Resorts World tunnel to Convention Center opening next month

Resorts World Las Vegas hopes to have its Boring Co. tunnel between the Strip property and the Las Vegas Convention Center open next month, the property’s top officer told the Nevada Gaming Commission Thursday.

Scott Sibella, general manager of Resorts World Las Vegas, told commissioners that while the date of the opening hasn’t been confirmed, he’s optimistic the system will be available to attendees of the National Association of Broadcasters convention April 23-27.

Sibella and other Resorts World officers from the Genting Group appeared in a licensing hearing and were unanimously approved. Commissioners waived appearances of Genting Group executives, who participated online from Malaysia.

Sibella described the Boring tunnel project as the first connection between a resort and the Convention Center in what is expected to be a part of a 29-mile, 51-station underground transit system within the resort corridor.

Sibella said he expects eight Tesla vehicles would be dedicated to the Resorts World connection.

This month, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved a Boring connection between the Convention Center and Westgate Las Vegas that would intersect with the end point of the Resorts World tunnel. The station would be near the north end of the West Hall of the Convention Center close to Elvis Presley Boulevard and is expected to be extended south 1,000 feet to intersect with the Convention Center Loop station near the south end of the West Hall.

In other business, the commission delayed action on a request from entertainment mogul Barry Diller to be licensed as a beneficial owner of MGM Resorts International pending an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission of possible insider-trading violations involving share purchases of videogame company Activision Blizzard. Shortly after Diller’s stock purchase, Activision Blizzard was bought out by Microsoft Corp.

Because the SEC investigation of Diller was disclosed after the Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended licensing approval, Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Togliatti said that she believed it would be best for the matter to be referred back to the Control Board before final consideration.

Diller is MGM’s largest shareholder with 14 percent ownership. IAC CEO Joseph Levin, also up for licensing, indicated in his Control Board hearing earlier this month that he first began looking at investing in MGM about a year ago and liked what he saw when researching. He said he and the company have never had any past association with MGM and have never operated in a highly regulated environment.

He said there are no plans for IAC companies to capitalize on the MGM investment.

Levin is expected to be considered for licensing by the commission at its April 21 meeting. It’s unclear how long the Diller investigation will take and when the commission would reconsider its hearing.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.