Licensing recommended for Resort at Summerlin project

Friday, April 30, 1999 | 9:16 a.m.

The Resort at Summerlin, approved Thursday, had been recommended earlier by the state Gaming Control Board, the commission's investigative arm. The property will open in late June.

Swiss Casinos of America Inc. already had prequalified by getting a slot distributor's license. That condition stemmed from an agreement with the Howard Hughes Corporation, developer of the booming Summerlin community on the northwest side of Las Vegas.

The club, which will target golfers who like to gamble, includes a casino with 1,270 slots and 40 table games, including seven high-stakes baccarat games.

The resort includes two hotels, the 255-room Regent Grand Palms and the 286-room Regent Grand Spa. It's surrounded by five golf courses and within 15 minutes of several more.

The Grand Spa features a 40,000-square-foot spa while the Grand Palms is in a setting featuring some 1,000 palm trees, lush gardens and pools.

The resort is situated on a 54-acre site near the scenic Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and will offer a panoramic view of the Strip, 11 miles away.

In other action, the commission authorized a deregistration of Ladbroke Group PLC, a multi-billion-dollar British company allied with Hilton Hotels Corp.

Earlier, regulators had been there's no immediate plans for a Nevada resort venture involving Ladbroke, which runs betting parlors, race tracks and hotels.

Two years ago, Ladbroke got a routine Nevada endorsement for a future, unspecified public offering. That was seen as the first step needed for a possible Las Vegas resort project.

But Dennis Gallagher, representing Ladbroke, has said there's nothing in the immediate future - although Ladbroke is keeping its options open.