(Image: courtesy of Las Vegas Chinatown Plaza)
The future of commuting from Las Vegas casinos to nearby attractions is taking shape. And it looks like a futuristic subway alternative in the imagination of Elon Musk.
The Boring Company, a tunneling enterprise founded by Musk, spent $3.7 million for 1.4 acres in Las Vegas’s Chinatown neighborhood west of the Strip, according to HMV Group, the California-based real estate developer that sold the land.
The site will be for a future Vegas Loop station, adding to a vast underground network that is currently being constructed underneath Las Vegas.
HMV made a public announcement on Thursday about the purchase, which happened in July.
“It made perfect sense to collaborate with [The Boring Company],” HMV Director Maxwell Nuremberg said, “since the Vegas Loop station will eventually bring customers and residents to the doorstep of our Spring Mountain Vegas Loop retail development and Valley View Vegas Loop retail development projects.”
The Boring Company is digging 68 miles of tunnels underneath Las Vegas, with plans for 93 stations where people can board or disembark from Tesla electric vehicles.
Currently, 2.3 miles of tunnel and five stops are fully operational – at Resorts World, Encore and at three places at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
A roadmap of approved sites shows stops at most casinos on or adjacent to the Strip, downtown, at any and all stadiums, the Mob Museum, the Medical District, UNLV, and, now we know … Chinatown.
Las Vegas locals and seasoned visitors know that Chinatown has some of the best dining establishments in town. More than 150 restaurants feature food from all around the world (Chinese, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Filipino, Laotian, etc.), at prices far more reasonable that what can be found on the Strip.
And several are open late, serving authentic Asian food into the wee hours.
Construction on the Chinatown Loop station is expected to begin in late 2024.
Most recently, the Boring Company’s Prufrock digging machine completed its wormhole to the Westgate Las Vegas casino-resort.
Dan Michalski is a longtime journalist based in Las Vegas with nearly 20 years as a writer and editor covering poker, casino gaming and sports betting. As founder of Pokerati and an award-winning blogger, podcaster and news reporter, Dan has worked tirelessly to elevate the standards of journalism in gaming media. He also has served as a gaming industry consultant and holds advanced certificates in gaming regulation from UNLV. When not thinking about media and casinos, he can be found on the tennis courts, where he has captained two teams to USTA national championships, and one to second place.
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