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Aqueduct developer gambles on Las Vegas

By Steve Mosco

A major player in the city’s gaming industry is heading west to try its luck on the Las Vegas strip.

Genting Group, the developer of Resorts World Casino New York City at the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, announced last week that it acquired an 87-acre parcel of land in the south Nevada gaming mecca and will build Resorts World Las Vegas, with groundbreaking slated for next year.

“We are incredibly grateful to the leaders of the state of Nevada, Clark County and the city of Las Vegas for joining us in announcing what will be a fantastic addition to the top resort destination in the United States,” said K.T. Lim, chairman and chief executive of Genting Group. “This is a great day for Genting, Las Vegas and the state of Nevada, and we look forward to taking full advantage of this exciting new opportunity.”

The project’s first phase will include a 3,500-room resort and a 175,000-square-foot gaming space across several floors, as well as dining and retail space.

And echoing the company’s sentiment when it built its gaming facility in Queens, officials said the most important aspect of the project is the thousands of jobs it will bring to the location.

“A project of this size and magnitude will not only attract more visitors to our state, but will be a boon to the Nevada economy both in terms of jobs and southern Nevada’s continued economic recovery and growth,” U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said.

Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.