Changes are afoot that could shift the balance of power in Las Vegas a little further to the north by the time the Raiders start playing to the south. This batch of Strip saviors, though, has something that sets them apart from earlier Strip developers: they are, for the most part, new to building in Las Vegas, even if they have deep roots in gaming and real estate. While the risk is higher for the latest group of Strip hopefuls, the benefits could be larger and more widespread than many assume.
First, some geography. Casinos in Las Vegas are mostly found in two clusters: Downtown Las Vegas, centered on Fremont Street (five blocks of which, since 1995, have been encased in the Fremont Street Experience’s light canopy), and the Las Vegas Strip. Here’s where the geography gets a little tricky: the Las Vegas Strip is not, technically, in the city of Las Vegas, whose southern boundary is Sahara Avenue. Most of the Strip is in the Clark County townships of Winchester and Paradise, even though all of the casinos have Las Vegas mailing addresses.