Red Rock Resort’s first new Las Vegas hotel-casino in more than 15 years got a little more expensive.
Company officials said last week the budget for the under-construction Durango Station has grown by $30 million, raising the price tag to $780 million for the project in southwestern Las Vegas.
On the company’s first-quarter earnings conference call last week, Red Rock CFO Stephen Cootey said a decision to expand the size of the 83,000-square-foot casino floor for “an additional 360 gaming positions” was the primary reason for the budget increase. The expansion would contain a mix of slot machines and table games.
“We believe that a larger casino footprint will better align the product offering with the anticipated growth and favorable demographics in the area surrounding Durango,” Cootey said in his prepared remarks.
He added that costs were also rising for construction, labor and securing building materials.
Durango is expected to open later this year on a 50-acre site near Durango Road and the 215 Beltway. Red Rock has said previously the casino is in an underserved area of Las Vegas and roughly 5 miles from the nearest competition.
Gaming analysts remarked following the conference call that the number of local-focused casinos shrunk following the 78-day statewide gaming shutdown in 2020 amid the COVID pandemic. Red Rock never reopened Texas Station in North Las Vegas and its two Fiesta properties in North Las Vegas and in Henderson. The company has since demolished the buildings and is selling the land for nongaming use. Boyd Gaming also never reopened the Eastside Cannery on Boulder Highway.
“We think the Las Vegas Locals market is special and unique within gaming,” J.P. Morgan gaming analyst Joe Greff told investors in a research note following Red Rock’s conference call. “The supply picture is bright and demand continues to be boosted by a population influx from high tax states like California, which is generating more jobs locally and increasing the local mix towards a higher annual income.”
