First look inside Durango — PHOTOS

Station Casinos’ newest hotel-casino uses natural light and golden accents, fresh florals and a major emphasis on food and beverage outlets to set itself apart from competition, as seen on a preview tour Monday before Durango’s opening.

Durango, the 200-room, 83,000-square-foot-casino property, is parent company Red Rock Resorts’ first property in more than a decade and meets its goal of expanding its locals casino portfolio.

“Now that we have luxury brand and we have core brand Station properties, you have to have the distinction in order to justify what you’re doing at these properties,” General Manager David Horn told the media during Monday’s preview. “With a Red Rock and a Green Valley Ranch at a luxe division, there’s a goal or a comparable for us here. I think that this is the next generation of what a luxe property should be for the company.”

The $780 million project on South Durango Drive near the 215 Beltway has more than 2,300 slot machines, including some property-exclusive games, and more than 60 table games in the casino. It also has 20,000 square feet of meeting space, an 11-stall food hall, four standalone restaurants and two bars for the property.

“It’s accentuating the food hall moment to something that nobody’s seen,” Horn said. “I think each of them carries their own style, their tradition and that’s just one portion (of the resort).”

Durango opens at 10 a.m. Tuesday, though the public parking lots open at 9 a.m. for guests who want to be among the first inside. A 9 p.m. fireworks show will also herald the grand opening.

Red Rock President Scott Kreeger said the property fits into the company’s goal of creating a product that fits the neighborhood’s demographics and interests. Future developments could become luxury properties like Durango, Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch, while others could look more like an entertainment destination with bowling alleys, movie theaters and other amenities. Similarly, Durango’s future phases could add those on.

“We’re a family-run company with a family culture and our customers are part of that family,” Kreeger said. “The ease of getting into the property and parking and the convenience and warmth of the property — what we want customers to take away is, ‘I can come back again and again.’ ”

Durango’s first bets and hotel guests come roughly two weeks after it was initially expected to open. Station pushed the debut back to allow more turnover time between construction and operations staff.

The property was buzzing with last-minute landscaping and floral decor touches and final “play days” in food outlets on Monday afternoon. Horn said there were just under 1,400 employees working on the property and many had been staying on site to test rooms and prepare for the past week.

Station hopes to tap into the growing southwest valley, where commercial and residential development can be seen in the wood frames and cranes along the Beltway. It opens the property being the only casino in a five-mile radius.

Horn said the desire for Strip-quality restaurants and “affordable luxury” that they found around Red Rock in the Summerlin area has crept south with development, and that they’re tapping into the growing population of former California residents that are moving to the area.

“We incorporated some of the partners we had as names that were synonymous with Southern California, knowing that that could be part of the equation to help us be a little more successful,” he said.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.