$1.5 Billion Paradise Park Project For Wynn Las Vegas Receives Green Light

Wynn Resorts plans to begin construction later this year on a Disney-like park that includes a 20-acre lagoon, convention center, and other entertainment that would sit adjacent to its current Las Vegas casino resort property.

The cost for the project is $1.5 billion, but that amount won't be a hindrance to the company that is apparently flush with cash.

"We have no better use for our money," Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn told CNBC. "We keep $1.5 billion or $2 billion in the parent company and this would allow us to take the most conservative, but the most dynamic approach to creating this."

If You Build It, They Will Come

The Wynn Resorts board of directors gave a thumbs up to the "Paradise Park" project that will transform the area that is currently home to a golf course that sits on almost 130 acres of land. Full details of the new development have yet to be revealed, but Wynn indicated that a lagoon with a white sand beachfront, a boardwalk, restaurants, and convention space consisting of a tower with rooms that number in the thousands all figure into the plans.

A formal announcement that will disclose all aspects of the project is expected within a few months.

"We've got all these great ideas that are going into this lagoon and this beach front property," the casino mogul said.

The first phase of construction is set to begin in December. While part of the goal is to attract conventioneers, Wynn Resorts also has its eye on providing fun for the entire family with shows comparable to those found at Disneyland.

Wynn executives are betting that the new Paradise Park will considerably increase the value of its adjoining casino resort. Stock in the company rose more than 4% following an earnings call where news of the project was released.

Boston Bound

Las Vegas is not the only location that Wynn has earmarked for new development. Construction of a Wynn Boston Harbor Resort in Massachusetts is already underway with a grand opening scheduled for mid-2019.

That project comes with a price tag of $2.4 billion and includes a 671-room hotel, ballroom, convention space, waterfront boardwalk, casino gaming, and other attractions. It is being billed by Wynn as "the largest private sector single phase construction project in the history of the State of Massachusetts."