The good news follows a string of bad news for Langson withregard to the five-acre site, which a creditor attempted to forceLangson to sell last year after the condo market disappeared. A$25.5-million bridge loan from California Mortgage & Realtygave Langson a year's worth of breathing room to put together thehotel project, which he says can be done within the walls of theexisting two-tower design for the would-have-been condominiumdevelopment, saving money on the redesign.

"While we were considering our options the Las Vegas ConventionCenter announced plans to invest $1.4 billion in their facility,which will include moving the entrance to within 300 feet of oursite and widening the street we are on, which is what generated theinterest from hotel operators," Langson says. "It just doesn't getany better than that."

Langson originally planned to redevelop the property beginningin 2005. The entitled $400-million project called for two 47-storyhigh-rise residential buildings atop a multi-level retail podium.Then the Federal Aviation Administration, after giving preliminaryapproval, decided the design was too tall, forcing a redesign.