Of course, as with any real estate idea, there’s no guarantee the project will get built, especially in the wake of the pandemic. “Go do demographics around every local casino site in Las Vegas, and you’ll see that Durango is an absolute no-brainer,” Fertitta said. The land is in one of the fastest-growing areas of the valley, he indicated.

The locals-focused operator aims to break ground early next year, said billionaire Frank Fertitta III, chairman and CEO of parent company Red Rock Resorts. Station executives said on a conference call with analysts Tuesday that the company plans to develop a casino on its 71-acre desert spread along Durango Drive just south of the 215 Beltway - a huge property near Ikea with a weathered, wooden sign touting Station’s plans for a hotel-casino there.

More than 20 years later, Station’s bosses now say they’re looking to break ground on the still-empty southwest parcel, after prior efforts to build a resort there never materialized. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) Station Casinos was buying a big tract of land in southwest Las Vegas, its then-finance chief noted the company had acquired various plots around the valley that would be developed “over a long period of time.” Station Casinos-owned land on the west side of South Durango Drive just south of the 215 Beltway is shown on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in Las Vegas.

'durango station station casinos