The former Clarion Hotel and Casino, which has changed its name many times in the past, is to become Majestic Las Vegas. The project is set to be finished in 2024.
Majestic Las Vegas Is Primarily Intended for Business Travelers
Lorenzo Doumani is the developer behind this project which will cost $850M. The site belonged to the former Clarion Hotel and Casino. The place has changed its name many times over the past 50 years. Doumani’s project is set to begin this fall and to be finished in 2024.
The future hotel includes 35 corporate suites but no casino. Its main target will be business clients. And there will be suites for sale from $10 million to $100 million on the top 10 floors. Majestic will be right across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Hopefully, by the time Majestic opens, the world will be back to its normal rhythm. In his statement on Wednesday, Doumani said that by 2024 things should be back to normal, and if they are not the world will have a huge problem. He also said that he obtained his approval for the hotel plans in 2019 and wanted to start developments last year but the pandemic prevented him from doing so and delayed the project by 15 to 18 months.
The Las Vegas tourism industry has seen better days, to say the least. The pandemic had serious impact on Las Vegas. There is no accurate prediction on when the tourism industry will be back to normal and people would be able to travel for business or leisure with fewer restrictions. Doumani is a realist and doesn’t expect people to rush back and travel like before right away. He said: “I hope I’m wrong, and I wish I could be a little more optimistic.”
Majestic Las Vegas Will Be Built on a Site with Long, Interesting History
The first hotel built on the site was the Royal Inn in 1970 with 200 rooms for the cost of $3 million. It was bought in 1980 and transformed into New York Theme hotel with additional 100 rooms and re-branded as the Royal Americana Hotel. In 1982, due to financial losses, it was sold to an investment group for $15.4 million. It opened again as Paddlewheel Hotel and Casino in 1983 and made changes to shift its clientele a few times for the next decade until it was up for sale again in 1990.
Interestingly enough in 1992, it was bought by Debbie Reynolds and her husband Richard Hamlett at an auction for $2.2 million in 2000. However, due to financial difficulty, the family had to sell the property to the highest bidder which happened to be the World Wrestling Federation who planned on building a hotel and casino with a wrestling theme. The hotel opened for a short period of time but the owners didn’t think it is big enough and in 2001 it was sold to become the Greek Isles Hotel and Casino, which had a Greek theme interior and became a home for the Delta Air Lines crew during their layovers.
In 2007 it was bought for a project by a real-estate group who wanted to build a hotel with 780 rooms but the project went bankrupt and in 2009 it became the property of Canpartners Reality who rebuilt it as Clarion Hotel and Casino which in 2014 was bought by Lorenzo Doumani. In 2024 it is to become Majestic Las Vegas.