Mary Bridges

COMPUTER_SCIENCE

COMPUTER_SCIENCE_276_JOURNAL

JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa is a resort in Summerlin, Nevada, near Las Vegas.The

Rampart Casino is located within the hotel.The property is owned and operated by Hotspur

Resorts, which franchises the JW Marriott name from Marriott International.The hotel has

548 rooms and the casino measures 57,610 square feet (5,352 m2).The project was

announced in 1996, as The Resort at Summerlin.It was developed by Seven Circle Resorts,

and the hotel portion was initially operated under a franchise from Regent International

Hotels.The opening was originally scheduled for 1998, but the project saw several delays

and cost overruns.It was designed by Paul Steelman and built by J.A.Jones Construction at a

final cost of $276 million.The Resort at Summerlin opened on July 15, 1999, with a casino

and a hotel tower known as the Regent Grand Spa.A second tower, the Regent Grand Palm,

opened in January 2000.Within a month, the entire property was renamed The Regent Las

Vegas.The resort experienced financial trouble and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

protection in November 2000.Hotspur purchased the resort a year later and rebranded the

hotel under the JW Marriott name.In 2002, the casino portion was renamed as the Rampart

Casino by Millennium Management Group, which signed a 10-year lease.Hotspur took over

management after the lease expired.== History ==

=== Development and opening (1996-2000) ===

In May 1996, the Howard Hughes Corporation, developer of the Summerlin planned
community, announced an agreement for a casino resort to be developed by Seven Circle

Resorts, an American affiliate of Swiss gaming firm Swiss Casinos.The opening was

originally planned for 1998.Paul Steelman was the architect for the project, which would be

known as The Resort at Summerlin.Developers envisioned it as a luxury golf and spa resort,

similar to those found in destinations like Scottsdale, Arizona and Palm Springs,

California.The property would have relationships with several nearby golf courses,

including exclusive control of half of the tee times at the neighboring Tournament Players

Club at the Canyons.Seven Circle purchased the 54-acre (22 ha) site from Howard Hughes

Corp. in August 1996 for $16.6 million.The company faced some opposition from nearby

residents after modifying the project plans to include a second hotel tower.The enlargement

plans were eventually approved, despite concerns about the impact it would have on the

community.By February 1998, construction was underway.The hotel was topped out on

December 1, 1998.Managed by J.A.Jones Construction, the project was marked by delays

and cost overruns.The final cost of development was $276 million, including $76 million

contributed by Swiss Casinos and $200 million borrowed from lenders.The Resort at

Summerlin quietly opened its doors on July 15, 1999.The opening had been delayed by

three days because of the 1999 Las Vegas flood, which caused minor water damage to

electrical circuits.Its developers described it as Las Vegas' first off-Strip luxury resort.At

opening, the property included a 286-room hotel tower, two restaurants, and a casino.The

hotel was named the Regent Grand Spa, under a franchise from Regent International

Hotels.Because of construction delays, other amenities, including the spa, pool, retail shops,

and more restaurants, opened over the following months.The second hotel tower, the 255-

room Regent Grand Palm, opened in January 2000.By the next month, the entire property

had been renamed as The Regent Las Vegas, to capitalize on its affiliation with the upscale

Regent brand, and the two hotels were known simply as the Spa tower and the Palms
tower.In June 2000, Swiss Casinos announced plans to purchase a 22-acre (8.9 ha) parcel

next to the Regent and to develop it with timeshare units and tennis courts, but this project

never came to fruition.=== After completion (2000-present) ===

Signs of financial trouble appeared as early as November 1999, when the resort's operating

company revealed that it was seeking new financing and its credit rating was

downgraded.By March 2000, the resort was in technical default on its mortgage debt, as a

result of having borrowed additional money from Swiss Casinos.Executives began to shift

the casino's focus to attract more locals, such as by replacing slot machines with video

poker machines.In September 2000, the Regent defaulted on various payments to

creditors.By November, executives were attempting to renegotiate the property's debt, and

239 of the resort's 1,700 employees had been laid off.Several restaurants were closed or

saw reduced operations.The Regent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection later that

month, and soon began seeking a buyer for the property.Real estate developer Peccole

Nevada was selected as the stalking horse bidder, with an offer of $150 million, but then

withdrew its bid after a disagreement with its financing partner.A new bid of $80 million by

Los Angeles-based hotel company Maritz, Wolff was then selected, but was also withdrawn

after negotiations with the Regent's creditors broke down.Finally, the resort was sold to

Hotspur Resorts, the hotel affiliate of Canadian real estate firm Larco Investments, for $80

million.Observers had expected a competitive auction with bids from major casino

operators, but most potential buyers lost interest after the September 11 attacks, which

occurred two weeks before the auction.Hotspur completed its purchase in November

2001.Hotspur rebranded the hotel under the JW Marriott name, hoping that it would be a

better draw than the Regent name, which was found to have good name recognition in Asia

but not in America.The casino was leased in 2002 to Nevada-based Millennium

Management Group on a 10-year lease.