Resorts World Las Vegas has joined Wynn Resorts in its attempt to secure a stop on the Loop, the new system of tunnels that starts from the Las Vegas Convention Center. The new casino resort that is scheduled to open doors in the summer of 2021 has submitted a plan to Clark County seeking approval.
Last year, due to its expansion into a new section that is scheduled for opening in 2021, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), the operator of the city’s massive convention centre, was looking into a new way to move people between its different halls. In May 2019 they chose The Boring Company and its $50 million tunnel project to become its people mover.
The Boring Company, the firm founded by Elon Musk in 2016, announced in May it had completed the first phase of the project with the second tunnel underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center, the first being completed in February. The tunnels will connect the new exhibit hall with the entire existing campus, with three stations between key LVCC destinations and nearby transportation connections.
The main transportation vehicles will be different models of Tesla electric cars, Model 3s, Model X and a tram for 12 to 16 passengers built on the Model 3 platform. Vehicles will eventually become autonomous but at the beginning will be man-driven. The people-mover system called the Convention Center Loop is scheduled to open to the public in January 2021, for the next Consumer Electronics Show.
Having completed the two tunnels, The Boring Company officially applied for approval to expand to the first casino on the Strip, Encore At Wynn, and on June 1, Resorts World Las Vegas, the $4.3 billion under development luxury casino resort, officially submitted plans for a proposed passenger station and a tunnel that would connect it to the Las Vegas Convention Center campus.
“… Convention guests would no longer have to worry about long walks or gridlock traffic around the convention center – they could take the transportation system to Resorts World Las Vegas for lunch, meetings, or personal appointments, and be back to their conference or expo in minutes. This innovative transportation system is a perfect match for Resorts World Las Vegas as we design our resort to be at the forefront of progressive technology.”
Scott Sibella, President, Resorts World Las Vegas
If both casino resorts have their wishes granted by the Board of County Commissioners and become part of the Loop, it will be interesting to see the reaction from the other Strip properties who definitely would not want to be left outside. Indeed, Elon Musk publicly expressed his ambition for the project to reach to the McCarran International Airport, but the new system is not meant to serve as public transportation, according to Steve Hill, CEO and President of LVCVA.
Once the project enters phase two, it will be hard to halt the expansion of the system, and eventually turning it into the most preferred public transport means, especially with so many others that would gladly join.
