Red Rock Resorts (Red Rock) closed another property. The company more commonly known as Station Casinos closed Wild Wild West Casino and Hotel this past Wednesday.
The casino and hotel on Tropicana Ave. closed and the owners plan to redevelop it in the future. In a memo to Station Casinos employees, President Scott Kreeger said:
“Closing this property will allow us to maximize the potential of the site and the surrounding area…Station Casinos has always adapted and grown with Las Vegas, and we will continue to grow and generate great jobs across the valley as part of our exciting development strategy over the next 10 years.”
Play Innevada previously reported the closure and planned demolition of three other Station Casinos properties. In July, Red Rock announced it was closing and demolishing Texas Station, Fiesta Rancho, and Fiesta Henderson.
Wild Wild West was a small casino with only 164 slot machines. The casino didn’t have any table games. The hotel has 260 rooms and is operated by Day’s Inn.
Red Rock Resorts today
Red Rock Resorts properties are comprised of two divisions.
Station Casinos are the full-service casino resorts most people think of when Las Vegas comes to mind. There are six Station Casinos properties around the Las Vegas valley.
- Boulder Station
- Green Valley Ranch
- Palace Station
- Sante Fe Station
- Sunset Station
- Red Rock Casino
The company has multiple casino-only properties. Wildfire is the most prominent brand but Red Rock has a few non-Wildfire casino-only properties. Wild Wild West was considered a Wildfire property as Station Casinos did not operate the hotel.
Station Casinos owns 100% of the following Wildfire casinos:
- Anthem
- Boulder
- Lake Mead
- Rancho
- Sunset
- Valley View
The company also owns 50% of Barley’s, The Greens, and Wildfire Lanes.
Red Rock is currently developing one of each type of property. The company is building a Wildfire casino-only property in downtown Las Vegas. It’s also building Durango Resort in the southwest part of Las Vegas.
When the Wild Wild West is redeveloped, look for it to become a full-service Station Casino property.
What’s next for Wild Wild West?
Wild Wild West sits on 20 acres of land. Red Rock owns another 80 acres of land next to this plot.
The Wild Wild West land is located on the west side of the I-15. Similar to Palace Station, this is just on the opposite side of the freeway of the Vegas Strip.
The 100 acres of land is relatively close to T-Mobile Arena behind New York-New York and Allegiant Stadium.
Kreeger said closing Wild Wild West will allow the company to “reposition the property for future development.”
He did not offer specific plans as to what the company will create. The possibilities for a property in this location with so much land are seemingly endless.
VIVA Station Casinos, a 100-acre project dream
In 2008, Station Casinos planned to build a massive development on this land called VIVA. This was was supposed to be a massive $10 billion complex similar to MGM Resorts’ CityCenter.
The initial plan was to build three casinos and three hotels on the land. Altogether, VIVA would have had more than 5,000 hotel rooms.
Even with this many casinos and hotels, there was room to build even more on the land. One rumor included possibly building an arena in the second phase of construction.
The project never came to fruition as the economy went into a major recession. While the vision for VIVA may never become a reality it highlights the potential for the land.
The Nevada Department of Transportation is already upgrading the roads in the area. The I-15 Tropicana project just started.
The freeway construction plan will take place in four segments. Roadwork is underway and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
The last part of the multi-year freeway construction will make accessing the VIVA land easier.
Red Rock is doubling its portfolio
Shortly after announcing the company will demolish three casinos, Red Rock purchased 127 acres of land south of Mandalay Bay on Las Vegas Blvd. for $172 million. The company also owns another 56 acres in the area.
During Red Rock’s second-quarter earnings call, Vice Chairman of the Board Lorenzo Fertitta said:
“(W)e expect to basically double the size of the portfolio by 2030 is kind of what the plans are, and continue to roll out new properties one after the other.”
This appears to be a realistic goal for the company. After the recent closures, it currently operates just six full-service casinos.
Red Rock owns enough land around Las Vegas to make this vision a reality. The process for Station Casinos to double in size is already underway.
Future Station Casinos properties around Las Vegas
This expansion is already underway. Construction for Durango Resort started earlier this year. The property should be finished before the end of 2023.
When Station Casinos announced it was closing and demolishing three casinos, Kreeger mentioned it was already making plans to develop 47.3 acres of land in northwest Las Vegas. The working name for this property is Skye Canyon.
In addition to these projects, the land on south Las Vegas Blvd. and the VIVA land, Red Rock owns more land around the Las Vegas valley.
The company owns 58.2 acres at Flamingo Road and Town Center Drive. Located in Summerlin on the west side of Las Vegas. The company owns another 45 acres in south Las Vegas in the Inspirada section.
Future Station Casinos properties could include:
- Durango Resort
- South Las Vegas Blvd.
- Skye Canyon
- VIVA
- Flamingo/Town Center
- Inspirada
If all six of these projects are completed, there will be twice as many Station Casinos properties around the Las Vegas Valley.
Meeting that 2030 date might be a challenge since it takes a couple of years to build smaller properties. Larger casino complexes could take even more time.
Related Articles
Nevada Gambling, Tourism Numbers Grow Again In February
