$4B Resorts World Vegas project crosses hurdle

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A Malaysian conglomerate that hopes to build a $4 billion Asian-themed resort on the Las Vegas Strip crossed a major regulatory hurdle Wednesday.

Genting Group operates casinos in Asia, the United Kingdom, the Bahamas and New York. Officials with Genting told regulators they plan to break ground this year on Resorts World Las Vegas, according to the Associated Press.

The project would incorporate 80 to 85 percent of the buildings in the partially built, and long-stalled, Echelon project and directly create about 8,500 jobs.

The project could breathe new life into the tired north end of the tourist corridor where several projects stalled during the recession. It comes as developers finish work on the SLS Las Vegas, a 1,600-room resort that's rising from the site of the shuttered Sahara hotel-casino and is scheduled to be open to the public over Labor Day weekend.

Las Vegas is trying to bolster its share of international tourists, who tend to stay longer and spend more than visitors closer to home.

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