Update: Casino, Hotel Construction Surge Coming into Focus

(Image: Dan Michalski / Casinos.com)

Build, baby, build! That seems to be a theme as we close out the year – with casino construction plans taking shape all across America and in Canada. This week has seen several new pretty renderings, a lot of public hearings, one groundbreaking and so many casino projects with new buildings in the blueprints. 

We’re not even promising we got ‘em all. But a quick snapshot suggests that in 2024 and beyond, billions of dollars are ready to be pumped into casino construction projects. 

Texas-Sized Casino Dreams 🤠 🏀 🤑

Much buzz is brewing about a possible casino in Dallas – or its neighboring city of Irving, where Las Vegas Sands recently bought some land. 

Casino dreams in Texas might seem like a little pecan pie in the red-state sky if they weren’t being pushed by two influential billionaires. But since Sands owner Miriam Adelson bought the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban (who still is in charge of basketball operations and promises not to move the team to Las Vegas) has made his plans clear – he wants to bring Las Vegas to the Mavs (and their fans). 

“My goal, and we’d partner with Las Vegas Sands, is when we build a new arena it’ll be in the middle of a resort and casino,” he told The Dallas Morning News. “That’s the mission.”

Las Vegas Sands and now Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson, seen here at a Republican Leadership Summit in Las Vegas in October, has ins with plenty of Texas legislators. (Image: Gage Skidmore / ZUMA Press Wire)

Cuban may have the goodwill of Dallas in his favor. And Adelson, as one of the biggest GOP donors, might have some sway over reluctant Republicans who control the state. But it’s still a long-term plan and a longshot gamble. Not only would Texas first have to legalize casino gambling – a lobbying effort where the Adelsons have been unsuccessful in the past – but then they’d also need multiple approvals from the city before building an arena. So as Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson reminded Mavs-fan casino enthusiasts, city officials need their campaign kickbacks contributions, too! (NBC DFW)

Harrah’s Resort SoCal Upgrade 🏨 🐔🍕

Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Funner, a real town outside of San Diego, is getting a $24 million upgrade to the 203 guest rooms in the Dive Inn Tower. While hardly the biggest casino upgrade we’ve heard of, it is the first significant refresh in 16 years at the largest casino-resort in the area. The property’s 884 other rooms will still be available during the renovations, which are expected to be completed in summer 2024.

Harrah’s also will be getting two new restaurants (though not part of the $24 million project). A 24-hour restaurant called Corner Counter will serve fast-casual Italian – fancy pizza by the slice, sandwiches, pasta and gelato – and is set to open any day now (before Christmas). Then they’re adding Best of Cluck, a quick-serve chicken concept that will be next to Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, bringing the number of restaurants at the SoCal resort to nine. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

New Cardroom, Casino Coming to Central Cali ✈️ 🛼 🎰

The Golden West casino in Bakersfield, California, is moving – to a new location near the Meadows Field Airport – and the owners released renderings to show what the new property will look like. Apparently this current 15-table cardroom is going for a warehouse roller rink vibe in their new space, which promises 45 gaming tables in nearly 31,000 square feet of gaming floor. (Bakersfield.com)

The Golden West cardroom in California is ready to step their game up a notch, as seen in this artist’s rendering. (Image: courtesy of Golden West Casino)

Part of the reason for the move is apparently to get out of a bad part of town, particularly with the coming of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tejon in nearby Mettler. 

The Tejon tribe broke ground on Friday for their new property, which will feature a 150,000-square-foot gaming floor with 48 gaming tables and 2,500 slot machines. 

Check out the cool guitar-neck shovels that were used by the Tejon Indian Tribe to break ground on their new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. (Image: courtesy of Hard Rock International)

The opening casino phase is expected to be complete in October 2025. Then the plan is to build a 400-room hotel tower – complete with fine dining, pool, spa, and 2,800-seat entertainment venue – with an eye on spring or summer 2027 for a grand opening. (Hospitality Net)

Casino Visions Elsewhere in North America 🇨🇦 ⚖️ 💸

Casino Montreal in Canada is getting a new hotel, in “two or three years,” according to a news release issued on Monday by property owner Loto-Quebec. Their plan is to spend $150 million on a 200-room low-rise overlooking the city’s F1 track. 

There is some blowback about the expansion, however, with some saying the project would intrude on the public’s ability to enjoy the Île Notre-Dame, and others saying 200 rooms isn’t big enough to pull in the tourist dollars promised. (CTV News)

Architectural jewel or eyesore? After 30 years, Casino Montreal looks to finally be getting a hotel on the man-made island where it resides. (Image: SatinovichPhoto.com / Alamy)

The RW Development company will go before the Mississippi Gaming Commission on Thursday to seek approval for building a new casino in Biloxi. The property at issue has been contentious for years, with the city of Biloxi granting the casino developers a lease to build a pier on municipal land for public use, only to have the Secretary of State’s office dispute the validity of the lease. But the state Supreme Court sided with RW. The fight between RW and the state over building a casino-resort in the area goes back to 2008. (WLOX) 

In Norfolk, Virginia, the Pamunkey Indian tribe is hoping to break ground in spring 2024 on their HeadWaters Resort and Casino project, This would allow for gaming to begin by November 2025 as additional development continues. 

The tribe just resubmitted plans (after a July snag) ahead of a Jan. 8 hearing before the city’s Architectural Review Board. Developers are committing to spend at least $500 million on a 300-room hotel with a 65,000-square-foot casino floor. (Virginia Pilot)

Artist’s rendering of the HeadWaters Resort and Casino project in Norfolk, Virginia, on the Elizabeth River next to Harbor Park Stadium, home to the AAA Norfolk Tides. (Image: courtesy of HeadWaters Resort & Casino)

Momentum is growing for a legal casino(s) on Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. On Monday, the Miller County Commission voted unanimously in support of a resolution for a casino on its shores. Bally’s Corporation and the Osage River Gaming group are spearheading a signature drive to get a referendum on the November 2024 ballot to allow the 14th casino in the state to be the first on the Osage River, which feeds the Lake of the Ozarks. 

Meanwhile, Osage Nation, an Oklahoma-area tribe, is petitioning the US Department of the Interior for proper designations to open a casino on the Missouri lake, despite initial objections from the city of Lake Ozark. If permitted, theirs would be the first tribal casino in Missouri. (KRMS Radio)