About a two-hour drive north of Los Angeles, a flashy new casino complex has opened.
The Hard Rock Casino Tejon is technically in Mettler, where the I-5 and State Route 99 meet, but with 150K SF of gaming space, it has the square footage of some of the state's — and Las Vegas' — biggest casinos, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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This is just Phase 1. A second wave of construction, at a time to be determined, will include a 400-room hotel and spa and a 2,800-seat Hard Rock Live venue that will host concerts and sporting events.
The casino project is a $600M investment that Hard Rock International and the Tejon Indian Tribe are betting can be a huge draw for the rural area.
As Sin City seeks to diversify its economy, developers are proposing casinos outside of Las Vegas, often finding roadblocks to success.
In New York City, a $5.4B mixed-use project including a 150K SF casino by SL Green and partners Caesars Entertainment and Jay Z’s Roc Nation was declared dead in September, only to see it revived last month.
In Georgia, lobbyists and legislators have tried to clear a path for casinos in the state and fallen flat. Most recently, the owner of Wynn Resorts, Steve Wynn, has expressed interest in setting up shop in the state if it becomes possible.
Casino proponents are hoping a challenging economy will make the prospect of a new state revenue stream more attractive than ever, The Augusta Chronicle reported in September.
Casinos and the cities that host them are hardly recession-proof, but some companies are finding a way to turn a profit as others struggle.
Vici Properties, the REIT that owns Caesars Palace Las Vegas, MGM Grand and The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, logged a solid third quarter, beating analyst estimates, Commercial Observer reported.
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