Old story: George Clooney and his hotel in Las Vegas which never happened

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Las Ramblas Resort

The Las Ramblas Resort was a proposed hotel, resort, and casino project in Paradise, Nevada by George Clooney and Rande Gerber (husband of Cindy Crawford), and designed by Arquitectonica. Its scheduled completion was 2008, but Dan Klores Communications, the PR firm representing Las Ramblas, confirmed in June 2006 that the 25-acre (100,000 m2) plot has been sold to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the developers of the planned W Hotel for US$202 million.

The site for Las Ramblas was to be on Harmon Avenue, between the Aladdin and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Plans included 11 towers encompassing a 4,400 room-luxury hotel, condominium residences, a spa and health club, nightclubs, and a casino. The design was inspired by La Rambla, an open-air street in Barcelona.

Despite Clooney and Gerber's announcements to the contrary, rumors and news reports persisted that the project would not be completed. Conflicting reports detailed a rift between Clooney and Ocean's Eleven co-star Brad Pitt, but other reports said Pitt was never involved.

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Clooney Involved in Las Ramblas

Actor George Clooney and nightclub owner Rande Gerber are joining locally based Centra Properties and Related Las Vegas in the development of a $3-billion hotel, condominium and casino complex to be located just off the Strip in the Harmon Corridor. The development will cover 25 acres and include 11 towers.

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Las Ramblas will include a luxury hotel, luxury residences (both residential condominiums as well as a condo-hotel), bungalows, a spa/health club, nightclubs, restaurants, retail, and an upscale casino. Much of the amenities will be accessible via an open-air pedestrian promenade.

Clooney will run the Casino which, he claims, will have a dress code and will be a throw-back to Vegas-of-old. Classy folks, a big-band in the casino, etc. A dress code was tried at the Bellagio when Wynn opened it, but it didn't last for long as even wealthy people like to dress casually when on vacation and several of them complained.

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If completed as planned, Las Ramblas will encompass more than 4,400 hotel, condo and condo-hotel units in 11 high-rise buildings comprising nearly 8 million sq.ft. The breakdown is for 300 hotel units, 2,764 condo units, 1,326 condo-hotel units and 19 bungalows. Mid-2006 is the planned construction start date for the first phase.

The Development includes:

Architecture by Arquitectonica, the internationally celebrated firm

Service wrapped in five-star splendor starting at the awe-inspiring arrival and including covered valet parking, white gloved doorman service, concierge, state of the art on-site security, and 24-hour room service

Cascading pool, overlooking the boulevard and offering private patios, cabanas and gardens available for lounging, dining and entertaining

Priority access to on-site gourmet dining, created by internationally renowned chefs

Short elevator ride to the casino, a sophisticated atmosphere featuring a classic poker room, table games, slots, race and sports, and high limit wagering

Professionally managed spa and fitness center offering health, fitness, steam, sauna, massage and other revitalizing services to residents

The Residence includes:

Fully furnished units with exquisitely designed contemporary interiors and furnishing by internationally acclaimed Keith Hobbs

European style kitchens with granite countertops and state-of-the-art appliances

Generously proportioned bathrooms with elegant marble flooring and countertops, twin sinks, custom-designed vanities, walk-in marble showers and spa tub in master bath

Residences are equipped with flat screen plasma televisions, providing immediate access to personalized amenities and services that guarantee comfort and define luxury

Studio, one, two and three bedroom units, as well as penthouse suites and pool-level bungalows. Multi-story penthouse residences and bungalows have private rooftop terraces and pools.

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George Clooney Makes Casino Ownership Sound So Easy


With stories in both the LAT and on the AP wire about his reportedly heavy financial involvement in the new Las Ramblas casino development in Vegas, George Clooney and his flacks are doing their best to prove that he's not some Hollywood dilettante jerking off at the craps tables. He loves classy, Brat-Packy Old Vegas! He eschews the Mardi-Gras-parade-on-the-ceiling tackiness that attracts Jack and Marion Midwest! And did they mention he's put in a lot of money? But how does a George Clooney decide to get into the gambling business? The same way you might, by pausing in the middle of a bender to ask a buddy how cool it would be to have your own place:

The idea of actually owning a casino came out of conversations between Clooney and [nightlife impresario Rande] Gerber when the actor was staying at the Bellagio filming "Ocean's Eleven," which came out in 2001. Clooney said the friends thought it would be "cool" to own something like the Bellagio, although much smaller and tailored to their own tastes.

Of course, like bedding struggling actresses and making macho guy-guy chemistry seem not so gay, it's never as effortless as Clooney makes it appear. His buddy's a connected multimillionaire nightclub owner who porks Cindy Crawford. After you and your pal finishing sighing into free vodka tonics and start brainstorming plans for a Playboy Mansion-themed casino, you hit on 17, lose the last of this month's rent money, then go home to pleasure yourselves to an escort handbill. (Not the same one, we hope.)

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George Clooney-backed condo project sold

Proposed $3 billion Las Vegas development scrapped as market softens

George Clooney said he's disappointed that the Las Ramblas development in Las Vegas is being scrapped, and he will donate his profits from the venture to the African Debt Relief Project.

updated 6/5/2006

LAS VEGAS — The site of a proposed $3 billion hotel, condominium and casino complex backed by George Clooney has been sold to a competitor, the latest in a series of high-rise projects here that have been scrapped before groundbreaking.

Real estate developer Related Las Vegas and its partners — Las Vegas-based Centra Properties and Clooney's business partner, nightclub owner Rande Gerber — told The Associated Press they have scrapped plans to build the "vintage Vegas" resort and plan to return condo reservation deposits on Monday.

Edge Group, developers of the adjacent W Las Vegas condominium-hotel project, paid Related and its partners $202 million for the 25-acre site — more than twice what Related paid a year ago for the plot just off the Las Vegas Strip.

Related Las Vegas President Marty Burger said rising construction costs and slowed sales forced the group to rethink its 4,400-unit complex. A redesign that added more hotel rooms to the mix would have meant adding more casino space, he said.

"For us, it became more about gaming than the residential community we were trying to build," Burger said. "We're the largest developer of residential property in the country, and we saw ourselves getting away from what we do best."

When first announced in August, Clooney pitched the project, to be called Las Ramblas, as a resort with a classic, tuxedo-and-martini feel. Clooney said he was disappointed by the sale, and hasn't given up on real estate.

"I'll donate my profits from the sale to the African Debt Relief Project," Clooney said in a statement. "And I guess I'll find someplace else to gamble."

Edge Group said it plans to develop an upscale, boutique hotel-casino complex, noting it will now control 50 acres in the immediate area. "We can control what the identity is there," said Adam Frank, president of Edge Group.

Related Las Vegas — the local development arm of The Related Companies in New York and The Related Group of Florida — made a splash in the Las Vegas market last year, announcing plans for the 11-tower Las Ramblas, the two-tower Icon condominium complex and a master plan for the heart of the city's urban renewal effort.

Talks with the city fell apart and Icon was canceled in January.

Las Ramblas was named for a fashionable and pedestrian-friendly area in Barcelona, Spain, that boasts a promenade and cafes. The fates of several condo projects are uncertain and others have been canceled in the past year, according to Applied Analysis, a Las Vegas real-estate research firm.

melbert wrote:This one Katie?

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