Saturday, May 01, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Thrill is gone from Rio parking lot

A model of the Voyager observation wheel that was planned to be built at the Rio before talks came to an end Friday. Photo by Clint Karlsen.

Plans to build the world's tallest observation wheel at the Rio, an $86 million project that Harrah's Entertainment had promised would change Las Vegas' skyline, rolled off course Friday.

The Rio, a subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment, and Voyager Entertainment International on Friday announced that talks to complete plans for the giant thrill ride and entertainment complex had fallen apart.

Harrah's said it will continue to explore options for using the land on the southeast side of the Rio parking lot off West Flamingo near Interstate 15 that was intended for the project, but otherwise declined to comment.

Richard Hannigan, president of Voyager, said in a statement his company has identified other sites it believes are suitable for the 600-foot tall, high-tech attraction, but he also declined to comment further.

Earlier discussions with owners of Wet 'n Wild ended when Voyager reached an agreement in December to build the observation wheel at the Rio.

At the time, Harrah's predicted the attraction could draw at least an additional 2 million visitors to the resort from other properties and from the local population.

Wall Street analysts said the decision not to build the Voyager project would have no material effect on Harrah's performance, and University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor and casino industry expert Bill Thompson said, in any event, it had been the wrong project for the company.

"What they need to do is build more hotel rooms and first-class casinos. That's what brings revenues to town. This was just gimmicky," he said.

Thompson said Las Vegas has elevated observation experiences available at the top of the Stratosphere, the Palms and the Rio, where the Voodoo Lounge is located.

"What the Rio needs is to fix its parking lot more than it needs a super-duper thrill ride," Thompson said.

Previous reports had surfaced about plans to build a third tower at the Rio, and Harrah's President Gary Loveman said Thursday the company is committed to increasing its room count in Las Vegas, but the company declined to discuss alternatives for the hotel-casino site.

Las Vegas-based Voyager Entertainment would have built the observation wheel and entertainment complex in partnership with Harrah's, which would have put up the property for the development.

Questions have persisted about financing because Voyager said in a quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 14 that it has "limited operations and is still in the development stage." The company said it would need to raise a substantial capital to continue its business plan.