The Scoop on Gaughan's Latest Property In the casino business the name of the game is luxury. You see it on the Strip, where palaces like Wynn Las Vegas, Bellagio and the Venetian capture ever larger chunks of the tourist dollar; in the locals market, where Strip-quality properties like Green Valley Ranch blow their competitors away, and even in the slot-bar market.
Savvy casino boss Michael Gaughan thinks Coast Casinos' new South Coast is poised to capitalize on the trend. "People want nicer places, so everybody's trying to build them," Gaughan said of his new south valley property, which he expects to tap into the sweet surrounding locals demographic and the drive-by tourist traffic on Interstate 15. Gaughan noted that he originally planned to spend $350 million on the South Coast, slated to open by the end of the year. "Now I'm up to $600 million." He also said Station Casinos' estimated Red Rock Resort would cost about $400 million. "Now it's almost a billion," he said of the competitor planned to open next spring.
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