Developers of the under-construction Resorts World Las Vegas and Wynn Resorts Ltd. ended two months of legal maneuverings Monday surrounding the design of the $4 billion Las Vegas Strip project, ending a dispute involving trade dress and copyright infringement claims.
In a joint statement released by Wynn Resorts, a spokesman for Resorts World said the company “directed our design team to make several changes that will clearly differentiate the two properties.”
In December, Wynn Resorts sued Resorts World, which located across the Strip from Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, claiming the building is similar to the company’s two Las Vegas hotel-casinos and violated its “architectural trade dress.”
According to the lawsuit, Wynn Resorts believes the under-construction Resorts World is “misleading the public into falsely believing that it is affiliated with, sponsored by or associated with (the company), when it is not.”
The two sides were scheduled to go to federal court Tuesday on a temporary restraining order to halt Resort World’s construction.
Michael Levoff, senior vice president of public affairs and development for Resorts World developer Genting, said changes in the design were being made after discussions with the Wynn team.
“This mutually beneficial settlement will allow Genting to continue to develop Resorts World Las Vegas with minimal impact to cost and the overall project timeline,” Levoff said in a statement.
Resorts World currently has 1,500 construction workers employed at the location. The 3,000-room hotel-casino is expected to open in late 2020 on the 87-acre site which once housed the Rat Pack-era Stardust.
Wynn Resorts Chief Communications Officer Michael Weaver said Resorts World Las Vegas’ initial design had elements which had similarity to the company’s resorts in Las Vegas, Macau and Boston.
“The new design changes offered by Genting will resolve the concerns we expressed about the similarity of the design,” Weaver said. “We welcome and look forward to Resorts World Las Vegas’ opening. Their future success will benefit all of Las Vegas.”
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
