The North Strip - Las Vegas

Curious as to what a dying casino looks like in its last days, we spent a night at the New Frontier last week. Judging from the casino alone, things looked relatively normal. Other parts of the Frontier were either nearly dead, or had already been killed.

The “only bingo hall on the Strip” had been shuttered, the decorative ponds in the atrium drained, and the rear bar closed. We had a hell of a time finding an ice machine that worked. Arriving guests looking for a bell hop at the hotel’s rear entrance found an abandoned booth. The pool had been officially closed, but a number of guests ignored the warning signs, finding refuge from the 109 degree heat.

If you can’t make it to the Frontier before the closure and were wondering what to do with that stash of Frontier gaming chips in your sock drawer, look no further. The cash cage at the Riviera will act as a redemption center for Frontier chips until October. After that, you’ll have to incorporate them into your weekly home game.

The New Frontier will officially close at Midnight, July 16. Demolition is slated for Spring 2008.

In the Las Vegas Review Journal’s 1998 Best of Las Vegas readers poll, Vegas locals identified the El Rancho as the Hotel Most Deserving of Being Imploded. The El Rancho, which sat on the North Strip on the site of the future Fontainebleau resort (between the Riviera and the now defunct Wet’n Wild water park), closed in 1992 and was finally demolished in October 2000. While locals certainly breathed a collective sigh of relief, it won’t be until this year that they will finally see the 1998 First Runner Up bite the dust. Yes, the New Frontier (then referred to as simply The Frontier) has been in the peoples’ gunsights for nearly a decade now. Take ease, good people. July will be here before you know it.

The tired and aging New Frontier found its greatest asset isn’t its mechanical bull or midweek bikini mud wrestling contests. No, its real asset is its location on the North Strip.

The dilapidated and often quiet North Strip property was sold to Elad Group for $1.2 Billion, setting a record at $33 Million per acre. Elad Group, which owns New York City’s storied Plaza Hotel, plans to expand the brand worldwide, starting out west. Las Vegas Plaza - not to be confused with the downtown Plaza Hotel and Casino - will house a casino, convention center, retail space, a 3,500 room hotel, and 300 private residences. The property is situated between the Fashion Show Mall and the planned Echelon. New Frontier will be closed in July 2007, with demolition planned for early 2008.

Naming rights could become an issue for Las Vegas Plaza. Tamares Group, owner of the downtown Plaza, could not be reached for comment, according to the Wall Street Journal. Even more compelling is the effect this deal could have on the bidding for the Riviera. The current high bid of $34 per share is equivalent to just over $16 Million per acre, half of the price of the New Frontier deal.

After rejecting numerous buyout offers, Riviera Holdings - the corporation which owns the Riviera Hotel and Casino - is considering the latest bid, valued at $424 Million. The $34-per-share offer is the second bid from the Riv Acquisition group this year, and one of many over the past 18 months. Riv Acquisition’s previous offer of $27-per-share, made in March 2007, was countered by a more recent offer of $30-per-share by real estate developer Ian Bruce Eichner and hedge fund management group Dune Capital Management LP. Riviera Holdings’ stock price (RIV) is up about 85% since the speculations began in just two months ago.

Once the crown jewel of the Las Vegas strip, the Riviera failed to keep pace with new luxury resorts being developed along the south strip during the early 1990s. The recent push north, spearheaded by the Wynn Las Vegas, has pumped the property values on the North Strip. The eventual fate of the Riviera property - renovation or demolition - is yet unknown, as bidding parties have not disclosed their intent.

Five Hundy by Midnight, dubbed “The Original Las Vegas Podcast”, dedicated Podcast #115 to the future outlook for the North Strip. Of particular interest is a section entitled “2008-2015: The North Strip Era”.

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The legendary Stardust, imploded on March 13, 2007. Boyd Gaming will use the site to build the $4.4 billion Echelon, a 5,000 room mega-resort slated to open in late 2010. Watch the Video

Not to be outdone by peers and newcomers, Vegas juggernaut MGM Grand has purchased the vacant Las Vegas Strip property north of Circus Circus at Sahara Avenue.

“’This new land provides us with a much-improved position to develop our existing North Strip holdings,’ said Terry Lanni, MGM MIRAGE Chairman and CEO.”

MGM Mirage Purchases Land on the North Strip