Other News: New Frontier Looks Doomed
Flash Floods Stay Away From Strip
Updated: 2:58 p.m. EDT September 1, 2003
LAS VEGAS -- Put another nail in the coffin of the New Frontier. Owner Phil Ruffin has announced that he is actively discussing a joint venture with several gaming companies that would aim a wrecking ball squarely at the oldest major hotel-casino on the Strip. Up until now, Ruffin has been aching to develop a San Francisco-theme resort by himself on the property, but hasn't been able to raise the money or the interest. Now, with the hot development of Wynn Las Vegas right across the street, people are looking at the New Frontier site as the next place to build. Ruffin said he may abandon the San Francisco idea if his future partners have something else in mind. Expect an announcement before the end of the year.
Plans for the ultra-luxurious Trump Las Vegas condominium tower are still on track for part of the New Frontier site. The 43-story building filled with fancy condos will be built in the farthest reaches of the existing Frontier parking lot, near Industrial Road. It is expected to cost nearly $300 million to build, and condos will average around $1.5 million. Say it with me: "Ouch."
You may have seen the news stories (or heard the jokes on the late shows) about the big floods in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. Just for the sake of clarity, the bulk of the flooding was of the flash variety and occurred on the northwest side of town, far away from the tourist areas of the Strip, which got some rain and thunder. Although a lot of muddy damage was done, no one was seriously injured.
Which brings me to a second clarification. Many people wrote me about the woman who was electrocuted on the Strip when she stepped on the metal plate of a street utility box during a rainstorm. This happened separately from the flooding, and the two events were not at all connected.
City officials believe the 39-year-old tourist was killed when a loose wire under the metal plate she stepped on made contact with it during the storm.
Back to happier news ... the Megabucks jackpot is growing again. As of this writing, it has broken $15 million and is climbing fast. Of course, it has a long way to go to beat the world-record $39.7 million won earlier this year at Excalibur.
You can watch the progress of the Megabucks jackpot by visiting the IGT Web site.
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Rick Garman is the head writer for Vegas4Visitors