Resorts World Las Vegas has the potential to take luxury on the Strip to a new level, redefine the Vegas experience, and ultimately cater to families like no other property. Those are some of the takeaways from casino consultants who, like the rest of the gaming industry and public, are anxiously awaiting Thursday’s debut of the first resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip since The Cosmopolitan in December 2010.
“What I saw (in photographs) is that it really takes luxury and elegance and fun to a new level for the Las Vegas Strip,” said Josh Swissman, founder of The Strategy Organization. “What that says to me is that Genting is taking this project and the market very seriously and it looks like they are prepared to deliver an experience unlike any other on the Strip to drive visitation from a broad spectrum of visitors, but really catering to the luxury type of tourist and high-end type of gambler.”
Swissman pointed to the facades of restaurants and gaming areas, along with their finishes and fixtures, which come across as “top notch with the luxury traveler in mind.” That also extends to the food itself — for example, a burger and lobster roll concept that’s geared toward upscale diners, at the same time that it’s “a fun and refreshing take on casual dining.”
“From what I’ve seen, the level of creativity when it comes to food and beverage is dialed up a notch compared to other luxury-oriented properties on the Strip,” Swissman said.
The 5,000-seat theater that will host Celine Dion, Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan “is going to be over the top as well,” Swissman said. “No expense was spared. It was built out to be a show stopper.”
Resorts World Las Vegas will have more than 117,000 square feet of gaming space and 3,500 rooms operated by Hilton and its luxury brand Crockfords. The 88-acre site has a 27,000-square-foot spa and 5.5-acre pool complete with seven different water experiences. Combined, there’s 600,000 square feet of food and beverage, nightclubs, day clubs, and boutique retail. More than 100,000 square feet of nightclubs and day clubs will attract a younger demographic, while curated retail collections with globally recognized brands include Judith Leiber and Hervé Léger.
Corey Padveen, a partner with t2 Marketing International, said Las Vegas resorts have been building up amenities over the last two decades so visitors can enjoy a full experience without having to leave the property. Resorts World is the first time such a concept has been built to scale, with three hotels and hundreds of options for what people can do and where they can go, he said.
“It will be interesting to see how Resorts World creates an entirely unique stand-alone ecosystem within the overall Vegas experience,” Padveen said. “You have multiple amenities that extend far beyond just a pool and club. You have so much more space and so much more variety than you see in a lot of other properties. There’s so much being offered that it’s almost as if the casino component is secondary to the actual experience with the shows, the clubs, and three hotels on property. It can feel like a microcosm of Vegas within Vegas and a vacation within a vacation.”
Resorts World President Scott Sibella has predicted the resort will get as much as 73% of its revenue from non-gaming amenities, higher than the Strip average of 65.5% pre-pandemic, but likely to fall when 2020 figures are calculated.
“The way we laid out and programmed the property, the non-gaming revenue areas will play an integral part in our success,” Sibella told the Nevada Gaming Control Board. “Our mobile loyalty program was first designed for non-gaming, then we turned it into gaming. The shift to non-gaming continues and we’re taking advantage of that trend.”
That shift is indicated in Resorts World’s communications about shows and restaurants and its catering to travelers who aren’t necessarily coming for gambling, but for unique experiences, Padveen said. “I think it will be interesting to see the demographics of visitors to Resorts World compared to other resorts. Can they bring a new clientele that wouldn’t have otherwise come because the perception of Las Vegas was so much more around gambling?”
That includes families, Padveen said. Based on what Genting has done in Asia, family and outdoor entertainment is a big component of the company’s properties.
“Resorts World does have the potential to be a driver of family vacations, even international families, whereas so much of the effort that has gone in over the years hasn’t necessarily resulted in the huge spike of family trips the market was hoping for,” Padveen said. “There’s a lot of focus on amenities that aren’t necessarily party or adult concepts. The pools don’t double as clubs and there’s outdoor activity space that isn’t just for adults.”
