Formerly known as "Rhodes Ranch," this project has been on and off the Station front burner more times than one can count since 2000, when Station bought the land. The company has gone so far as to file plans with the Clark County Commission. However, Station was singularly exposed to the Great Recession – being an almost entirely Vegas-based company – and has been doubly cautious in emerging from bankruptcy. It had to spend a half-billion dollars to hang onto Green Valley Ranch and it let go of Aliante Station (now Aliante Hotel + Casino) -- a $662 million investment down the drain. Station is a cautious company these days. Its last ‘big’ deal was to take over and upgrade the Gold Rush Casino (now Western Sunset), a small property near Sunset Station.
The last time Station raised the subject of Durango Station was back in November 2008, when it said it would begin construction in 2011 "if market conditions held steady." The property was identified as the company’s next priority. Phase One was to have included "a 201-room hotel tower, casino, pool, restaurants, movie theater and arcade, plus a 190,000-square-foot outdoor retail center similar to The District at Green Valley Ranch," reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A bowling alley was also planned and the hotel-casino design was said to closely model that of Red Rock Resort. Another 525 hotel rooms would follow in Phase Two. Suffice it to say, conditions did not remain steady, however, but instead got substantially worse. As a result, Durango Station and several other big Station proposals were devoured by the company’s need to service debt.
At present, Station is sitting on a highly volatile locals market and a huge bank of undeveloped land: eight other sites, including two in Reno. It has been trying to sell some of the land (like the old site of the Castaways) but, even in a buyer’s market, it’s been a tough sell. Our best guess is that it will take several quarters of sustained recovery in the locals-casino market before Station pulls the trigger on a new Las Vegas casino. Also – and more importantly – residential density in the "Durango Station" area will have to increase. Aliante Station was built in a sparsely populated area, at the far northern edge of suburban development, and Station paid a hefty price, you might say. It’s unlikely to make that mistake again.
