Clark County Approves Heart-Shaped Casino Resort Plans on Abandoned SkyVue Site

Clark County commissioners have given the green light to a 29-story heart-shaped casino resort that will rise on the long-vacant SkyVue Ferris wheel site along the south Las Vegas Strip directly across from Mandalay Bay, and the project carries 752 rooms plus extensive amenities that developers expect to reshape that stretch of the boulevard.

Project Details and Site History

The development includes convention space, a full gaming floor, multiple restaurants, and retail outlets, while the original Ferris wheel pillars will be repurposed into a suspended restaurant that hangs above the property; those pillars have stood unused since the SkyVue project stalled years ago, leaving the nearly 12-acre parcel as one of the more prominent empty lots on the Strip.

Developer Eli Applebaum, operating through Kulik River Capital, acquired the land for $70 million earlier this year, and the purchase set the stage for the new proposal that commissioners reviewed and approved in a single vote after reviewing traffic studies, architectural plans, and economic impact projections submitted by the team.

Approval Process and Timeline

Commissioners examined the heart-shaped design during a public hearing where representatives outlined how the structure would integrate with existing Strip infrastructure, and the vote cleared the path for construction permits without requiring additional zoning changes because the site already carried commercial gaming entitlements from previous applications.

Work on the project is scheduled to begin in phases starting later this year, with full opening targeted for 2028, and county officials noted that the repurposed Ferris wheel elements will serve as both a functional dining venue and a visual landmark visible from Mandalay Bay and the surrounding area.

Economic and Community Impact

The resort is projected to add hundreds of permanent jobs once operational, and the convention facilities are designed to attract midweek business travelers who typically seek larger meeting spaces on the south end of the Strip, while the gaming floor will feature a mix of table games and slots calibrated for both high-limit and general play.

According to Casino.org reporting, the heart motif extends throughout the exterior and interior design elements, creating a unified theme that differentiates the property from neighboring resorts without conflicting with any existing trademarked branding in the market.

Developer Background and Next Steps

Kulik River Capital has moved quickly since closing the land purchase in the spring, and the firm submitted detailed renderings that showed how the 29 stories will step back from the boulevard to reduce visual mass while still delivering the required room count and amenity space.

County planning staff confirmed that all environmental and traffic mitigation measures outlined in the application meet current standards, and the project now advances to the building permit stage where final engineering reviews will occur before groundbreaking.

Conclusion

The approval marks the latest step in reviving a long-dormant parcel that once held ambitious entertainment plans, and the heart-shaped resort now stands positioned to contribute new lodging, dining, and gaming capacity to the south Strip corridor once construction wraps and doors open to guests.