Fontainebleau Las Vegas Opens (2023)

2023

Date: Opened to the public just before midnight on December 13, 2023
Location: North end of the Las Vegas Strip, on a 25-acre site
Key people: Jeffrey Soffer (developer, Fontainebleau Development); earlier owners Carl Icahn and Steve Witkoff
Cost: $3.7 billion in the end, finished with a $2.2 billion construction loan
Height: 67 stories, 735 feet: the tallest building in Nevada
Rooms: 3,644
Casino: 150,000 square feet
Other amenities: Six-acre pool complex with seven pools, 550,000 sq ft of meeting space, 36 restaurants and bars at opening
Timeline: Announced 2005, construction began 2007, bankrupt in 2009
Ownership changes: Icahn bought it in 2010 for about $150 million, sold it in 2017 for $600 million, and Soffer reacquired it in 2021
Where to see it today: Fontainebleau Las Vegas, open on the Strip

About

Florida developer Jeffrey Soffer announced the Fontainebleau in 2005, the same year he acquired the 1950s Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. He partnered with former casino executive Glenn Schaeffer. Construction started in 2007, when the reported price tag had reached $2.9 billion, and the target opening was 2009. Then the real estate market crashed. The developers sued lenders in spring 2009, and the unfinished resort went bankrupt in mid-2009.

For more than a decade the blue-tinted tower stood unfinished on the north Strip. Billionaire Carl Icahn bought it in early 2010 for about $150 million, did little with it, and sold it in summer 2017 for $600 million to developer Steve Witkoff and partners. In 2018, Witkoff and Marriott renamed it Drew Las Vegas, after Witkoff's son Andrew. Witkoff suspended construction in March 2020 as Las Vegas shut down for COVID-19.

Soffer came back. In early 2021 he reacquired the property with the real estate arm of Koch Industries, through a deed in lieu of foreclosure, for $350 million. That fall he restored the Fontainebleau name and restarted construction. He set the fourth quarter of 2023 as the target, then announced a $2.2 billion construction loan.

The resort opened just before midnight on December 13, 2023, after a ribbon-cutting that morning. It was nearly 20 years in the making and cost $3.7 billion in the end. At 735 feet and 67 stories it became the tallest building in Nevada, with 3,644 rooms, a 150,000-square-foot casino, a six-acre pool complex and 36 restaurants and bars. It was the first big Strip resort opening since Resorts World in June 2021.

What to expect

Fontainebleau Las Vegas is open, and its official site says it holds a MICHELIN Key for 2025 and 2026. The six-acre Oasis Pool has four bars, the LIV Beach dayclub and a gaming area. Shows play at the BleauLive Theater, and Marc Anthony's residency there is announced for 2027. The resort lists more than 30 restaurants, lounges and cafés.

The resort's Hall of Excellence, a ticketed memorabilia exhibit, is open Thursday to Monday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the site. Its LIV nightclub is among eleven late-night venues the resort lists.

Before and after

Encore Opens (2008)

Good to know

The Fontainebleau is the tallest building in Nevada at 735 feet. The 1,149-foot STRAT tower is taller, but it is not counted as a building because it is not fully habitable, 8 News Now explained.
Under Witkoff the project was called Drew Las Vegas, named for his son Andrew, who died of an OxyContin overdose in 2011 at 22. It was meant to carry Marriott's Edition and JW Marriott brands. Marriott later exited the project in an amicable settlement.
Some furniture, carpet and wallpaper bought for the original Fontainebleau ended up at the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas, the Review-Journal reported.
Before opening, the resort reached an agreement with the Culinary and Bartenders Unions letting workers decide on unionizing without interference. It was hiring about 6,500 people.
Nevada residents and Fontainebleau Rewards members get free self-parking, according to the resort's site.

Questions about Fontainebleau Las Vegas Opens (2023)

When did Fontainebleau Las Vegas open?

Fontainebleau Las Vegas opened to the public just before midnight on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, after a 10 a.m. ribbon-cutting for invited guests. The project had first been announced in 2005, so the opening came almost two decades later. The last major Strip opening before it was Resorts World in June 2021.

Why did the Fontainebleau take so long to open?

Construction began in 2007, but the real estate crash cut off financing, and the unfinished resort went bankrupt in mid-2009. Carl Icahn bought it in 2010 and left it largely untouched. Steve Witkoff bought it in 2017 and renamed it Drew Las Vegas, then paused work in March 2020 during the pandemic. Original developer Jeffrey Soffer reacquired it in 2021 and finished it.

How much did Fontainebleau Las Vegas cost?

8 News Now described it as ultimately a $3.7 billion project. Along the way, Icahn paid about $150 million for it in 2010 and sold it for $600 million in 2017. Soffer and Koch Industries' real estate arm acquired it for $350 million in 2021, and the owners then announced a $2.2 billion construction loan to finish it.

How tall is the Fontainebleau?

The tower has 67 stories and stands 735 feet, making it the tallest building in Nevada. The STRAT's 1,149-foot tower is taller, but it is classed as an observation tower rather than a building because it is not fully habitable. Fontainebleau's top floor holds a private club.

How many rooms does Fontainebleau Las Vegas have?

It opened with 3,644 rooms, and the resort today says it has over 3,600 accommodations. At opening it also had a 150,000-square-foot casino, a six-acre pool complex with seven pools, a spa, the BleauLive theater, the LIV nightclub and dayclub, 550,000 square feet of meeting space and 36 restaurants and bars.

Who owns Fontainebleau Las Vegas?

Jeffrey Soffer, chairman and CEO of Fontainebleau Development, originally announced the project in 2005. He reacquired it in early 2021 with the real estate arm of Kansas-based Koch Industries, then renamed it Fontainebleau Las Vegas and finished construction. Between 2010 and 2021 it belonged to Carl Icahn and then to Steve Witkoff and partners.