When you think of the Las Vegas Strip, you generally think of the south Strip, which counts Planet Hollywood, Aria, Mandalay Bay, and Luxor among its many properties as well as the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, or the mid-Strip which contains the Venetian, Mirage, Harrah's Caesars Palace, Pairs, and Bellagio among other properties.
These two sections of the 4.2-mile road contain so many iconic properties, most of them owned by either Caesars Entertainment (CZR) or MGM Resorts International (MGM).
The sheer density of the southern and middle sections of the Las Vegas Strip. which displays an Eiffel Tower, a Statue of Liberty, the volcano at The Mirage (for now), Caesars Palace's fountains, the High Roller Ferris Wheel at the Linq, and countless other attractions, makes it easy to forget that one of the most famous streets in the world actually has a third section.
A bit more barren, the north Strip has the Strat (formerly the Stratosphere) and Circus Circus, a property that has seen better days.
It's an overlooked section of the Las Vegas Strip, or at least it has been. Things appear to be changing on the northern end of Las Vegas Boulevard.
Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet.
Viva Las Vegas (Strip North)
After years of neglect, the north Strip appears to be in the midst of a renaissance. A number of new projects are underway or have been recently completed, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. These include:
- Resorts World Las Vegas: The first fully new casino on the Strip in over a decade, Resorts World cost $4.3 billion, but it managed to open in June despite the pandemic.
- Fontainebleau Las Vegas: A project that has languished since the mid-2000s finally appears on track to open by the end of 2023.
- The Las Vegas Convention Center: The LVCC opened its $1 billion, 1.4 million square foot new hall in June.
- Sahara Las Vegas: This casino has already begun a $150 million renovation "that includes remodeling its 1,100 rooms, a redone pool, and new restaurants," the Review-Journal reported..
- The Strat: This visually striking property has undergone a $110 million remodel of its casino, rooms and restaurants
- Circus Circus: With a new owner in place, this storied, but dated, property has "expanded its Midway arcade and carnival game area, updated its casino floor with more modern slot cabinets and electronic table games, added a new ride at Adventuredome and is continuing with the $9 million renovations of its food court," according to the paper.
While Resorts World and Fontainebleau, along with the new hall at the LVCC are the big-ticket items, it's really the collective whole that has brought a new focus to this often-overlooked area of The Strip.
“I think the pendulum might be starting to shift with the critical mass of projects completed or underway,” UNLV gaming historian David Schwartz told the newspaper.
The North Las Vegas Strip Goes on a Winning Streak
In Las Vegas, as is often the case in any area that depends upon tourists, success leads to more success. With so many casinos and attractions clustered so close to each other, each property can more easily attract guests. If you stay at Caesars Harrah's, for example, it's very easy to walk to an event at Caesar's Palace, or to the many restaurants outside the Linq, or even over to the Venetian, which hosts many events at its Sands Convention and Expo Center.
The same logic applies to the various MGM properties on the south Strip. Stay at Mandalay Bay and you can easily access Luxor, New York New York, MGM Grand, Excalibur, and a variety of other properties.
Now, or at least by the end of 2023 when Fontainebleau opens, the north Strip may have a similar level of appeal.
“There’s a lot going on down here,” Resorts World Las Vegas President and Chief Executive Scott Sibella told the Review-Journal. “In five years, I think this will be the hot side of the Strip and the heart of Las Vegas."
That does not mean the north Strip's revitalization has been completed. Wynn Resorts (WYNN) owns a large site there but has not done anything with it since acquiring it back in 2017. The company hasn't said much about its plans for the site, but not much has changed since Chief Financial Officer Craig Billings commented on the project during its fourth-quarter 2018 earnings call.
"These projects typically take about five years. There's a couple of years of design and development and maybe I should have said something different. It's a couple of years of design. So I think we are a couple of years away from actually being able to answer what that project and budget will look like," he said,
