Lady Luck revamp plans on hold

Plans for revamping the Lady Luck casino were almost approved Wednesday, but Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's concerns about a pedestrian bridge and the Mob Museum held them up.

On a 6-1 vote, the City Council delayed action on the plans for two weeks so that Goodman can rest assured that changes to the walkway over Third Street will allow the Mob Museum building to be visible from the Fremont Street Experience.

"I'm still concerned about the bridge," Goodman said. "This is a matter of great importance to me."

Councilman Steve Ross voted against the delay.

Goodman said he and Councilman Ricki Barlow, whose ward includes the Lady Luck, will inspect plans for the bridge before the council's next meeting.

Plans call for adding 8,500 square feet of meeting space and a pool and deck area measuring 17,250 square feet on top of the casino building on Ogden Avenue and Third Street.

Fifty hotel rooms will be replaced with a spa, fitness rooms, bathrooms, meeting space and corridors. The remaining 634 rooms and the casino will be updated, and there will be a new central plant, a new loading dock and changes to improve parking and traffic flow.

The pedestrian bridge plans include stripping away exterior elements and replacing the windows with clear glass.

"There's no way to disguise what it is, and what it is is a bridge," said Andrew Donner, manager of Resort Gaming Group, which will operate the reopened casino.

He said company officials looked at moving the bridge up or down, or removing it and installing an underground tunnel, but that "structural and financial" problems existed with those approaches.

Michelle Dell, owner of the Hogs & Heifers Saloon on Third Street, said the bridge plans are fine, and she urged council members to approve the Lady Luck plans.

"The bridge that's there now doesn't impede the view of the post office," she said, referring to the historic building that will house the Mob Museum. "I cannot encourage you enough to approve this project."

Dell opened her saloon when the Lady Luck was still open, and as a result her business did well. But then the casino closed in 2006, "and we have been struggling ever since."

Todd Kessler, who is working for Resort Gaming Group, has said that plans call for the remodeled casino to open in 2012.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or at 229-6435.