New LV hotel-casino named in honor of Bugsy Siegel

John Wilen

Friday, June 26, 1998 | 3:56 a.m.

In a town dominated by the brand new, one group of investors is thinking old.

BICT Enterprises Inc., an investment group headed by Solomon Shlomy Weingarten, is planning a $130 million, 320-suite luxury casino with a 1940s Las Vegas theme on Tropicana Ave. just off the Strip.

Bugsy's Resort and Casino, named after Bugsy Siegel -- founder of the Flamingo and, many believe, Las Vegas -- will be on 4.6 acres fronting both Tropicana and Reno Avenues, about a block east of the Strip. The site once housed the Granada Casino and Hotel and is currently occupied by a Motel 6.

BICT bought the site at auction June 10 for $8.8 million.

The investors plan to demolish the existing 301-room hotel and build a 21-story, 1 million-square-foot building whose most distinctive feature will be a massive sign containing a restaurant and bar.

"The theme's going to be Vegas 50 years ago," Weingarten said.

Fixtures and amenities will recall Las Vegas' early days, including "signs, pictures, casino chips, things of that nature," Weingarten said.

Bugsy's will cater to "people looking for the old Las Vegas, for the personal touch, the personal service, the rich decor, which is not commercialized," Weingarten said.

BICT came up with the Bugsy's theme after watching mega-resort after mega- resort open, all catering to families, Weingarten said.

"One has a volcano, one has a pirate show," he said. "When you go inside of them, they all look the same. ... They are too commercialized."

BICT has trademarked the Bugsy's name, Weingarten said.

Bugsy's will include 320 suites, 10 restaurants, a 30,000-square-foot casino, 60,000 square feet of convention space, a 15,000-square-foot spa and a 1,300-space parking garage. The restaurant/bar in the sign will front on Tropicana and offer a 250-degree view east, north and west, Weingarten said.

The suites will be very large, and will be sold to corporations under time-share arrangements, Weingarten said.

"We already have reservations in place," he said. "Basically, this building is going to be like a showcase for some corporations."

BICT plans to begin construction towards the end of the year, and will open in early 2000, Weingarten said. BICT is looking for a major casino operator to run Bugsy's, he said.

"There are some major gaming companies inquiring about operating this facility," Weingarten said. "We are not going to operate it."

But some of the project's investors, who include prominent Hollywood actors, will be very involved in marketing it, Weingarten said.

Weingarten declined to name the gaming companies interested in operating Bugsy's, or the actors who have invested in the project.

The project will be financed through conventional channels, Weingarten said, though he declined to specify sources.