New Las Vegas Resort-Casino to Rise at Stardust Site by 2018

The developer of a sprawling Chinese-themed resort on the Las Vegas Strip says the hotel-casino is expected to open by mid-2018 on the former site of the Stardust Hotel.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and officials from Malaysia-based Genting Group placed golden shovels into hard dirt Tuesday afternoon at the 88-acre site next to Circus Circus, signaling the start of construction for Resorts World Las Vegas.

Genting Group first promised a 2016 opening when it bought the site from Boyd Gaming in 2013 for $350 million.

Boyd Gaming had partially built its proposed Echelon casino-hotel on the site before it stopped construction in 2008 as the economic downturn took hold.

Plans for the $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas include 3,500 rooms, an outdoor amphitheater and a possible panda habitat. (http://abcnews.go.com/)