Stalled Las Vegas Strip project to get new owner

The Genting Group announced Monday that it is buying the site where Boyd Gaming Corp.'s partially built Echelon project has gathered dust for four years.

Genting says it will build a multi-billion dollar casino, its first in Las Vegas, on the 87-acre site.

The "Resorts World Las Vegas" project will feature 3,500 hotel rooms, a convention center and a 4,000-seat theater.

Echelon is one of a handful of high-profile multibillion-dollar projects that has stalled out indefinitely on the Las Vegas Strip since the economy crashed.

The partially-built complex on the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip was to be a mixed-use development complete with 5,000 rooms in six hotels, lush landscaping and luxury amenities.

The 48-year-old Stardust resort was demolished in 2007 to make way for the $4.8 billion project, which was slated to open next to Circus Circus by 2010.

Construction workers toiled for a year and built 12 stories on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Desert Inn Road before the credit markets choked and Boyd Gaming Corp abruptly put the enterprise on hold.