The Drew Las Vegas Casino Resort Opening Postponed to 2022

For over a decade, the Drew (formerly known as Fontainebleau) remained empty and deserted on the Las Vegas Strip. Fortunately, the property was eventually purchased by Steven Witkoff, a real estate mogul who had some very exciting plans for the venue. These plans began taking effect with the ongoing completion of the venue’s construction with a grand opening of the facility scheduled for the second half of next year (2020). This is, however, no longer the case since the real estate developer has recently announced that the highly-anticipated grand opening of the $3.1 billion casino resort has been pushed back by over a year with new opening date set for any period within the second quarter of 2022.

The 62-year-old Witkoff along with Miami’s New Valley Investment LLC purchased the unfinished Fontainebleau resort from billionaire investor Carl Icahn for $600 million in August 2017. Carl Icahn, who is widely known as an activist invest, had previously acquired the casino resort out of bankruptcy for a $150 million back in 2010.

Bringing More Life to the Strip

The initial construction of the Fontainebleau project kicked off way back in 2007 but this was short-lived as the process was impeded by a recession of rather dramatic proportions in 2008 leaving the developers with no option but to abandon the rather ambitious $2.9 billion scheme. When he purchased it, Carl Icahn had an equally ambitious plan to turn the abandoned project into a flagship property – this will be great for the area, which is the least developed portion of the Strip.

“We believe Drew Las Vegas is set to usher in the next generation of Las Vegas resorts. It will be unlike anything on the Strip today – a truly integrated resort that brings together a unique take on Las Vegas and curated set of experiences from around the world,” Witkoff said in a statement.

The Drew Las Vegas is set to offer 3,780 hotel rooms, a number of retail and nightlife attractions as well as over 550,000 square feet of convention and meeting space. It is expected to bring major changes to the Las Vegas gaming landscape where robust demand drivers continue to create an imbalance of hotel inventory supply and demand. The casino will capitalize on this balance and offer visitors a whole new experience defined by “a new marquee luxury resort with a distinctive, compelling concept. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our team and our partners.”