M Resort next in line for Marnell family

By Richard N. Velotta

Published Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Updated Monday, Feb. 23, 2009 | 10:28 a.m.

Longtime Las Vegas residents will remember the incredible buzz the Rio generated when it opened in 1990.

Owned and operated by Marnell Corrao Associates, the Rio was Las Vegas’ first all-suite hotel and its Brazilian theme initially warmed locals before it expanded and branched out to serve other markets.

Nearly two decades later, another Marnell – Anthony Marnell III, son of Rio developer Anthony Marnell II – is trying to generate the same buzz at the soon-to-open M Resort.

The 400-room property is scheduled to open at 10 p.m. March 1.

The younger Marnell collaborated with his father to build M in a visible location at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and St. Rose Parkway in Henderson. Marnell is pleased that it’s the first resort Southern Californians will see when they arrive in Las Vegas on Interstate 15 and the last place they’ll see when they leave.

The resort has 351 standard rooms and 39 large suites, a 92,000-square-foot casino with more than 1,847 slot machines, 64 table games, nine restaurants and five bars.

The casino will have a state-of-the-art race and sports book, a live poker room and a high-limit salon with an outdoor terrace. The property will introduce the iMagine Rewards Club card for loyal customers.

Among the restaurants will be Veloce Cibo on the top floor of the M tower, offering meals with a view of the Las Vegas Valley.

Studio B is the name of M’s buffet offering. It has a live-action cooking studio and a video wall to present live cooking demonstrations. It, too, has a view of Las Vegas and will capitalize on the Rio standard of multiple live cooking stations.

Other restaurants include Terzetto, a steak and seafood restaurant with an oyster bar, and Marinelli’s, an Italian restaurant that overlooks the Villaggio Del Sole Pool and Entertainment Piazza.

Marnell also said it will include a convenience store and gasoline station on the property at which customers will be able to swap loyalty card points for gasoline. An on-resort pharmacy will serve employees and customers, also with loyalty card points.

The 23,000-square-foot Spa Mio will offer a variety of treatments, and a 7,000-seat event center is expected to offer a variety of entertainment offerings.

More than 37,000 people applied for the 1,800 jobs on the property.

Excerpt of a Q&A with Anthony Marnell III

Q: You also have a number of executives who used to work at the Rio. How much of the Rio feel are we going to see at M?

A: I think design and architecturally, you’re going to see none. But with service, attitude, the food and beverage programs, all those things that were created there, I just looked at it and going from out of the business to a consumer and you saw what was going on, people were dying for what that building used to give them. You heard it all over the place, “I wish the Rio was here, I wish that service and value was back.” These were people that I had developed a relationship with there, some of them I worked for, some of them I worked with. The ones I thought could bring to light this vision again and repeat it … there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. That wheel rolled really good for a long time and a lot of people enjoyed it. So we brought that back and we brought those people back and we put a couple minor twists on things, made it a little more modern, a little more next-generation, but still the same great stuff, the same great value and fantastic people giving it to the customer.

Q: The Rio had a hip and youthful vibe – at least before Harrah’s bought it. Are you expecting to have a similar vibe at M?

A: I think we’ll have that vibe. I think it may be a little more dulled down. I think a lot of people remember the Rio and its last three years that we were there versus the prior seven. That last three years was when the hotel really crossed the line and went into the 2,500 rooms. You had Club Rio, you had the Voodoo on the top, you had the first seafood buffet in town and it really got to the scale of a Strip property right off the Strip. I think we’ll be of a vibe and a nature that was the first seven years of the Rio, which was still a great place with great attitudes and great people. But we’re not going after the Gen Y market. We’re going to be sitting in the Gen X and the Baby Boomer market, but it’s more of a psychographic the way I look at it. People want to come out and really have good time and this place is not a dull place. When you walk around and see it, it’s pretty exciting. It’s got a lot of really cool details and I think the energy will be a really good one. It’s a solid vibe, but not a nightclub.

The full Q&A will appear in the Feb. 27 edition of InBusiness Las Vegas.

This story has been corrected. An earlier version listed the wrong number of restaurants and bars at the M Resort.