The Fontainebleau Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas has been a constant reminder of the difficult times the city faced during the 2008 recession. Since then, the building has remained unfinished. However, the new owners have hinted that they will prioritize finishing the building.
Fontainebleau Sold for $600 Million
The Fontainebleau was purchased by Carl Ichan back in 2010, after construction was halted due to the recession. In late August 2017, he finally sold the property to a real estate investment company. Ichan has reportedly sold it to the new owners for $600 million. This means that the billionaire made a $457 million return on his investment.
The new owners of the Fontainebleau have remained quiet about their plans for the hotel. This has caused plenty of speculation around the finished project. It is believed that it will remain a high-end hotel and casino, but there are rumors that it will be renamed.
Once complete, its operations will likely be leased out to a major hotel chain, such as Hilton. It is expected that it will cost the new owners between $900 million and $1.6 billion to complete the 68-story hotel which will have nearly 4000hotel rooms when complete.
Fontainebleau Sale Positive Sign For North Las Vegas Strip
While the completion of the Fontainebleau is still a way off, the news of the sale has brought a wave of optimism to Sin City. This is due to the news being a very positive development for the northern end of the Las Vegas strip. The northern end of the Las Vegas strip has struggled since the recession. It hasn’t recovered as well as the Southern end of Las Vegas Boulevard.
But things seem to be looking up, as some of the struggling casinos have recently found new owners. These include SLS Las Vegas and the Stratosphere. Progress has also been made on the new Resorts World megaresort, that is on schedule to open in 2020.
The casino industry in Nevada will definitely be keeping a watchful eye on the North of the strip to see if things are really getting better.
