M Resort doubles capacity with opening of new 375-room tower

The capacity of the hotel at M Resort nearly doubled to 765 rooms Wednesday night as the management of Pennsylvania-based Penn Entertainment Inc., M resort executives and other dignitaries officially opened the $206 million expansion.

Penn President and CEO Jay Snowden, M Vice President and General Manager Hussain Mahrous and Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero were among the dignitaries who cut the ribbon officially opening the second of four major projects Penn is completing nationwide.

The 375-room tower was completed ahead of schedule, assuring M it will have more rooms for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, New Year’s Eve and January’s CES trade show.

But more important to Penn is that M now has greater capacity to provide Las Vegas rewards to holders of Penn Play loyalty cards. Penn, one of the top regional casino companies in the country, operates in 28 jurisdictions throughout North America, with a broadly diversified portfolio of casinos, racetracks and online sports betting and iCasino offerings.

The M expansion includes the 15,000-square-foot Montese Ballroom, opened in October, enhancing the property’s total indoor and outdoor conference and event space to more than 100,000 square feet. Penn has said the expansion will add 120 new jobs to M Resort’s workforce.

In his remarks prior to the ribbon-cutting, Snowden also applauded 110 day-one employees who have been with the company for more than 15 years.

M is branded as the “Official Team Headquarters Hotel of the Las Vegas Raiders” and Snowden remarked that the resort’s association with the Raiders and the Vegas Golden Knights has been affirming.

“There’s a lot of positive momentum going on here in Henderson, as all of you know, with the Raiders and the Knights,” Snowden said Wednesday. “And, of course, when I’m flying in, I love all the rooftops that are going up on the south end of the valley. It’s very noticeable when you’re flying in.”

At the end of the ceremony Snowden and his team led the crowd past a large gingerbread and candy model of the resort and onto a red carpet to the resort’s outdoor pool venue, Patio. There, guests and the public viewed a 12-minute fireworks display, heard a musical performance by Jefferson Starship and viewed “Elf,” the 2003 holiday film starring Will Farrell, on the venue’s 800-square-foot screen.

The M expansion is the second major project within the Penn portfolio.

In August, the company opened the new state-of-the-art Hollywood Casino Joliet in Illinois. Additional projects remain on schedule and on budget, including the opening of the new land-based Hollywood Casino Aurora in Illinois, and a hotel tower at Hollywood Casino Columbus, both of which are expected to open late in the second quarter of 2026, and the relocation of Hollywood Casino Council Bluffs expected in the fourth quarter of 2027 or early 2028.

Last month, Penn received $150 million in funding from Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. in connection with the project.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.