SEARCH NEWS:

 

Coast Plans High-End Casino

LAS VEGAS -- Coast Casinos Chairman Michael Gaughan is planning to build the city's most expensive locals casino at the southern end of the Strip, a company executive said Wednesday.

Plans for the $325 million South Coast are still being designed, but the project is slated to include 750 hotel rooms and an equestrian events arena, according to a conference presentation made by Coast Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Gage Parrish.

Gaughan announced plans to build the resort in April, but cited competitive reasons for not discussing South Coast's price or amenities. He did say he expected the property to be open by the spring or summer of 2005.

"I will say that I want to go after the younger market, and that's one thing we'll try and do at the (South Coast)," he said at the time.

Parrish's presentation made clear that Coast is going all out with its South Coast project, with plans calling for a 100,000-square-foot casino, bowling, movie theaters, bingo and about 200,000 square feet of convention and meeting space.

Coast Casinos owns the 60-acre South Coast site, at the southwest corner of the intersection of Silverado Ranch Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, property Parrish estimated to be worth $30 million.

The valley's second-biggest locals casino operator behind Station Casinos, Coast operates Barbary Coast, Gold Coast and Suncoast in addition to The Orleans.

South Coast's planned casino would be bigger than all of Coast's properties except The Orleans, which recently completed a major expansion and remodeling. The Orleans has 135,000 square feet of gaming space and 1,425 hotel rooms.

The property's price would top the $300 million spent to build Green Valley Ranch and $268 million cost of the Palms, and far outpaces the $200 million Gaughan spent to open the Suncoast in 2000.

Parrish's presentation also included preliminary, unaudited financial results for Coast's first six months of the year.

The Orleans' revenues were up about 17 percent, with a cash-flow jump of about 45 percent. The property opened 586 new hotel rooms in its new tower last August, but still reported a $1 increase in its average daily room rate, to $64.

Occupancy dipped to 87 percent from 91 percent, but total room nights jumped by 61 percent.

Suncoast expansion plans are still on hold, Parrish noted.

Property revenue was flat compared with 2002, but operating cash flow is up by about 8 percent.

Gold Coast revenues were up 1 percent, contributing to a 9 percent cash flow jump.

In the first two quarters of the year, companywide revenue jumped to $297 million from $278.3 million. Expenses increased to $213.6 million from $208.6 million.

Cash flow increased to $80.6 million from $66.5 million, and net income jumped to $24.6 million from $22.5 million.

Parrish projected the company would generate revenue of about $600 million this year, up almost 10 percent, while cash flow would jump from less than $122 million to about $157 million.

< Gaming News