Fontainebleau prepares for long-awaited December opening

Birch left the Cosmopolitan last year after its operations were sold to MGM Resorts International and rejoined Fontainebleau to finish what she started. While touring the site with The Nevada Independent last week, Birch said she is approaching the Fontainebleau’s planned Dec. 13 opening with optimism.

“We have to earn our business right away,” Birch said. “We have to make a very good impression.”

Walking through the Strip resort a little more than 11 weeks before it welcomes customers, the Fontainebleau is an active construction zone. Visitors on tour are required to sign agreements not to take photos of the 150,000-square-foot casino with 1,300 slot machines and 128 table games and spaces for the 36 restaurants.

Instead, Fontainebleau’s public relations team offered volumes of conceptual renderings of what the finished interiors will resemble. Many of the photos are featured on conference room walls inside the temporary construction offices on the parking garage’s third floor.

“We notice the changes daily,” Birch said while stepping over construction material in the hotel lobby area. “It’s a very active site.”

During a suitability hearing at the Gaming Control Board in July, Fontainebleau Development President Brett Mufson said the casino will include more than 18,000 square feet of high-limit gaming spaces, including a slot area with 105 games and a private gaming salon with three table games — blackjack, baccarat and European roulette.

Fontainebleau will also have a 14,000-square-foot race and sportsbook and a poolside gaming area.

Fontainebleau’s 67-story hotel tower contains 3,644 rooms and suites. Unlike other Strip operators that partner with hotel companies such as Hilton and Marriott, Fontainebleau Development will solely operate the Las Vegas resort’s hotel.

Situated on 25 acres, Fontainebleau is using every available square foot of land. The 6.5-acre outdoor pool deck sits atop low-rise portions of the building. The space has seven different-sized pool areas and an outdoor terrace for special events.

The 550,000-square-foot conference center is located three levels above the hotel-casino’s parking garage. Fontainebleau officials hope to eventually have a connection built linking the property to the West Hall of the neighboring Las Vegas Convention Center, a facility that didn’t exist in 2009 when construction halted.

Fontainebleau’s leadership has spent much of the past month announcing features and partnerships. Miami-based Groot Hospitality will bring LIV nightclub, restaurants Komodo and Papi Steak and LIV Beach, a new day club concept, to the resort.

A 55,000-square-foot spa will also house a 14,000-square-foot fitness center. 

Birch said she always felt a connection to the building, even as it sat vacant for more than a decade.

Walking through the unfinished casino, she points to areas that change daily.

Landscaping sits in containers awaiting placement along Fontainebleau’s porte cochere from Las Vegas Boulevard. Several of the resort’s pillars are designed to resemble those inside the Fontainebleau Miami, the company’s 70-year-old flagship hotel.

During the tour, Birch pointed out several of the bowtie logo designs that have become Fontainebleau’s insignia.

The property has hired 600 employees and is planning to eventually hire a workforce of 6,500. This week, Fontainebleau began the hiring process to fill approximately 1,500 positions for the North Strip resort’s restaurants, bars and nightlife operations.

Two weeks ago, Fontainebleau reached an agreement with Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 on a card check neutrality agreement, allowing the non-gaming workforce to decide whether they want union representation.

Still, much needs to come together before the public arrives.

Slot machines and other gaming equipment remain in their packing material awaiting placement along the casino floor. The main entrance to the sportsbook will be through a sports bar/tavern.

Nearly a year ago, Fontainebleau Development and Koch Real Estate Investments obtained $2.2 billion in financing to complete the project. Fontainebleau Development CEO Jeffrey Soffer told state gaming regulators in July he was “excited and honored to be able to finish the Fontainebleau. I think it's going to be fabulous for Las Vegas. It’s definitely a little different than what was originally planned. It’s much more upscale.”