Strip land values skyrocket; Second chance for Margaritaville

In a deal not seen since the giddiness of 2007, someone is expected $34 million an acre for Strip land, for a grand total of $540 million. The property in question is a collection of parcels wedged between Planet Hollywood to the north and Showcase Mall to the south. This is the area in which Robert F.X. Sillerman had hoped to establish a high-end, Elvis Presley-themed resort in the wayback. Spectrum Group Management tried to redevelop the area four years ago as “Project Jackpot.” Spectrum didn’t like to talk about the development but title has now reverted to NPB Luxury, which could score a ginormous profit since the acreage had been written down to $220 million 10 years ago. “I believe we’re going to set records for values paid for land on the Las Vegas Strip,” said CBRE Senior Vice President Michael Parks. Be careful what you wish for: The last time somebody paid such big bucks for Strip frontage, it was the Plaza/Alon/Wynn West parcel that still sits vacant to this day. Established Vegas companies know better than to bite at a lure like this, so some out-of-town chump is probably going to get taken to the cleaners while NPB Luxury laughs all the way to the bank.

* Casinos in Atlantic City and on Mississippi‘s Gulf Coast are seeing fewer and fewer $1 million-plus jackpots. Why? Well … it’s complicated.

* While we’re on the subject of Biloxi, failed Margaritaville Casino might come back from the dead. “We’ve had some pretty good interest in the building,” especially with the prospect of sports betting, said NAI Sawyer Vice President Ray Stronsky. Asking price for hotel-less Margaritaville would be $118 million. [Correction: $18 million] That buys you 55,000 square feet of casino. “The building’s still like new. There’s plenty of room to build a hotel,” Stronsky added. However, everything depends on whether Biloxi extends Pine Street, creating a loop that would link all of the city’s casinos. (Poor access was a large part of Margaritaville’s downfall.)

Margaritaville isn’t the only property in need of positive action from the city. Prospects are iffy for in-development Foxwoods Casino Resort on the site of the old Heinz plant if the loop isn’t built. That $265 million project has been hanging fire for two years. The city won’t build the access road, however, unless the casinos pitch in themselves. (Foxwoods would be expected to pony $7 million, for example.) As Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich told the Sun Herald, “we’re going to make sure that all of the funding is in place from all of the parties involved.” Keep your fingers crossed.