Real Property reported that this came as a surprise as the $120 million deal was announced in October 2021 and on October 12 this year the state-funded convention and tourist agency LVCVA made an announcement that the sale has been finalized with just some regulatory approvals still pending.
LVCVA Has Been Trying to Sell the 10 acres Since 2019
LVCVA acquired the land back in February 2015 when the notorious Las Vegas Strip Riviera Hotel-Casino, which had been in business for 60 years, went bankrupt. The property was 26 acres in total and LVCVA paid $182.5 million for it. LVCVA demolished the venue in 2016 and expanded the West Hall of its Las Vegas Convention Center but only used up 16 acres of the land.
Ever since then, it has been trying to sell the remaining 10 acres, which are located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Elvis Presley Boulevard. Currently, the land is being used as an extra parking lot for the convention center. It was cleared and paved for that purpose.
As the deal with Fischer fell through LVCVA immediately relisted the land for sale with its broker CBRE. LVCVA was hoping to sell the land as it had plans to invest the money into the renovation of the exhibit halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center. However, it will not be left completely empty-handed as the Chilean billionaire has to pay a separate fee of $7 million.
Chilean billionaire Claudio Fischer Had Plans for a New Las Vegas Strip Resort
The Chilean mogul Claudio Fischer is the co-founder of one of the biggest casino resort operators in Latin America – Sun Dreams. The operator runs 19 properties across plenty of Latin American countries, including Chile, Argentina, Panama, Colombia, and Peru.
Fischer started his career as an airline pilot who eventually became an airline owner, which later on led him to diversify his business with acquisitions within the casino and hospitality industry. Fischer has been eyeing opportunities to step on the Las Vegas Strip for a while and the LVCVA property was the perfect chance.
LVCVA president Steve Hill was also excited to welcome the Chilean entrepreneur as the new neighbor to the convention center. Hill commented that Fischer has over 20 years of experience in the gambling industry and was excited to see what the Latin American billionaire will achieve with the property.
However, first, the pandemic and now the global inflation crisis have thwarted Fischer’s plans. According to reports, Fischer backed out of the deal as the rising interest rates in the US diminished the potential profitability of the casino resort project.