$600 million facility on the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard
The property's opening is at least four months away and more than 2,000 construction workers are toiling to meet a deadline. Southern Nevada's abnormally wet winter set back the construction timeline a bit, said Gaughan, South Coast's vice president and general manager. On the bare concrete floor that will eventually become the South Coast's 80,000-square-foot casino, spray painted outlines depict the planned location of the main gaming pit, blackjack tables and the bulk of an expected 2,400 slot machines. By week's end, carpet will cover up much of the markings. Interior design workers still have months to complete restaurants, gaming areas, 150,000 square feet of convention space and other amenities. In the 25-story hotel tower, rooms to the 10th floor have furniture while interior finishing work, such as wallpapering and painting, is proceeding upward. Meanwhile, the South Coast's signature attraction, a 4,500 equestrian and event center, won't have its roof until sometime in November. Still, Gaughan said the South Coast will be ready to throw out the welcome mat soon after Jan. 1 to a casino-lacking customer base that stretches throughout communities on the southern end of the Las Vegas Valley, including Anthem, Southern Highlands and Silverado Ranch. "The project is pretty much at a point we thought it would be at this time," said Gaughan during an hour-long media tour of the South Coast. "What's amazing is that you could be gone for a day or two, and you notice that much has changed in a very short time." He said customers of other Coast properties, such as the Suncoast, The Orleans and Gold Coast, will find many similarities. The casino layout at the South Coast somewhat mirrors the Suncoast, only the footprint is much larger. "We're telling everyone it's like the Suncoast," Gaughan said. "But it's the Suncoast on steroids." One noticeable change is the location of the casino's 16-screen movie theater, which was moved to the second floor of the South Coast, adjacent to a 64-lane bowling center and a child-care center. "We wanted to offer customers a little bit of a safe haven (away from gaming)," Gaughan said. Gaughan, whose father, Jackie Gaughan, founded Coast Casinos, which became a division of Boyd Gaming Corp. last year, said the company has learned much about building casino-hotels since first constructing the Gold Coast on West Flamingo Road in 1986. The South Coast will open with 600 rooms. A second 700-room tower, under construction, is expected to open by May. A third tower is also planned, which would give the property in excess of 2,000 rooms. The South Coast site is 60 acres and the property will have 6,000 parking spaces. "We will have a strong draw from the tourist market because of our location, but we expect to market heavily to the local casino customer," Gaughan said. "We have a very strong built-in customer base right around us." The South Coast is also expected to draw customers from several nearby timeshares and nongaming properties. The biggest tourist draw will be from the equestrian center, Gaughan said. The first event is planned in February and 13 equestrian competitions have been booked. Tim Lanier, general manager of the equestrian center, said many of events have complementing trade shows that will use the South Coast's meeting space and large followings that will fill the hotel's guest rooms. Lanier said the equestrian center can be used for other sporting events and large meetings.