Early Thoughts About Durango Station

 

EARLY THOUGHTS ABOUT DURANGO STATION (LAS VEGAS)

Months ago, this space was just a vacant lot off the freeway in southwest Las Vegas. Now, look at Durango Station, which is set to open later this year.

I’ll say this — what an impressive pace of construction.

Still, I can’t help but wonder why StationCasinos (STN) abandoned Henderson (Fiesta) and North Las Vegas (Texas Station) completely, which both enjoyed loyal customer bases and then jumped across town to build yet another upscale casino-resort that is certain to cannibalize their own already highly-successful Red Rock property, just three miles away to the north.

I’m sure the “experts” have this all figured out. Nonetheless, I’m convinced that yet another casino company is cutting into a demographic that’s already saturated. There are only so many people willing and able to pay $350/night for hotel rooms and eat $250 meals in steakhouses.

 

Prediction:

 

Durango Station will probably do well for a while because it’s the new casino and there’s no other gambling venue in the SW sector. So, it effectively will enjoy a geographic monopoly.  But it’s not Red Rock either. It lacks the nearby mountains, higher elevation, the get-away location/staycation, plus the allure of Downtown Summerlin.

Durango Station will also cut into Red Rock’s business by slicing away some percentage of locals from the south part of the city, yet won’t gain much of the tourist market because no one wants come to Las Vegas to stay 8 miles off the Strip out in the middle of nowhere across the highway from an Ikea and a car dealership and pay $350 a night for a hotel room.