Compared to Singapore, where casino square footage is restricted to 6% of total property, Florida’s potential allotment would be considered generous. In fact, Genting has proposed such a large casino for its Resorts World project in Miami – the world’s biggest, in fact -- that some are questioning its commercial viability.
Nowadays, the casino floor is a relatively small part of a gargantuan resort property that tends to include several restaurants, a shopping mall, one or more showrooms, a parking garage, pool areas, nightclubs, a sports book, convention areas and hotel rooms – lots of them (5,044 at MGM Grand). Blame it on Steve Wynn and the evolution of the "casino-based destination resort," if you will.
Hunter Hillegas, who runs the architecture-themed Vegas Web site Two Way Hard Three (www.ratevegas.com), writes: "As far as I can recall, Bellagio’s total square footage is about 4.5 million and the casino is 116,000 square feet -- so in that case, about 2.5%. Aria is about the same ratio." Overseas, "Venetian Macao is 10.5 million square feet and the casino is 550,000 square feet, or a bit above 5%." Referring back to Miami, he adds, "10% is a huge ratio but if the buildings contain little else, it may not be an interesting stat."
We ran Hillegas’ estimates past MGM Resorts International spokeswoman Yvette Monet, who added additional facts, figures, and perspective. "Property square footage is relative because some properties count walkways, porte cocheres, landscaping, parking garages etc., while others don’t," Monet writes. "I don’t know that you can establish any consistency in the proportions."
Again, using MGM Grand as an example, its 9 million square feet include "only" 170,000 square feet of casino (roughly a third as much space as is devoted to the convention center). That’s less than 2%. Monte Carlo, built as a joint venture between Steve Wynn and Circus Circus Enterprises back in the Nineties, is 2.3 million square feet, 102,000 of them devoted to the casino (4.5%). Wynn’s signature property, The Mirage, which opened in 1989, has grown to an eventual 6,898,960 square feet, of which 100K are the casino floor (1.5%). Even the comparatively ancient Circus Circus, whose inefficient sprawl includes numerous low-rise motel units, runs to 6.2 million square feet, and only 101,000 of those (1.6%) are on the casino floor.
So, if someone says that a Florida casino will be "only 10%" devoted to gambling, unless it’s a locals-oriented grind joint with minimal amenities, they’re playing you for a sap.
