Caruso sets sights on Las Vegas

One of the world’s biggest casino operators has hired Los Angeles shopping center magnate Rick Caruso to develop a $550-million retail and entertainment district in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip crowned by an enormous Ferris wheel.

Caruso, who is weighing a run for mayor of Los Angeles, was tapped by Caesars Entertainment Corp. to oversee creation of the Linq, a new open-air attraction across Las Vegas Boulevard from Caesars Palace.

The outdoor venue would have more in common with Caruso’s Grove shopping center in Los Angeles than it would with hermetically sealed casinos. City leaders hope the Linq with its bars, restaurants and stores will become a destination with special appeal to the gambling Saudi Arabia)” href=”https://www.latimes.com/topic/intl/saudi-arabia/mecca-%28saudi-arabia%29-PLGEO100100602011371.topic”>mecca’s growing Gen X and Gen Y clientele.

“There are millions of people walking around the sidewalk in Vegas,” Caruso said, “but they have nowhere to go except inside.” L.A. TIMES