near the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign; a 120-room Home2 Suites by Hilton on West Sunset Road; and the 720-room non-gaming Majestic Las Vegas on Convention Center Drive.

The 2024 calendar also promises to bring a $100 million renovation to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, a new $40 million pedestrian overpass on Las Vegas Boulevard at Sahara Avenue, and the completion of the 34-mile network of tunnels beneath the resort corridor for the underground transit system known as the Vegas Loop, being built by Elon Musk’s The Boring Co.