Joint venture partners Witkoff and New Valley LLC, owned by Miami-based Vector Group, have closed on the acquisition of the former site of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The duo paid $600 million for the resort and casino property at 2755 Las Vegas Boulevard, directly across from the Las Vegas Convention Center. The seller, Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises, picked up the asset after the Fontainebleau Las Vegas filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009 during construction. The Fontainebleau Las Vegas was originally planned to have 2,871 hotel rooms, 1,1018 condominium units, a 95,000 square foot casino, 180,000 sqf of retail space, nightclubs and an array of restaurants and conference rooms. “2755 Las Vegas Boulevard South is one of the best physical assets in the country, which is one of the reasons we were attracted to it,” said Steve Witkoff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Witkoff. “At the basis, we acquired a well-designed, structurally sound integrated resort at a significant discount to both replacement cost and the implied public market valuations of comparable Las Vegas Strip resorts. We look forward to applying our industry-leading value-enhancing platform to this property to unlock its true growth potential.”
