Anthony Marnell III, a developer from Las Vegas, is setting his sights on a new hotel-casino project in Henderson, Nevada, positioned directly across from the M Resort, which he developed over 15 years ago but no longer manages.

The envisioned resort will cover 35 acres at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway, featuring up to 600 rooms, a casino, a food hall, entertainment lounge, meeting spaces, and a pool deck, as outlined in a city site plan submission.

Marnell indicated that groundbreaking for the project is a few years away, predicting a timeline of about three to five years before construction begins. During a phone interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal, he emphasized that the new resort would be “definitely in direct competition” with the M.

The development is slated to occur in stages, with the first phase beginning with 200 rooms and an additional 400 rooms in subsequent phases.

Penn Entertainment, the current operator of the M, is in the midst of enhancing the property with a $206 million expansion that includes a second hotel tower, expected to open on December 1.

Marnell originally developed the M for $750 million, which opened in March 2009 amidst the Great Recession. “We were all aware of the impending difficulties even before the hotel opened,” he later reflected. In 2010, Penn acquired the project’s debt for $230.5 million and assumed control in the following year. Marnell departed from the property in 2015.

In 2021, the Henderson City Council authorized the sale of nine acres of city-owned land to Marnell for $4.3 million to $6.8 million. Part of the agreement stipulated an investment of at least $250 million into the new resort.

A section of the land still belongs to unincorporated Clark County, but Marnell’s team has requested its annexation into Henderson. The initial concept plan is currently under review, with further approvals required from the Planning Commission and City Council.

The Henderson corridor has experienced significant growth in recent years, witnessing an influx of warehouses, apartments, housing, and the Raiders’ football practice facility. Nevertheless, new resort developments grapple with the challenges of rising construction costs, increasing borrowing rates, and a downturn in Las Vegas tourism.

Despite these obstacles, Marnell maintains that the project’s location is promising. “I think there is ample space for multiple players,” he stated.