A new heart-shaped hotel and casino could soon become one of the most eye-catching additions to the Las Vegas Strip after Clark County officials approved plans to redevelop the long-abandoned SkyVue site near Mandalay Bay.
The proposed resort, developed by Eli Applebaum through Kulik River Capital, will transform a plot that has remained largely unchanged for more than a decade after the collapse of the SkyVue observation wheel project. Clark County’s Zoning Commission unanimously approved the plans on 22 July, clearing a key hurdle for the development.
The proposed resort would feature a 29-storey hotel with approximately 752 guest rooms, a casino, more than 42,000 square feet of convention space, restaurants, retail outlets, a resort pool and a pedestrian entertainment plaza inspired by downtown Las Vegas’ Fremont Street Experience. Its most distinctive feature, however, is a giant heart-shaped opening in the middle of the tower, while the exterior would be wrapped in LED screens designed to display animated content.
Developers plan to incorporate the unfinished SkyVue concrete columns into the resort’s design, transforming them into a restaurant suspended about 265 feet (81 metres) above the ground. The structure has become one of the Strip’s most recognisable eyesores since construction on the more than $100 million Ferris wheel project stalled because of financial difficulties in the early 2010s.
The proposal underwent significant revisions before receiving approval. According to project representatives, the building’s height was reduced by around 60 feet (18 metres) to satisfy Federal Aviation Administration requirements because of its proximity to Harry Reid International Airport. The reduction also lowered the planned number of hotel rooms.
The unconventional heart-shaped design has sparked a wave of online ridicule after Clark County approved plans, with many social media users dubbing the design “ugly” and “tacky” and questioning whether it will ever be built. Commenters mocked the oversized heart and LED-covered façade, with some describing the renderings as “atrociously tacky” and comparing the design to an oversized Valentine’s Day decoration.
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Others questioned whether the project would ever leave the drawing board. On Reddit, one user wrote: “Things that won’t actually get built and/or look anything like the pic for $100,” while another commented, “Some consultancy got paid millions of dollars to design that concept.”
Not everyone was critical, however. Several users welcomed the return of bold, themed architecture after years of increasingly conventional hotel towers. “I love the cheesy Vegas vibes. But guess I’m the minority,” one commenter wrote, while another argued that “theme hotels are making a comeback” after the city had become dominated by generic glass skyscrapers.
The redevelopment comes at a challenging time for Las Vegas tourism. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, visitor numbers fell 7.5% to around 38.5 million in 2025, with rising travel costs, international travel hurdles and growing competition from online gambling contributing to the decline.
If completed, the project would add another highly recognisable landmark to the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip at a time when the city is looking to refresh ageing sites and attract visitors with new entertainment concepts.
