Local casino eyes soft opening

Monday, May 24, 1999 | 11:50 a.m.

One of two luxury hotels at the Resort at Summerlin, a $276 million development featuring two Regent International Hotels and a European-style casino, remains on schedule to open June 29.

But the second hotel is likely to open in late July due to construction delays caused by a dispute over $1.4 million of cost overruns, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing.

Originally, resort developer Swiss Casinos America (SCA) had hoped to open the upscale golf-and-gaming destination at Summerlin Parkway and Rampart Boulevard in mid-April.

That date was first pushed back last December, when SCA and the construction manager -- J.A. Jones Construction -- agreed to a revised schedule and added $23 million to the original $133 million guaranteed maximum price for building the project, excluding land acquisition and other costs.

More recently, the SEC filing disclosed, the contractor presented another $6.8 million of change orders. The Resort at Summerlin agreed to $5.2 million of the changes, rejected $1.4 million and is reviewing the other $200,000.

The filing also said that as of March 31, the resort had spent $235 million of the estimated $276 million total cost of the project. The filing also said the resort partners had $62 million cash and $44 million of lease credit facilities available as of that date, and could borrow $20 million more if needed, without amending debt covenants.

The resort operators expect to have $37.1 million of cash available when the project opens, including $2.4 million of advance guest deposits, the filing disclosed.

SCA is 83 percent owned by Swiss Casino Holdings, which operates gaming facilities in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Great Britain and the United States. SCA owns 75.6 percent of the Resort at Summerlin. Swiss Casino Holdings 16.7 percent and unaffiliated partners the rest.

The Resort at Summerlin will include 540 rooms and suites split between two hotels -- the 253-room Regent Grand Palms and the 287-room Regent Grand Spa.

The 54-acre site in Summerlin also has a $13.5 million complex of pools and gardens and will control 50 percent of the tee times at the TPC at the Canyons golf course for the use of its guests.

The hotels will carry the Regent International brand, marking their affiliation with the Carlson Companies Inc. unit that boasts some of the world's most famous luxury hotels. The Regent Hong Kong, for example, is consistently ranked among the top five hotels in the world by Conde Naste and other travel authorities.

A family owned, $20 billion travel and hospitality conglomerate, Carlson has more than 5,300 travel agency locations in 140 countries, as well as 1,000 hotel, resort, restaurant and cruise ship operations.

An SCA subsidiary called Seven Circle Resorts contributed $67.5 million of equity and issued $100 million of first-mortgage notes and $100 million of senior subordinated debt to finance the Resort at Summerlin.