January 03, 2000

New Frontier to be imploded this summer

LAS VEGAS SUN STAFF

Real estate developer Phil Ruffin said today he plans to

implode his New Frontier hotel-casino on the Las Vegas

Strip and replace it with a $700 million San

Francisco-themed resort.

Two years after spending $165 million to acquire the

aging, 1,000-room hotel-casino, Ruffin has decided to

raze the structure and replace it with a sparkling new

property called "City by the Bay."

The new resort, scheduled to open in fall 2002, will

include replicas of such noted San Francisco landmarks

as Lombard Street, Coit Tower, Alcatraz Island,

Fisherman's Wharf and several restaurants.

The 2,512 rooms will include 400 suites, and the

120,000-square-foot casino will offer 100 table games and

2,500 slot machines. A water-filled "San Francisco Bay"

fronting the Strip will feature sea lions, boats and a

wave-making machine.

Ruffin said the New Frontier is one of the few

hotel-casinos on the Strip that has water rights to build

such a facility.

"We have to do this to compete," Ruffin said. "The Strip

won't be the same 10 years from now as it is today. Half

of it will have to change to continue to draw new visitors."