New life for Harmon Strip; Wynn Resorts vindicated, mostly

Could the Harmon Strip, mooted since the late Nineties, actually come to pass? The area has been a graveyard for resort projects, leaving the Hard Rock Hotel standing in splendid isolation. However … one Jeffrey Williams is applying for permission to build on the vast track of land at Koval Lane and Harmon Avenue. This is where the W Hotel and Las Ramblas (pictured) projects went to die. If the new owners have less hat and more cattle they could reinvent a site that has been the poster child for the condo bubble and failsinos in general.

The new plan calls for a 40-story resort, with 2,402 hotel rooms, the necessary casino, retail, poolside guest villas, a sports book (also necessary) and showroom, etc. The owner(s) want to increase the permitted tower height from 100 to 480 feet, which would encroach in McCarran International Airport space and might be a sticking point. The project would cover 37 acres with both surface and underground parking. Landscaping would include “strawberry trees, Chilean Mesquite, Evergreen Elm and California Fan Palms.” Clark County has a long to-do list for the mitigation of traffic buildup, including the provision of bus turnouts. The Department of Aviation will have to sign off on the plans as well. According to a site map, defunct Ice nightclub will be left standing. Will no one adopt it? There’s no provision for a nightclub in the Williams plan so this might some entrepreneur’s opportunity-in-waiting.

* As reported earlier, Suffolk Downs‘ scummy racketeering lawsuit against Wynn Resorts has been shot down in court. Among the racetrack owners’ base allegations was that Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria held a concealed ownership in Encore Boston Harbor, a charge so sleazy it wasn’t even included in the court filing. The suit did help chase Stephen Crosby out of the chairmanship of the Missouri Gaming Commission by dint of highlighting his friendship with Paul Lohnes, one of the landowners who sold to Wynn. (Crosby has moved on to the National Council on Problem Gambling.) Lohnes’ real estate was “heavily contaminated” with toxic materials so we’re sure he was glad to be shot of it. However, considering that he had to sell the land at a steep discount, following a scandal over hidden ownership, Lohnes’ rapture was undoubtedly modified.

The judge who kicked Suffolk Sterling out of court wrote that, having failed to secure a casino license on merit, the RICO accusation “is Sterling’s latest (and hopefully last) gambit.” Suffolk Sterling still could amend their complaint and re-file. Two related lawsuits remain, both filed by Anthony Gattineri, who said former Encore prexy Robert DeSalvio shortchanged him on a land deal and that the MGC drove down the price of the site. In other words, it’s too soon for Wynn to heave a deep sigh of relief.

Jottings: Re-jected! That was the fate of Mount Airy‘s attempt to open a satellite casino in Beaver County. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board cited inadequate financing as its reason for disapproval … 20 years in the calaboose. That’s fate of an Alabama man convicted for stealing $193,000 from Wind Creek Montgomery Casino … Georgia lawmakers have embarked on a listening tour of the Peachtree State to find out how their constituents feel about legalizing casinos. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) won’t like that one bit … Compliance-challenged CG Technology is bowing out of the Las Vegas Strip, selling five sports books to William Hill. The latter gains prime real estate at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Venelazzo, the Palms, the Tropicana and Silverton. Regulatory approval is needed but that ought to be a slam-dunk for William Hill.

* On this date in 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. We have been in his debt ever since.