Retooled Lady Luck project under way

Redevelopment of the Lady Luck hotel-casino and neighboring properties on Third Street and Stewart Avenue was declared officially under way Wednesday, although actual full-scale construction isn't expected on the site until the second quarter of next year.

Resort Gaming Group, which is managing the project for the majority owners, CIM Group, submitted construction plans and permit applications Tuesday for the $100 million-plus undertaking on the north end of downtown Las Vegas.

The Lady Luck closed in 2006 for renovations. Then the recession got in the way, said Andrew Donner, CEO of the Resort Gaming Group, and the plan it had at the time had to be "retooled."

First on the list is the Celebrity Theater on the corner of Third Street and Ogden Avenue, which is to be converted into The Book, a restaurant/bar and sports book.

The goal is to open by summer, in time for the football season.

Sidebar, next to the theater, will be enlarged slightly and converted into a wine bar and might change its name, while the Triple George restaurant will undergo only "minor modifications, Donner said.

There's nothing minor about plans for the Lady Luck itself, which include:

■ Adding meeting space and a rooftop pool on the existing casino building that fronts on Ogden Avenue.

■ Replacing 50 hotel rooms with a spa, fitness room and public spaces.

■ Renovating the other 634 rooms, as well as the casino.

■ Stripping down the pedestrian bridge that connects the east and west hotel towers so that it's as see-through as possible, making the Mob Museum easier to see from the Fremont Street Experience.

Donner also said an "international hotelier," as yet unnamed, had signed a letter of intent to operate the tower on the west side of Third Street. Retail and office development also is planned for the property surrounding the Mob Museum.

Donner said construction has "commenced" with the filing of plans and permits, and that the Lady Luck should open in 2012.

"Everyone quantifies progress by seeing workers out with hammers and trucks moving and dirt moving, and the reality is, in order to get a project of this magnitude to commence, there is a lot of work that needs to be done," such as planning and design, he said.

"I believe that we will look back (in) 36 to 48 months, and we will have made a pretty significant contribution to the redevelopment of downtown."

By that time, other plans are expected to have come to fruition.

The Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, or Mob Museum, has a December 2011 opening planned.

Also, the online retailer Zappos recently announced its intention to move 1,000 jobs from Henderson to the Las Vegas City Hall building in 2012, which is when the city moves to a new city hall.

Donner acknowledged that the project carries risk even with the positive announcements about downtown.

"It's hard to predict the future," he said. "We see some things starting to percolate. Certainly the debt markets have started to thaw a little bit. There's a lot of cash on the sidelines, and that cash needs to be deployed into some projects.

"We're fortunate that we have no debt on the project. We've got plenty of debt options available to us ... (and) we have a partner who's got the ability to take no debt, to write the check in full. We believe it makes the most sense to put a small amount of leverage on the facility, and it will be a very small amount."

Mayor Oscar Goodman spoke briefly at the Lady Luck announcement.

"This is not my party today. But it is a party for the city," he said. "This is the real deal. This is a very, very important moment in the history of Las Vegas."

Resort Gaming Group bought the Lady Luck property in 2005 and sold a majority stake to CIM Group in 2007. Donner said his company plans to operate the casino when it opens.

The company also is involved in the Zappos deal. Resort Gaming has agreed to purchase the City Hall building, renovate it and lease it to Zappos.

CIM Group is Los Angeles-based developer whose projects include the Santa Monica Third Street Promenade and the Gas Lamp Quarter in San Diego.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.