Green Light For Cosmopolitan

Staff at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas casino-resort are preparing for the $3.9 billion facility’s opening Dec. 15 and its Dec. 31 grand opening featuring Coldplay and Jay-Z.

The 8.5-acre development, five years in the making, includes 12 restaurants, a spa, nightclub, meeting and convention space and retail stores. Most of the hotel’s 2,995 rooms are expected to be ready for the opening, with the rest open by July.

Cosmopolitan CEO John Unwin described the resort’s design and amenities as approachable elegance.

“I think this really changes how a major casino-resort in Las Vegas is set up,” Unwin said. “It’s still big, but it’s not 15 minutes in terms of getting around the casino.”

Unwin said that guest rooms with large, outdoor terraces, a pool complex said to be large enough to host outdoor concerts, and a three-story bar will keep the venture competitive.

The casino-resort, located between the Bellagio and CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip, was in limbo after the previous developer went into foreclosure.

Deutsche Bank paid about $1 billion in 2008 for the stalled development and completed the job.

Concerts featuring Brandon Flowers, Beats Antique, DJ Franki Chan, Mavis Staples, Best Coast, Holy Ghost! and Flosstradamus are scheduled through late March.