Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2004 | 11:01 a.m.
The 3,000-room resort to be built on the Las Vegas Strip between The Venetian hotel-casino and Wynn Las Vegas by Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Inc., could be on line by the end of 2006, a company executive said Tuesday.
Responding to a question during a financial presentation at the American Gaming Summit, William Weidner, president of Las Vegas Sands Inc., said efforts are under way to prepare the property for construction, which would include a major excavation project for an underground parking garage.
The company would finance the project with the sale of The Venetian's Grand Canal Shops mall -- a complicated transaction, since the company is considering an expansion to the shopping center that would connect to the as-yet-unnamed new resort. Weidner said financial adviser Goldman Sachs has identified five potential buyers for the mall and eventually would conduct an auction.
Weidner said the company's Macau hotel-casino property -- the first of two -- is expected to open in mid-April.
Weidner also said the company will introduce the Paiza Club, a high-end brand targeting Chinese customers, in Macau and Las Vegas. He said the company hopes to build familiarity for Chinese customers in Macau and they will seek the brand at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
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