First Look at Some New Las Vegas Resorts • This Week in Gambling

Sin City is always changing! New Las Vegas resorts being built while others are renovated and rebranded… one right in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip! So that’s where we start this week, as we say goodbye to the Cromwell. The hotel is being transformed into a first of its kind destination: The Vanderpump! Renovations will upgrade 188 guest rooms and suites, plus makeover the casino floor. Actress turned restaurant owner Lisa Vanderpump has partnered with Caesar’s on this project after working with them to open a restaurant at the Paris. A cocktail lounge at Caesar’s Palace and Pinkies by Vanderpump at Flamingo. No word just yet on how these changes will impact the popular Interlude Lounge or Dre’s nightclub at Cromwell. But we do know the property will remain open during the transformation, which should be completed in early 2026.

Meanwhile, another of the new Las Vegas resorts and casino is under construction out in Henderson as Boyd Gaming plans to bring Cadence Crossing to the desert. Groundbreaking for this $100 million. Project took place April 3rd, and construction is well underway. Plans for the property include a 10,000 square foot casino with 450 slot machines and various food and drink outlets. Future upgrades will include the construction of a hotel tower and expanded gaming. This property will replace their jokers wild casino, which will be torn down to make room for additional parking. This is Boyd’s first new casino since the East Side Cannery and the Aliante opened in 2008 and Cadence Crossing should be welcoming guests by the middle of next year.

Now we head downtown where the owners of Rolling Stone Magazine want a resort they can call their very own. And to that end, they’re looking to buy the downtown grand. Penske Media wants to open a Rolling Stone branded hotel and casino, and this seems like the place to do it. The company purchased the Life is Beautiful Music and Art Festival a few years ago, which takes place in downtown Vegas. Penske has also worked with Area 15 on the amplified immersive rock experience, and if Downtown Grand does become the Rolling Stone, it would also become the new home for the Life is Beautiful festival.  Penske has been looking to expand the Rolling Stone brand, perhaps following the example set by the Hard Rock model of success.

And speaking of the Hard Rock and Las Vegas, there’s been some major progress transitioning that property from Mirage into the Hard Rock. The Volcano is a distant memory and the new guitar shaped hotel is on the rise. After clearing away the landscaping and removing the atrium and entrance, the main pillars for the hotel tower are now going up. The new Hard Rock Casino will have over 170,000 square feet of floor space with 2000 slot machines and over 200 table games. The Hard Rock Hotel will have over 3000 rooms in the old Mirage Tower, plus another 600 premier rooms in the guitar tower. The property is still on schedule for an opening in early 2027.

Finally this week a quick update on another of the new Las Vegas resorts: The Dream Hotel project located at the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard, which has been under construction since 2021. And now the owners have asked for a two year extension on building permits while they try to get their shit together. Some believe that this resort is already a failure, like the proposed Atari and Majestic hotels. Others believe that eventually, eventually it will be completed, much like the font on blue.

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