M Resort banking on reasonable prices in tough economy

By Jeff Pope

Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009 | 2 a.m.

As of Sunday, residents will have a new place to eat, rest and play south of the Strip.

M Resort opens its doors with all nine of the property-owned restaurants and five bars serving guests, a full-service spa and 92,000 square feet of indoor and poolside gaming.

Opening night festivities include a poolside musical show with fireworks beginning at 9:50 p.m.

Designed with an Italian theme and natural materials, the resort’s wood, stone, warm color palette and abundance of natural light — including skylights in the casino — are intended to create a different environment from a traditional casino, said chairman and Chief Executive Anthony Marnell III.

“It’s very sexy. It’s very relaxing and it’s very open,” he said. “I think that the people are just going to love the architecture and layout of the hotel.”

The first phase of the $1.8 billion project includes 390 rooms, the Villaggio Del Sole pool, convention space, sports book, 1,847 slot and video poker machines, 64 table games, a live action poker room and a high limit salon.

Located in Henderson on the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and St. Rose Parkway, M Resort is eight miles south of Mandalay Bay but sits 400 feet higher than any property on the Strip. Three-quarters of the rooms will provide guests a panoramic vantage of the valley and have ceiling-to-floor windows for the optimal view.

One component that’s on hold is a 1-million-square-foot retail mall. Marnell said he’s still working with industry giant Taubman Centers on breaking ground on the regional shopping center at the resort, possibly in 2011.

“It’ll be a supply-demand issue that will drive it,” he said.

Opening up a resort at a time when many people are spending conservatively is a concern, but food and non-gaming amenities will be priced for an affordable night out, Marnell said. The days of the $200 a plate dinner and $1,000 a night rooms are over, he said.

“I’ve had many people look at the pricing and tell me I’m way too cheap,” he said. “I’m trying to get the doors open and get the momentum in the market and get people here.”

Rooms sell for between $54 for the resort room with a mountain view to $354 for the flat suite. Resort suites with views of the Strip start at $74.

Each restaurant, except for the buffet, has outdoor terraced seating with views of rooftops, mountains and the bright lights.

The terraces also overlook the pool and its amphitheater, which will host headliners starting in April and has space for 5,000 concertgoers.

The Zippers and the LA Allstars will be regular performers at M Resort.

The buffet also features entertainment with a live-action cooking show. The 500-seat Studio B Show Kitchen Buffet allows diners to learn the tips and techniques of preparation and cooking from the resort’s chefs and guest celebrities. The food prepared in the studio will be available to diners.

Buffet prices are $7.95 for breakfast; $10.95 for lunch; and $17.95 for dinner, which includes beer and wine. A seafood dinner is offered Friday and Saturday for $19.95; a weekend brunch also is $19.95.

Marinelli’s features regional Italian cuisine from the Marnell family recipe book and wines from the family’s private label. Diners can order angel hair pasta for $18 or a rack of lamb for $32.

Terzetto guests can dine on prime cuts of beef, like a 16-ounce New York sirloin for $40 or 18-ounce filet mignon on the bone for $44 including a reserve list from the Marnell family ranch in Montana, and fresh-from-the-ocean specialties like Alaskan red crab for $38.

At the top of the resort, diners have perhaps the best views from restaurant Veloce Cibo & Bar Veloce. The restaurant includes a menu of appetizers, entrees and sushi with cocktails and specialty drinks at Bar Veloce. Spicy tuna rolls are priced at $9 while lobster tails sell for $39.

For novice or expert sommeliers, Hostile Grape offers more than 120 wines by the glass in an underground cellar. It includes a wine-dispensing system that operates with pre-paid cards in pours of one, three or five ounces. The collection includes American, Italian and French wines as well as selections from Spain, South Africa, Germany and others.

Hostile Grape offers food for $10 plus wine tastings in three 3-ounce offerings from $16 to $28 per set.

The Vig Deli next to the sports book offers a variety of ballpark foods for less than $10 including foot-long hotdogs and 10-inch pizzas, plus sweets like eclairs and fruit tarts.

The Piazza Grille is for diners who enjoy eating al fresco and will only be open April through October. The menu includes black cod tacos, flat breads, grilled chicken and seafood dishes, wood-fired pizza, salads, cheeseburgers and fries. Food poolside includes chicken wings for $8.95 and flat bread topped with smoked salmon for $14.95.

No cocktail served at any bar is more than $8.50.

The 32 Degrees bar has $2 domestic and $3 imported draft beers up to a few specialty brews served in 1.5 or 3 liters up to a whopping 6 liters for $75, $125 and $250, respectively.

Jeff Pope can be reached at 990-2688 or [email protected].