Fontainebleau Las Vegas Finally Opens Doors for Business After Over 23 Years in Development

LAS VEGAS, NV – On Wednesday, December 13, a saga that has taken 23 years to unfold has finally come to fruition as the $3.7 billion Fontainebleau Las Vegas finally held its grand opening with a lavish VIP red carpet event that preceded the opening of its doors to the public just before midnight.

However, guests looking to join in on the grand opening event were required to park their vehicles at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall – which offered free parking – or use valet parking, as the Fontainebleau’s parking garage was not opened until 1 a.m. Thursday, and the venue’s rideshare drop-off was not opened until 2 a.m.

The event was a culmination of decades of effort in order to bring the Fontainebleau project to life, but the road there was wrought with numerous obstacles and setbacks, some so severe that at many points there was intense doubt that the venue would ever open.

Jeffrey Soffer, Fontainebleau Development’s chairman and CEO, first purchased the land for the resort back in 2000. Development later begun on the resort in 2007 – with its grand opening scheduled to take place in 2009 – but work was indefinitely halted two years later by the recession, forcing the project into bankruptcy.

In 2010, Icahn NV Gaming Acquisition LLC purchased the Fontainebleau for $150 million, and then sold it off to developer Steve Witkoff for $600 million in 2017. Witkoff originally envisioned a 2022 completion date; however, that was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From there, the Fontainebleau sat unfinished for years until Soffer and Fontainebleau Development re-acquired the project and resumed construction in 2021, following Soffer’s securement of $2.2 billion in new funding.

Now that the resort is finally open for business, it will be operated by the company’s subsidiary, Bowtie Hospitality LLC.

The Fontainebleau mostly adheres to the original vision that was laid out for it back when the project was first announced, consisting of a 67-story tower containing 3,780 hotel rooms and suites, 550,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, a casino, restaurants, retail, health and wellness spaces, and many other high-end amenities.

In addition, the resort will be providing approximately 6,000 full-time jobs, which will greatly add to Las Vegas’ already booming economy.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.