The Culinary Union in Las Vegas doesn’t want a casino resort to come to the Spring Valley neighborhood southwest of the Strip. Well, at least one built by Station Casinos, a company that has feverishly fought unionization efforts at its resorts for decades.
Station Casinos wants to build a casino and hotel complex on 71 acres of land just west of Durango Drive, south of the 215 Beltway/Roy Horn Way. The community has long been devoid of an immediate casino floor to gamble at, as the nearest resort is some five miles away.
Station Casinos, which focuses on the locals’ market in Las Vegas, hopes to bring slot machines, table games, sports betting, and a hotel to the Durango site. The casino operator, controlled by billionaires Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III, acquired the vacant land more than two decades ago.
Culinary is urging its members and Spring Valley residents to speak up and oppose Station’s Durango project. Culinary claims there are roughly 200 union members who reside within a mile of the project site.
The labor organization links the Durango project to a “Strip-sized casino hotel.” The union says the proposed hotel would be taller than the Red Rock Casino and Flamingo hotel structures.
How many more cars will drive on Maule Ave every day?
🛻
Will guests in the 216-foot-high hotel be able to see into your backyard?
Residents ask questions about proposed #DurangoStation project during Spring Valley Town Advisory Board meeting. https://t.co/A49BeBEU5O pic.twitter.com/OTzmDpDvNY
— The Culinary Union (@Culinary226) September 1, 2021
The development blueprint that the Spring Valley Town Advisory Board approved last week features a 99,000-square-foot casino floor and 452-room hotel tower standing 216 feet tall. It has all the typical resort amenities such as a spa, pool, and restaurants.
Project Scope Debated
Station Casinos representatives told Spring Valley officials last week that the Durango development is a scaled-down version of earlier proposals. The company argues that the project is tailored towards area residents, and the plan is far from one that would be built on the Strip.
Union brass believes the casino would degrade the quality of life in Spring Valley by way of increased traffic and security concerns. Culinary confirmed over the weekend that it has initiated a campaign to urge residents to reject the casino.
Culinary Union has mailed postcards to residents and talked to members and parents at the nearby elementary school about the project, and is raising questions about traffic and pedestrian safety on Maule Avenue and neighborhood compatibility,” a recent press release from the labor group explained.
Station Casinos countered by saying the Durango property would be a “community partner” by creating new jobs, tax revenue, and indirect economic activity.
Quarrel Continues
Station Casinos and its Red Rock Resorts publicly traded subsidiary have been in a decades-long fight with the Culinary Union. The Fertittas, staunch supporters of the Republican Party and longtime foes to organized labor, have done everything in their power to keep their casinos union-free.
Station said Culinary’s opposition to its Durango undertaking was sadly expected. The casino group opined that the union’s latest actions are nothing short of “harassment” and “petty politics.”
Our new development will be a great addition and a great community partner, employing thousands of construction and full-time team members and creating tens of millions of dollars in new state and local taxes. The Company looks forward to releasing more information on the project in the weeks ahead,” the released explained.
The next step for the project will be its consideration during Clark County planning meetings scheduled for this month.
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