Deutsche Bank has taken a monumental financial and factual beating since assuming ownership of the half - finished Cosmopolitan project in August of 2008. The Frankfurt, Germany - based lender originally paid $1 billion to take control of the development, but has assumed the role of a wet and whipped dog since that time. Property condo investors would say Cosmo's troubles are deserved. The situation in many ways has somewhat epitomized the phrase " casino capitalism " in today's rough economic environment. The project has endured numerous and costly redesigns, numerous lawsuits, a bad economy, a disruption of the natural city aquifer during construction, and a currently estimated $2 billion budget overrun. Despite all those influences, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is scheduled for a soft opening ( two -thirds of intended rooms) on December 15, 2010.

The following represents the rocky history timeline of this newest Vegas resort project.

- Original construction begins in October, 2005 with project cost estimates of $1.8 billion.

- Initial developer Ian Eichner exhausts project funding / defaults on construction loans of $760 million and enters foreclosure ; Deutsche Bank pays $1 billion in August 2008 to assume ownership and makes the decision to complete the half - finished project.

- Hearst Corporation, who owns the trademark to Cosmopolitan magazine, filed a trademark suit against the owners in June 2008. The original name of the property was intended to be Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino. The suit was eventually settled in March 2010, with the resort renamed as Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

- In June 2009, the owners were sued by more than 400 condo - purchasing plaintiffs claiming numerous breaches of contract, failure of disclosure, and no return on their original condo deposits. One condo buyer among the plaintiffs paid $590,000 for a 610 sq ft unit ($697 per sq ft). The lawsuit claimed the project's delayed opening cost condo buyers money, as the original condo - hotel concept allowed condo buyers to rent their residences as hotel rooms when not in use thereby creating a revenue stream for them. The lawsuit accused the developer of one-sided terms and violating good faith and fair dealing with condo buyers.

- In November 2009, project builders hit the city's natural water aquifer during excavation for the property's planned underground parking garage. Deutsche was forced to build containment walls and employ a 24 - hour pump system to control flooding.

- During the course of development, the project has undergone three major interior redesigns which have resulted in further delays and huge cost increases. One original design intent included casino location on the second floor of one of the property's two towers. That idea was scrapped and plans for the casino on ground level were undertaken.

- In April 2010, the management announced the property would open in stages, beginning in December 2010 and ending in July 2011. Approximately 2000 of the planned total 2995 rooms are slated to open on December 15, 2010.

- In July 2010, condo buyers from California file a fraud and conversion lawsuit against Deutsche in Los Angeles alleging the owners are converting their originally purchased condos into standard hotel rooms. The suit accuses developers of capitalizing on the recession by delaying construction and stonewalling condo buyers while secretly scrapping plans to actually build the condos. They further allege the developers fraudulently kept $100 million in escrow deposits paid for condos originally scheduled to be operational in early 2008.

- The company reported a $3 million loss during the 2010 second quarter.

- The property's recent regulatory filing this week says it will spend $890 million this year prior to it's December opening. That amount is broken down into $625 million for construction costs and $265 million on furnishings, fixtures, and additional equipment. The company reported having $19.2 million cash on hand in the same filing.

- The Cosmopolitan will theoretically open for business in a tough economic situation. The economy is generally in the toilet already including reduced city - wide occupancy rates and an over-abundant supply of Vegas rooms. The addition of the initial 2000 rooms will add to the existing hotel room glut on the Vegas Strip. The opening night rates at Cosmopolitan are reported to be $300 per night, which exceeds those for Aria, Venetian, and Bellagio. Further, this is a stand - alone property, meaning there is no customer loyalty base to depend on as with other Vegas conglomerate conditions ( eg City Center opening as a part of MGM Resorts International). This translates into having to compete for competitive transient / foot traffic business. The redesign of their casino location right along the Strip sidewalk at street level will be conducive to securing part of that patronage. Even though the Cosmopolitan can market it's status as the only resort opening on the Strip in 2010, with unique Strip views from room balconies, and kitchenettes available in many rooms... it will be an uphill climb to generate adequate revenues.

- Due to the cumulative effects of many of the above, original project cost estimates of $1.8 billion have risen to an estimated $3.9 billion...not including the potential effects of the impending lawsuits. That figure represents the costliest single - lender project in Vegas history.

In a previous LVE article , we detailed the intended December 15 opening of this hotel. The hotel's amenities include a spa, a nightclub, 100,000 sq ft casino, 150,000 sq ft of convention space, retail stores, three pools, and two separate room towers along the Strip. It's situated in the heart of the west - side Strip between City Center and the Bellagio. Opening night basic room charges are $300, with basic rooms listed at $175 per midweek night on December 21 and 22 during the week following the soft opening date. The hotel requires a one-night deposit at bookings for multi-night stays and a $150 deposit per day to cover room charges. There's also a $30 per night charge for each person beyond two people occupying a room ( eg 2 additional occupants costs $60). Apparently, they don't plan to charge resort fees, per se. Access this link or phone 702 - 698 - 7000 for further info and / or bookings.

Good luck, Cosmo... you'll need some.

Cheers...

Charles Higgins

Article info sources : Bloomberg  , Wikipedia , Guardian , Las Vegas Business Press , Wall Street Journal , Las Vegas Sun article