Station Casinos to Top Off Durango Resort, Company Bullish on Southern Nevada

Posted on: October 4, 2022, 10:38h. 

Last updated on: October 5, 2022, 06:19h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Station Casinos expects to top off its 15-story Durango Casino & Resort in Las Vegas later this week.

Station Casinos Durango Casino Las Vegas Red Rock
Station Casinos will soon top off construction of its $750 million Durango Casino & Resort in Southern Nevada. The Las Vegas casino will be tailored toward locals and residents in the Durango community. (Image: FOX5)

Station Casinos is a locals-focused casino operator in Southern Nevada. Along with its publicly traded sister company, Red Rock Resorts, the firm is considered the largest local gaming operator in the state.

Seeing a need for gaming in the Durango neighborhood, Station Casinos announced in July 2021 that it would invest $750 million to build a new resort on the west side of Durango Drive, just south of the 215 Beltway near IKEA.

Station execs justified the development by citing the fact that the closest non-restricted gaming venue — aka major casino — is more than five miles away. Construction began early this year, and the resort is expected to be ready for guests in late 2023.

Durango Details

Durango Casino & Resort plans to place the final beam on the top of its 318-foot-high hotel tower this Friday, Oct. 7. The 15-story hotel will have 200 guestrooms and 20,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.

Durango’s amenities will include four signature restaurants, a food hall with an array of fast-casual options, an event lawn, a resort pool with private cabanas and food and beverage service, and a casino floor measuring 73,000 square feet. The casino will offer around 2,000 slot machines, 40 table games, and a sportsbook.

The project is located within the fastest-growing area of the Las Vegas Valley with a very favorable demographic profile and no unrestricted gaming competitors within the five-mile radius of the project site,” said Stephen Cootey, executive vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer of Red Rock Resorts (RRR). “The project is progressing nicely. The project continues to remain on schedule with an anticipated opening in the fall of 2023.”

The 71-acre property will feature plenty of parking. A model of Durango unveiled in August caused some criticism for its seemingly vast parking lots and the long walks that might be required at times to enter the resort.

Southern Nevada Bulls

Station Casinos/Red Rock Resorts officials say no gaming company is more optimistic about the future of Southern Nevada. In an interview last week with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Cootey stated that Station/RRR has six development projects in the pipeline.

“There’s no one more bullish on Las Vegas than Station Casinos,” Cootey declared. “It’s the core of our business model, and the growth over the last few years has been tremendous.”

Southern Nevada continues to grow in terms of population as it welcomes a steady stream of migrants relocating to the Silver State from neighboring California. According to the US Census Bureau, Las Vegas’ population grew from 584,413 residents in 2011 to 644,594 in 2020 — a 10% increase.

The median price for a single-family home in Las Vegas, according to the Multiple Listing Service, is currently $495K. That’s down from $525K reported in May 2022 as higher interest rates have cooled the hot real estate market. The median price of nearly half a million dollars is still 11% higher than in September 2021.