Clark County Greenlights Heart-Shaped Hotel-Casino for Long-Vacant Strip Site

The empty lot across from Mandalay Bay that once housed the failed SkyVue observation wheel finally has a future, and it looks like nothing else on the Strip: a 29-story tower wrapped in a heart-shaped LED screen.

A New Landmark Rising Across From Mandalay Bay

For roughly two decades, the stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard south of Mandalay Bay Road has been one of the Strip's odder blank spots, a patch of dirt marked mostly by two leftover concrete columns from a Ferris wheel that never got built. That changed on July 22, when Clark County commissioners signed off on a new resort project for the site, giving the property its first real path forward since the SkyVue observation wheel collapsed as a concept in the late 2000s.

The developer behind the project, Eli Applebaum, purchased the nearly 12-acre property this spring for around $70 million, according to Clark County records. The parcel had passed through a bankruptcy sale years earlier and had mostly sat fenced off and unused, a strange gap in an otherwise packed corridor of the Strip.

Local viewers who drive that stretch of the boulevard regularly have watched the site sit empty for years, so the approval marks a real shift for that part of the resort corridor.

Inside the Heart-Shaped Design

What sets this project apart from a typical Strip tower is the shape itself. Plans call for a 29-story building wrapped in a large heart-shaped LED display, a design choice that immediately drew comparisons online to Las Vegas's long list of novelty architecture, including the pyramid at Luxor, the Eiffel Tower replica at Paris, the castle at Excalibur and, more recently, the Sphere itself.

The building's final height reflects some real-world compromise. Because the site sits close to flight paths for Harry Reid International Airport, project representatives told the county that planners had to shave off about 60 feet from the original tower so the design would clear aviation rules.

The resort is planned to include 752 guest rooms along with a casino floor, restaurants and retail space, plus a rooftop restaurant that would take advantage of the tower's height and views back toward the Strip skyline.

From Failed Ferris Wheel to New Vision

Rather than clearing the site completely, the new plans call for reusing the two existing concrete support columns left behind from the abandoned SkyVue wheel, folding a bit of the property's odd history into the new build instead of scrapping it outright.

That history is part of what made this approval notable to longtime locals and gaming watchers alike. SkyVue was originally pitched as a giant observation wheel rivaling the London Eye, but funding fell apart and construction stalled for years, leaving the twin columns as an accidental Strip landmark of their own, sometimes nicknamed the 'matchsticks' by people who pass them daily.

Alan Feldman of UNLV's International Gaming Institute noted that Las Vegas has long been a place willing to try building ideas that would not fly anywhere else, though he was quick to add that a bold concept does not guarantee it will find an audience once it opens.

What It Means for the Neighborhood

Beyond the tower itself, the broader development includes plans for a pedestrian-focused entertainment area, additional retail and dining, and a parking structure designed to span an existing drainage channel on the property, along with improvements to a pedestrian tunnel in the area.

The Clark County Zoning Commission's review process included discussion of how the project would fit with the surrounding stretch of the Strip, an area anchored by Mandalay Bay on one side and the Four Seasons on the other, and how added foot traffic might change that part of the boulevard.

As with most big Strip announcements, reaction online has been a mix of curiosity and jokes about the design, but county approval is a real milestone: it clears a major hurdle for a site that has frustrated planners and neighbors for the better part of twenty years.

What Comes Next

County approval covers zoning, not a groundbreaking date, so there is no confirmed construction start or opening timeline yet. Big Strip resort projects typically take several years from approval to opening once financing, permits and construction phases are finalized.

KTUD 25 will keep an eye on filings and public meetings as the project moves through the next stages, and we will update viewers here and on air as soon as a construction timeline or brand name is confirmed. Stay with Vegas TV - KTUD 25 for the next update on what is shaping up to be one of the more unusual additions to the Strip skyline in years.

5 Things to Know About the New Strip Project

Here's a quick rundown of what got approved, and what's still unknown, about the heart-shaped hotel-casino headed for the Strip.

1. Who's building it: Developer Eli Applebaum bought the site this spring and brought the project to Clark County for approval.
2. What was there before: The property sat mostly vacant for about two decades after the SkyVue observation wheel project collapsed, leaving two concrete columns behind.
3. The signature design: A 29-story tower wrapped in a heart-shaped LED facade, joining Las Vegas's tradition of novelty architecture.
4. Room count: Plans call for 752 guest rooms plus a casino floor, restaurants, retail and a rooftop restaurant.
5. An FAA compromise: The tower's height was cut by roughly 60 feet to satisfy flight path requirements near Harry Reid International Airport.
6. No timeline yet: County commissioners approved zoning, but no construction start date or opening date has been announced.

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