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I've heard rumors that the Luxor, Excalibur, and possibly Circus Circus might be torn down and replaced with new hotel-casinos. Any truth to those rumors?
No truth, at least of which we've ever been made aware.
However, this rumor, especially about Excalibur and Luxor, refuses to die. We don't know where it comes from or why it continues to circulate, but we get this question frequently; we last answered it less than six months ago.
Not only have we never heard a peep out of MGM Resorts that it intends to replace Luxor and Excalibur, but the company actually has a tentative plan for Excalibur's surplus land, currently occupied by surface parking. Earlier this year, just days after MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said, “We have enough Las Vegas,” he was contradicted by CFO Jonathan Halkyard, who outlined a possible new hotel tower on the South Strip, one that would go in front of where Excalibur currently sits.
“That’s our neighborhood,” Halkyard told investors. “The reality is — and not many people appreciate this — that there’s a substantial opportunity for our company to do additional development in that area.” Specifically, he added, “There’re seven acres in front of the Excalibur. That’s equal to the entire footprint of The Cosmopolitan. I’m not suggesting we’re going to build a 3,000-room tower there, but that’s a significant development opportunity potentially.”
MRI has clearly done the arithmetic. As the closest Strip hotelier to Allegiant Stadium, the company stands to benefit from having as much room inventory on tap for the Super Bowl, and all the major events to be held there in the future, as possible. Currently, among Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur, rooms add up to nearly 12,000, not including Four Seasons. For MRI to even consider eliminating thousands of those contradict every impulse a major corporation has when it comes to short-term "increasing shareholder value," to say nothing of the lip service it pays to "enhancing the guest experience."
Meanwhile, Circus Circus is a huge cash cow for Phil Ruffin, who's owned it for only 2-1/2 years, after MRI unloaded it in December 2019 for $825 million. Eventually, given Circus' vast property (102 acres, half of which aren't developed), the old joint could make way for something new, though we doubt it will be in Phil Ruffin's lifetime; he's currently 87.