Newest casino opens in northwest Las Vegas

Lisa Snedeker

Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2000 | 9:12 a.m.

The opening of the Suncoast resort in the city's northwest could mean trouble for its struggling next-door neighbor the Las Vegas Regent, gambling industry experts say.

The $200 million Suncoast hotel-casino opened Tuesday night with what has become a Las Vegas tradition - a $75,000 fireworks display followed by hordes of gamblers rushing through the doors to be the first to try their luck on the new machines and tables.

An estimated 5,000 people turned out for the second and last hotel-casino opening in Las Vegas this year. The Aladdin megaresort opened on the Strip in August.

While not as luxurious as the Aladdin or the Regent, the Mediterranean-themed Suncoast is upscale compared to Michael Gaughan's other Coast Resorts. It sports soft neutral colors, hand-painted murals and mosaic and tile accents throughout the property.

"Michael Gaughan has outdone himself," said southwest Las Vegas resident Gregg Williams.

But it wasn't the decor the first-time visitors were interested in. A half an hour after the doors opened there wasn't an empty seat to be found at the more than 2,100 machines or the 48 table games.

The resort also features a showroom, a 600-seat bingo hall, a 64-lane bowling alley, four restaurants and a buffet. The average rate for the 200-room hotel is $65.

A 16-theater movie complex will open to the public Friday, said Tom Mikovits, company spokesman.

While the resort was originally shooting for a Sept. 1 opening date, company officials said they wanted to give themselves plenty of time to complete safety testing and better train their staff.

"We always said a fall opening, and fall doesn't begin until Sept. 22, so we are actually ahead of schedule," said Celia Thompson, company spokeswoman.

Both the Aladdin and The Venetian resorts experienced opening delays when construction wasn't completed early enough to allow fire safety testing.

Like the company's other properties, the Suncoast will target local residents rather than tourists.

Gaughan is chief executive officer and chairman of Coast Resorts, which owns two other off-Strip properties - the Orleans and the Gold Coast - and the Barbary Coast on the Strip.

David Ross, vice president and general manager of the Suncoast, told state gambling commissioners last month that he hopes to draw 85 percent to 90 percent of resort's business from the 300,000 residents living within a five-mile radius of the resort.

Regent Las Vegas officials say they welcome their new neighbor.

"We're happy to see the Suncoast come to the neighborhood," said Regent spokeswoman Nora Cooper. "We believe in the cluster effect. We don't think they will hurt us because we're different."

But industry experts say they believe the Regent, formerly the Resort at Summerlin, won't be able to compete with the Suncoast for locals' business. The Regent has struggled to capture the market share of nearby residents since it opened in July 1999.

"Gaughan is going to play the locals game all the way and he's going to clobber the Regent," said Bill Thompson, a gambling industry expert and professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

But the Regent wants to attract the wealthy traveler and serve as an alternative to Strip resorts, Cooper said.

"We are the prominent luxury resort in Las Vegas and our market is the high-end leisure travel market," she said.

Thompson said the Regent has been struggling because it doesn't know its market. "It's going to be a struggle until it does."

Gambling analysts predict the Suncoast will be a success because the company knows the Las Vegas locals market. The Regent, on the other hand, doesn't target local patrons, said Eric Matejevich, gambling analyst with Merrill Lynch.

Anne Flynn, who lives near the resorts, agreed.

"I know we have the Regent, but I like Coast casinos," the six-year Las Vegas resident said after the Suncoast opening. "They treat the locals well."