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The Vacation Village sign shows how development is stretching toward the formerly remote casino. REVIEW-JOURNAL

Sunday, November 05, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Gamble pays off for south Strip property

Lonely no longer, Vacation Village is ready to take advantage of resort corridor growth

Some people may have thought developer Carol Heers was crazy when he bought 25 acres of land at Las Vegas Boulevard and Sunset Road 30 years ago with the intention of building a casino.

With the development that has occurred over the past few years, his decision today seems almost prophetic.

In 1970, the land was nothing but desert and nearly two miles south of the closest Strip property, the Hacienda. But Heers went ahead with his plan and built a hotel-casino bit by bit until finally opening Vacation Village, 6711 Las Vegas Blvd. South, in November, 1990.

The Strip was in its infancy then; the Excalibur had just opened in June, The Mirage a year before. Vacation Village, too far away from the main cluster of Strip properties to attract large numbers of tourists, was marketed as a casino for locals with loose slots and cheap eats.

The small hotel's survival seemed like a long shot, as it was almost in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by only desert and railroad tracks. But survive it has, and now "the little hotel that could" may be one of the hottest properties in town, thanks to its location.

"This is one of the fastest growing areas of Las Vegas," said Jeff Stephens, Vacation Village general manager. "There's quite a bit of land out south of here that will probably be used for development. We're running out of places on the Strip to put those big megaresorts."

When, not if, the Strip extends to and past Vacation Village, management will be ready, Stephens said.

"We've been planning for the eventual encroachment of the Strip," Stephens said. "We have a unique opportunity for our property; we actually have a theme developed and a name picked out."

Stephens declined to provide any details about the new name and theme, but said the owners realize any surrounding development means that Vacation Village has to make changes if the property is to survive the competition.

"We want to not only survive but thrive. There's money to be made in Las Vegas," Stephens said. "We're not only trying to keep pace but take our own piece of the pie."

Some steps already have been taken this year to spruce up the place and draw in more locals.

"We are the only property that can say we're bordered by Las Vegas Boulevard, I-215 and I-15. We like to pride ourselves as a locals casino," Stephens said. "What we've done is upgraded the property in the past year in an attempt to keep pace with all this development. We have to offer customers a good deal because locals aren't stupid."

Since Stephens took over as general manager last October, two bars, a bingo hall, a race book, a wedding chapel and a liquor store have opened.

The bingo hall isn't a moneymaker, Stephens said, but any locals casino has to have it. It also may help business in the future by being one of a handful of Strip properties offering bingo.

"It definitely sets us apart from Strip casinos," Stephens said. "And it brings in a lot of people."

Some regular customers, such as Alice and Russ Mechling, live in Summerlin. They drive 20-plus miles almost daily to play bingo at Vacation Village.

"It's so much fun," Alice Mechling said. "Other than coming here we don't go down on the Strip unless family is here."

The Mechlings said even if the casino is one day surrounded by new megaresorts, they will continue coming to Vacation Village as long as bingo is offered.

Reta Hendricks, a North Las Vegas resident, also makes a long drive to come to Vacation Village and will continue to frequent the casino because of the slot machines and friendly employees.

"Those megaresorts, I don't even care for them," Hendricks said. "They'll be coming this way; they're building all over the place."

Stephen Cloobeck, president and CEO of Polo Towers, sees the Strip extending farther toward Sunset Road within the next five years.

"I think it has to," Cloobeck said. "The only encumbrance there is the airport."

Development has already started; in the three years since the Hacienda was imploded, Mandalay Bay was built; Callaway Golf Center opened across from Vacation Village and a new golf course, the Bali Hai Golf Course, is under construction.

If development continues like Stephens thinks it will, the value of Heers' 25 acres "where Sunset meets the Strip" will increase.

"His family would tell me he was quite the land speculator," Stephens said of Heers, who is now deceased. "I think he had a vision this land on Las Vegas Boulevard close to McCarran (International Airport) would one day be valuable."