{"id":25430,"date":"2019-11-21T09:42:41","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T17:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=25430"},"modified":"2020-10-19T06:50:27","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T14:50:27","slug":"new-life-for-harmon-strip-wynn-resorts-vindicated-mostly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/new-life-for-harmon-strip-wynn-resorts-vindicated-mostly\/","title":{"rendered":"New life for Harmon Strip; Wynn Resorts vindicated, mostly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could the Harmon Strip<\/strong>, mooted since the late Nineties, actually come to pass? The area has been a graveyard for resort projects, leaving the Hard \"\"Rock Hotel<\/strong> standing in splendid isolation. However … one Jeffrey Williams<\/strong> is\u00a0applying for permission<\/a> to build on the vast track of land at Koval Lane<\/strong> and Harmon Avenue<\/strong>. This is where the W Hotel<\/strong> and Las Ramblas<\/strong> (pictured<\/em>) 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.<\/p>\n

The new plan<\/a> 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)\u00a0want to increase the permitted tower height from 100 to 480 feet, which would encroach in McCarran International Airport<\/strong> space and might be a sticking point. The project\u00a0would cover 37 acres with both surface and underground parking. Landscaping would include “strawberry trees, Chilean Mesquite, Evergreen Elm and California Fan Palms.” Clark County<\/strong> has a long to-do list for the mitigation of traffic buildup, including the provision of bus turnouts. The Department of Aviation<\/strong> will have to sign off on the plans as well. According to a site map<\/a>, defunct Ice<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

* As reported earlier, Suffolk Downs<\/strong>‘ scummy racketeering lawsuit against Wynn Resorts<\/strong> has been shot down<\/a> in court. Among the racetrack owners’ base allegations was that Everett<\/strong> Mayor Carlo DeMaria<\/strong> held a concealed \"\"ownership in Encore Boston Harbor<\/strong>, a charge so sleazy it wasn’t even included in the court filing. The suit did help chase Stephen Crosby<\/strong> out of the chairmanship of the Missouri Gaming Commissio<\/strong>n by dint of highlighting his friendship with Paul Lohnes<\/strong>, one of the landowners who sold to Wynn. (Crosby has moved on to the National Council on Problem Gambling<\/strong>.) 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.<\/p>\n

The judge who kicked Suffolk Sterling<\/strong> 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\u00a0Anthony Gattineri<\/strong>, who said former Encore prexy Robert DeSalvio<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

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

* On this date in 1877, Thomas Edison<\/strong> invented the phonograph. We have been in his debt ever since.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0applying for permission to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[135,148,66,152,149,140,241,189,112,159,69,95,33,25,127,252,233],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25430"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25430"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28455,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25430\/revisions\/28455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}