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'THE
SUNCOAST ON STEROIDS'
As
reported by the Associated Press
Walking
through the under-construction South Coast, Mike Gaughan Jr.
surveyed the massive $600 million facility on the south end
of Las Vegas Boulevard on Monday and reflected on the past 17
months of construction.
The property's
opening is at least four months away and more than 2,000 construction
workers are toiling to meet a deadline.
Southern Nevada's abnormally wet winter set back the construction
timeline a bit, said Gaughan, South Coast's vice president and
general manager.
On the bare
concrete floor that will eventually become the South Coast's
80,000-square-foot casino, spray painted outlines depict the
planned location of the main gaming pit, blackjack tables and
the bulk of an expected 2,400 slot machines. By week's end,
carpet will cover up much of the markings.
Interior
design workers still have months to complete restaurants, gaming
areas, 150,000 square feet of convention space and other amenities.
In the 25-story hotel tower, rooms to the 10th floor have furniture
while interior finishing work, such as wallpapering and painting,
is proceeding upward.
Meanwhile,
the South Coast's signature attraction, a 4,500 equestrian and
event center, won't have its roof until sometime in November.
Still, Gaughan
said the South Coast will be ready to throw out the welcome
mat soon after Jan. 1 to a casino-lacking customer base that
stretches throughout communities on the southern end of the
Las Vegas Valley, including Anthem, Southern Highlands and Silverado
Ranch.
"The
project is pretty much at a point we thought it would be at
this time," said Gaughan during an hour-long media tour
of the South Coast. "What's amazing is that you could be
gone for a day or two, and you notice that much has changed
in a very short time."
He said
customers of other Coast properties, such as the Suncoast,
The
Orleans and Gold
Coast, will find many similarities.
The casino
layout at the South Coast somewhat mirrors the
Suncoast, only the footprint is much larger.
"We're
telling everyone it's like the Suncoast,"
Gaughan said. "But it's the
Suncoast on steroids."
One noticeable
change is the location of the casino's 16-screen movie theater,
which was moved to the second floor of the South Coast, adjacent
to a 64-lane bowling center and a child-care center.
"We
wanted to offer customers a little bit of a safe haven (away
from gaming)," Gaughan said.
Gaughan,
whose father, Jackie Gaughan, founded Coast Casinos, which became
a division of Boyd Gaming Corp. last year, said the company
has learned much about building casino-hotels since first constructing
the Gold Coast on West Flamingo Road in 1986.
The South
Coast will open with 600 rooms. A second 700-room tower, under
construction, is expected to open by May.
A third
tower is also planned, which would give the property in excess
of 2,000 rooms.
The South
Coast site is 60 acres and the property will have 6,000 parking
spaces.
"We
will have a strong draw from the tourist market because of our
location, but we expect to market heavily to the local casino
customer," Gaughan said. "We have a very strong built-in
customer base right around us."
The South
Coast is also expected to draw customers from several nearby
timeshares and nongaming properties.
The biggest
tourist draw will be from the equestrian center, Gaughan said.
The first event is planned in February and 13 equestrian competitions
have been booked.
Tim Lanier,
general manager of the equestrian center, said many of events
have complementing trade shows that will use the South Coast's
meeting space and large followings that will fill the hotel's
guest rooms.
Lanier said
the equestrian center can be used for other sporting events
and large meetings.
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