Economic Woes Cause Las Vegas Casino To Shut Shop

admin, February 19, 2010 12:03 am

US Economic Woes Cause Las Vegas Casino To Shut ShopThe latest Nevada business to fall victim to the global recession is the Casino Montelago at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, which announced it will be closing its doors on March 14th with the loss of 177 members of staff.
The Casino Montelago is located at the upmarket but insolvent Lake Las Vegas resort, which is a 3,600-acre project built in the Vegas suburbs by Transcontinental Corp. The development included a man-made lake, hotels, golf courses, plush houses, shops and the Casino Montelago for locals to visit.
However, the project soon ran into difficulties and Transcontinental subsequently declared bankruptcy owing $728 million in debts. Next to go was the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas, which announced it was closing on the 2nd May with the loss of 340 of its staff.
Now the Casino Montelago, which opened in 2003, is set to follow suit despite trying to refinance itself through this difficult time. Commenting on the situation, John Tipton of Casino MonteLago said “We really didn’t have much choice at this point. When the Ritz-Carlton announced that they will cease doing business, that caused those investors to walk away.”
Las Vegas business has been suffering in recent years, not only from unfavourable market conditions but also from increased competition at home and abroad. Macau has now overtaken Vegas as the top gambling destination in the world, while states such as Pennsylvania and Atlantic City have been consistently eating away at Nevada’s casino profits.
Local property owners at Lake Las Vegas seemed to agree that it was all bad news for residents. Monika Peterson said, “It’s horrible for all of us. I think it would be a horrible thing to lose the casino and all the people around it,” while Matt Walker said, “It takes the developers of these condos and hurts them. It takes the guys who are in these stores and hurts them. It doesn’t do anything but hurt.”
 
On a more positive note, however, despite US money shying away from domestic investment opportunities, international investors such as the Malaysian based Genting Group, have signalled their readiness to invest in casino opportunities in the States.

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