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Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa

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Theme
  
Desert Modern

No. of rooms
  
815

Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa

Location
  
Summerlin, Nevada, U.S.

Address
  
11011 West Charleston Boulevard

Opening date
  
April 18, 2006; 10 years ago (April 18, 2006)

Total gaming space
  
118,309 sq ft (10,991.3 m)

Red Rock Resort is a hotel and casino. It is owned and operated by Station Casinos on 70 acres (28 ha) located in Downtown Summerlin in the village of Summerlin Centre in Summerlin, Nevada. Located on Charleston Boulevard, at the interchange of Clark County 215 and some distance from the Las Vegas Strip, the resort is known as a locals casino. It is the flagship property of Station Casinos and the company's corporate headquarters is located on the property.

Contents

The resort includes a 198 ft (60 m) hotel tower with 815 rooms, spa, 94,000 sq ft (8,700 m2) of meeting space, slot machines, table games, a 16 screen Regal Cinemas movie theater, a bingo hall, a 3 acres (1.2 ha) pool area, a bowling alley as well as eleven restaurants. The tower is the second tallest in Summerlin after One Queensridge Place.

History

Beginning in 2003 and continuing into 2004 there were significant discussions about the construction of the proposed towers. While other aspects of the design were issues, such as the traffic impact and the brightness of the signs, it was the proposed 300 feet (91 m) tower and the inclusion of condominiums in the project that caused most of the concerns. The problem was rooted in a zoning variance granted to the Howard Hughes Corporation from the normal 100 feet (30 m) to 200 feet (61 m) for the site when there was no development in the area.

After much discussion between Station Casinos, Howard Hughes Corporation, Clark County, and residents, a consensus was reached that allowed the project to move forward. The hotel tower was reduced in height to 198 feet (60 m) and the condominium towers were eliminated from the project.

The project was designed by Portland, Oregon-based Architropolis, Las Vegas-based The Friedmutter Group and SADI, with landscape designed by Newport Beach, California-based Lifescapes International. Ground was broken on April 15, 2004 with a projected cost of $475 million.

On March 15, 2005, Station Casinos announced an "Accelerated Expansion" plan to double the number of hotel rooms available in the tower. The total projected cost of over $930 million would make it one of the most expensive locals casino ever built.

It was announced in February 2006 that the second season of the Hell's Kitchen reality show would offer the winner the executive chef position at a fine dining restaurant to be built in the resort. The winner of the contest was a 25-year-old sous chef from New York named Heather West. Since winning Hell's Kitchen 2, Heather West had still yet to be given the prize of Executive Chef. Instead, Red Rock management had decided to give her a position suitable to her skills - Senior Chef at the Terra Rossa (the resort's Italian restaurant).

In 2007, Red Rock Resort opened their 72 lane bowling center, the most expensive center ever built.

Film history

Some scenes from the 2008 feature film 21 were shot at the Red Rock and the casino's exterior and interior are recognizably featured in the movie.

Rapper Nelly's video "Body On Me," featuring singers Ashanti and Akon was filmed on location at Red Rock Resort in 2009.

Features

The hotel tower has palm trees planted on top of the roof facing the Las Vegas Strip.

Crystal chandeliers

Station Casino Executive, Frank Fertitta III and his brother, Lorenzo Fertitta, hope to add "a touch of elegance to the property" by including numerous Swarovski crystal chandeliers of all shapes, sizes and varieties in the casino containing more than three million pieces of crystal. While growing up in Las Vegas, they remembered the "contemporary elegance" displayed in Las Vegas casinos of the past, such as the Desert Inn. They seek to include a taste of the past in their new hotel with these chandeliers. In all, the total cost for all the chandeliers and other Swarovski crystal features throughout Red Rock Resort cost over $6 million.

Art

Red Rock Resort has a notable collection of art. At one time, its collection included work by Andy Warhol. Today, its collection includes the "Love" sculpture by Robert Indiana in the pool area and other works of art by Takashi Murakami, Vik Muniz and Paul McCarthy throughout the property.

Expansion

As of March 1, 2006, construction was underway on a second 450-room hotel tower, located to the south of the first tower. It doubled the amount of rooms at the resort.

Condo towers

On March 3, 2006, a Las Vegas Review-Journal article stated that Station Casinos was "embarking on round two of its development at the resort two 227-foot-high condominium towers." The original plan did include building high rise condos on the site along with the hotel. They were called Red Rock Residences. As these towers were higher than the hotel tower itself, no one knows if there will be opposition to this plan from the surrounding residents yet again. Station, however, stated that it was reasonable since "The towers were to be built on property 29 feet lower in elevation than the land on which the hotel-casino stands. Because of the different land elevations, the condo towers were no higher than the casino's rooftop despite being 29 feet taller when measured from base to roof".

On September 7, 2006, Station Casinos officially halted the Red Rock Residences. The company claims to be reconsidering use for the land, but had not entirely ruled out the construction of two condominium towers.

References

Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa Wikipedia