Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2000 | 11:13 a.m.
Today it's just a stump of concrete and steel frame, located on an empty parcel of land across the street from the Gold Coast.
But by December 2001, this stump will have risen 42 stories high. It will be the centerpiece of the Palms, the second Las Vegas casino creation of the Maloof family.
The building used to be billed as a 40-story building, one story less than its neighbor, the Rio. Now, it's 42. Did it do any last-minute growing in an effort to edge out the Rio?
"We talked about it briefly," said Fiesta President George Maloof with a chuckle. "At 42 (stories), it's the largest (in Las Vegas). We wanted to create something special."
Though construction has been under way for several months now, the Maloof family held the official groundbreaking Wednesday. The groundbreaking was attended by the NBA's Sacramento Kings -- a team owned by the Maloofs -- as well as actor Martin Landau and TV personality Robin Leach.
"I'd like to extend a special invitation to the team to join us again when we open the Palms," Maloof said. "If it's during the season, we just won't tell the coach."
The Palms will become the Maloof family's sole Las Vegas casino soon, after the family sells the Fiesta hotel-casino to Station Casinos Inc. for $185 million. They're spending $265 million on this creation -- most of it coming from the Maloofs, though Station and Greenspun Corp. will each own 6.5 percent. The Greenspun family owns the Las Vegas Sun.
Gavin Maloof, George Maloof's brother, owner of the Kings and vice chairman of the Maloof Cos., said there never was any thought by the family of pulling out of Las Vegas after the Fiesta sale.
"We're not short-term players," Gavin Maloof said. "We're long-term with most of our businesses, and we love this city. We didn't want to leave."
The Palms will open with 470 rooms, though it will eventually be expanded to 2,000 rooms over the next five to 10 years. George Maloof said $500 million to $600 million will eventually be spent on the project.
Despite its near-Strip location, the Palms will first focus on the locals market, though tourists will be a much greater part of the hotel-casino's mix than at the Fiesta. Attractions will include a 14-screen movie theater, an IMAX theater, a 1,200-seat entertainment venue and a slate of restaurants, including a rooftop French restaurant and a 10,000-square foot Garduno's Mexican restaurant.
But the Maloofs will also offer something they've become well-known for in Las Vegas -- affordable restaurants and loose slots.
"There's been a lot of great restaurants opened in Las Vegas, but all of them aren't affordable," Maloof said. "These (at the Palms) won't break your bank.
"We'll give people the opportunity to win like they've never won before. We'll never let you down."
The Maloofs aren't ruling out the possibility of expanding their Las Vegas holdings in the future, though a non-compete pact with Station will block the family from buying or building a second casino for the next three years. The Maloofs' only other gaming property is located in Central City, Colo.
"We're always looking for other opportunities," Gavin Maloof said. "But we can take this to 2,000 rooms. It will keep our hands full for the next five to 10 years."
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