Aliate gets Vegas Gaming Commission ok

from today's Las Vegas Review-Journal (10/24):

It's wait and see for Aliante
Debt concerns arise in licensing hearing
By ARNOLD M. KNIGHTLY
REVIEW-JOURNAL

"Station Casino executives told state gaming regulators Thursday they don't know how well the $662 million Aliante Station will perform when it opens next month given current economic conditions.

"There's not a lot of visibility in our business today," said Thomas Friel, Station Casinos' chief accounting officer. "It's a bit of a crap shoot to figure out where things might be."

The Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved licensing of the North Las Vegas property, which is scheduled to open Nov. 11, but asked the gaming company's executives questions about how the company plans to operate the property in the current market.

Gaming revenue in North Las Vegas declined 17.81 percent in August to $18.1 million, and is down 6.3 percent to $284.7 million for the last 12 months ending Aug. 31." ...

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from this morning's GlobeSt (10/24):

UPDATE Last updated: October 23, 2008 04:34pm

Commission OKs License for $675M Casino
By Bob Howard

"LAS VEGAS-The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the licensing application for Aliante Station, a $675-million off-Strip casino hotel that is slated to open for gambling next month. The Nevada Gaming Control Board, an operating arm of the five-member Gaming Commission, recommended approval of the application last month.

Aliante Station is a 50-50 joint venture of Station Casinos and members of the Greenspun family, which owns the Las Vegas Sun newspaper and is the developer of the 1,905-acre Aliante planned community through the family business, Greenspun Corp. The 40-acre Aliante Station development is nearing completion off the northeast corner of Interstate 215 and Aliante Parkway in North Las Vegas. The project includes 202 hotel rooms, a casino, six restaurants, and food court plus a concert venue with seating for 600, a 16-screen movie theater and 14,000 sf for meetings and banquets.

The hotel rooms will range from 400 sf to 1,500 sf and will include 42-inch plasma TVs, CD players with iPod jacks and high-speed Internet. Room rates start at $60 a night. While the casino will open Nov. 11 at 11 p.m., the first day guests will stay in the hotel rooms is Jan. 1, 2009, according to company officials." ...

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