Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas begins booking rooms for Dec. 15 opening; $1.1B left to finish work

Cosmopolitan in Vegas begins taking reservations

LAS VEGAS — The $3.9 billion Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has started accepting room reservations for a Dec. 15 opening, hotel officials said Wednesday.

The company said in a separate regulatory filing that it planned to spend $1.1 billion during the last nine months of 2010 to finish the 2,995-room casino-resort on the Las Vegas Strip.

Company officials said that includes $800 million for construction and $284 million for furniture, fixtures and other equipment.

The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said it spent $164.4 million on capital expenses during the first quarter ending March 31, mostly for construction.

The Cosmopolitan said it had $3.1 million cash on hand and $2.2 billion available from a $3.9 billion credit facility as of March 31.

The hotel’s website is advertising opening night room rates starting at $300.

The two-tower resort will open without 987 of its rooms, with most of them opening incrementally through July next year. Cosmopolitan CEO John Unwin has said the delay will give more time to finish interior work and move furniture.

The company said Wednesday that 19 rooms would open after July 2011, when “management deems appropriate.”

The 8.7-acre development is expected to be the last new Strip casino for at least a few years. Other projects, including the Carl Icahn-owned Fontainebleau Las Vegas and Boyd Gaming Corp.’s Echelon, are on hold indefinitely as their owners wait for more favorable market conditions.

Operators have lowered room rates in Las Vegas as they fight to attract tourists to existing casinos.

Owner Deutsche Bank paid about $1 billion for the half-finished development in August 2008 after its previous developers entered foreclosure. The German bank decided to finish and open the resort.

Online:

www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com