The Palms to target locals, tourists

LAS VEGAS- Touting it as an affordable ''destination getaway,'' ground was broken Tuesday for Las Vegas' newest off-Strip resort - sort of.

''We actually broke ground about three months ago,'' said owner and president George Maloof before the official groundbreaking ceremony for The Palms hotel-casino just west of the Las Vegas Strip. ''We're up to the eighth floor on the 40-story tower.''

The $265 million resort is scheduled to open in December 2001, said Maloof, whose family is majority owner of the National Basketball Association's Sacramento Kings.

Once open, the 470-room property will offer variety of restaurants and bars, a spa and salon, movie theaters, a 1,200-seat multiuse entertainment venue and a 95,000-square-foot casino.

By comparison the valley's newest locals hotel-casino, the Suncoast in the northwest suburbs that opened last month, cost $200 million and has 200 rooms. The newest Strip megaresort, the Aladdin resort that opened in August and had a price tag of $1.4 billion, is home to 2,567 hotel rooms. The Palms will employ about 1,800 workers.

The resort is being designed by Jerde Partnership International and built by Perini Construction on 32 acres across Flamingo Road from the Rio and Gold Coast casinos, a spot that Maloof calls ''the best in town.''

''There's not a lot of land left in Las Vegas,'' he said. ''The Rio and the Gold Coast are proven destinations. All three properties will complement each other.''

Gaming analysts agree on Maloof's assessment.

''It's a great location and the Rio could act as a feeder,'' said gaming analyst Marvin Roffman, Roffman Miller Associates. ''It's great for the locals.''

Funding for the project will be provided by Wells Fargo and First Security Bank. The Maloof family will own 87 percent of the Palms; Station Casinos will own 6.5 percent and the Greenspun family, publishers of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, will own the remaining 6.5 percent.

The Maloof family owns 53 percent of the NBA's Kings along with controlling interest in two other Sacramento sports franchises, the Monarchs of the WNBA and the Knights of the World Indoor Soccer League. In addition to other extensive business holdings, the Maloofs also own the ARCO Arena, where the teams play.

The Palms will become the Maloofs' sole Las Vegas gambling holding as the family sells its interest in the Fiesta Casino Hotel, which is being purchased by Station Casinos for $185 million upon approval of Nevada gaming regulators.

Maloof, 37, a former defensive back for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas football team, earned a degree in hotel management in 1987 and has been a player in the locals casino market since constructing the Fiesta six years ago.

Maloof employed an extensive advertising campaign to establish the Fiesta as the ''royal flush capital of the world.''

The Palms will attract locals as well as tourists, Maloof said. ''We're going to take advantage of our proximity to the Strip,'' he said.

Unlike many Las Vegas resorts, The Palms will not have a theme, but will concentrate on comfort, convenience, value, service and friendliness, Maloof said.

''We've been in business for a long time using principles that have worked for my family for 80 years,'' he said.

The Maloofs have owned the land on Flamingo Road for about three years. The original intent was to build another Fiesta.

''But then we felt it was important for the (new) hotel to have its own identity,'' he said.

What will give the new property its identity are its views, restaurants and entertainment offerings, Maloof said.

''Because we're set back from the Strip, we'll have the most spectacular views in the city,'' he said. ''We also have some of the most creative restaurant people in the world.''

The restaurants will include an Asian eatery patterned after the famous Buddha Bar in Paris, and another award-winning Gurduno's Mexican restaurant.

''We'll have a restaurant by French chef Andre Rochat, one of finest chefs in the city, on top of the tower with spectacular views and the usual great food,'' Maloof said.

Most importantly, Maloof said, that unlike some of the great restaurants that have opened in Las Vegas over the past few years, the Palms eateries ''won't break the bank. They will be exciting, fun and affordable.'' The Palms will also feature two smaller showrooms and a 14-theater Cineplex. ''We'll have something for everybody,'' Maloof said.

''I think Las Vegas is such a dynamic destination,'' he said. ''And with the proliferation of gaming throughout the country, Las Vegas is the home of it all.''