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Is it true that Luxor and Excalibur are going to be torn down? What will go in that space?
We don't know if it's true or not. All we know is that this is a rumor that started, where they often do, on VitalVegas.com, the insider blog written and managed by Scott Roeben, the very well-connected former social-media director of the Fremont Street Experience.
On June 28, Scott wrote, "An iconic Las Vegas hotel, Luxor, could be facing demolition if industry chatter is to be believed. While no official announcement has been made, a decision to bring down Luxor during a period of weak demand due to the COVID-19 crisis could make sense for the resort’s owner, MGM Resorts. The company has long felt its hands are tied by the distinctive, but limiting, Egyptian theme."
He added, "Our sources say company officials have discussed demolition of both Luxor and Excalibur for at least five years, but have been unable to proceed due to union contracts. It’s possible the COVID-19 shutdown has paved the way for what’s to come for Luxor."
We can also say that of all the rumors that we've seen originate on VitalVegas over the years, this one has grown the longest legs in our memory. It was picked up by media outlets near and far, from TripAdvisor to International Business Times, from YouTube to SportsBookReview.com. One headline, on MountainWestWire, read, "Luxor Las Vegas to be Demolished."
Frankly, we didn't see fit to repeat it ourselves (until now). We're not saying it won't or even couldn't happen. And Scott's sources are often accurate.
But to us, your second question actually works to preclude the first. Why implode 8,000 hotel rooms over two adjacent properties in this day and age, leaving a gaping hole in one of the busiest tourist intersections in the world? The fits and starts of Resorts World and the likely bankruptcy of the Drew are certainly cautionary tales when it comes to building new megaresorts on the Las Vegas Strip. And all that mostly happened before the pandemic. Since then, all development bets are off.
MGM Resorts has been divesting itself of properties of late and hasn't built a new hotel-casino since City Center more than a decade ago, which came this close to bankrupting the company. It seems to us that MRI would much prefer to sell the properties than destroy them. Certainly, their value is mostly contained in the developments and not the raw land.
Again, that's how it seems to us. Howzit look to youse guys?