New resort set for South Strip

David Strow

Thursday, April 13, 2000 | 11:04 a.m.

A Las Vegas real estate developer paid $8.24 million for a South Strip land parcel Wednesday, saying his plans for the property include the development of a new resort casino at the site within the next two years.

Ron Tiberti, partner in Tiberti-Blood Inc., was the successful bidder for the 18-acre land parcel at Las Vegas Boulevard and Interstate 215, located about 2 miles south of Mandalay Bay. The property was auctioned to pay the debts of Sunrise Suites Inc., which declared bankruptcy more than a year ago.

As for the type of resort Tiberti plans, he said he's still exploring his options.

"We thought that a Strip property at $12 a (square) foot is a very, very reasonable purchase," Tiberti said. "We have some interest in the hotel-casino business, and have associates who are operating those types of businesses now. Certainly we're going to analyze it from that perspective.

"We used to think Flamingo (Road) was the end of the line (for the Strip). Now it's out to Russell. Believe me, (development) will make that leap."

The land purchase included plans for "McCarran Plaza Suites," a 344-room all-suite hotel planned by Sunrise Suites owner Michael Mona Jr. at the site. Though these plans do not indicate if a casino was planned for the property, the site is zoned for gaming use.

Tiberti is the son of J.A. Tiberti and brother of Tito Tiberti, both well-known Las Vegas real estate developers. The Tiberti family owns land parcels now occupied by the Orleans hotel-casino, Coast Resorts' property on West Tropicana Road. The Tibertis also lease the Wild Wild West hotel-casino to Station Casinos Inc.

However, Tiberti said the Strip venture would be separate from the family business.

"There's no relationship between me and that," Tiberti said. "I do my own thing."

Tiberti said his first goal would be to lease the parcel to an experienced casino company for development, much as his family did with the Orleans. Barring that, Tiberti plans to attempt to arrange financing for the construction of a hotel-casino resort. Tiberti already holds a Nevada gaming license due to his ownership in several convenience stores and bars with gaming.

One way the property could draw consistent business, Tiberti believes, is by catering to delayed airline passengers and airline crews - though the resort would still attempt to draw business from locals through its location next to the Beltway. Tiberti said he's already held "couple of discussions with financial institutions" about financing such a deal.

"There is a desperate need by the airlines to have control of a certain block of rooms every night for late-arriving planes, where hotel rooms (on the Strip) might have already been given away," Tiberti said. "On top of the airport and the Beltway, a prime usage would be for airline crews and airline-related stays. The airlines could pre-lease the rooms, so they know they have availability.

"That's another use we're very interested in filling."

Whatever move he decides on, Tiberti said he plans to move quickly. "This is a lot of capital focused on one location," he said. "Our feeling is that we'll try to do something within the next 12 to 15 months. That's too much money to have on one spot."

The parcel was to be home of the second property to be developed by Mona in Las Vegas. But those plans went awry in December 1998 when the Nevada Gaming Control Board questioned Mona's gaming license application for Sunrise Suites, citing concerns over Mona's relationship with a group of telemarketers that ran afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1993. The board also challenged Mona's accounting practices.

Mona denied wrongdoing, but requested that the application be referred back to staff, rather than risk outright denial by the board. Mona declared bankruptcy three months later, and his assets were placed up for auction to cover $68 million in claimed liabilities.

The Sunrise Suites was the first Mona asset to be sold in January, when financier Carl Icahn purchased the Boulder Strip property for $43.3 million. Icahn has renamed the property "Arizona Charlie's East," and plans to open the casino for the first time this summer.