Ruling on land swap for Algiers is postponed

Wednesday, May 8, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

A proposed land swap between the Algiers hotel and Clark County was postponed Tuesday, in part because of a protest lodged by owners of Circus Circus.

For the last six months Algiers owner Larry Kifer has been negotiating a deal in which he would exchange his 3.5 acres for a 2.4-acre county-owned parcel at Harmon Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Kifer, however, contends that for the last decade any planned renovations at the Algiers have been crippled by the county's ongoing plan to realign Riviera Boulevard directly through his property.

Last month Circus Circus representatives publicly protested the realignment, saying it would hinder traffic flow into their parking lot.

"The realignment doesn't do much for transportation for locals and it would have a significant impact on us," said Mike Sloan, general counsel for the Mandalay Bay Group, which owns Circus Circus. "It would deprive us of our historic entrance."

Some county commissioners have said the land swap would be considered only if the realignment project goes through. Public Works Director Marty Manning told the board that the project is not a priority because it would do little to ease traffic.

Sloan said their opposition is only to the realignment and has nothing to do with Kifer's land exchange proposal.