VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/161781
S E P T E M B E R 2 , 2 0 1 3 / Y O U R b u s i n e s s - t o - b u s i n e s s w e e k ly SPECIAL FOCUS BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE This month, VEGAS INC highlights commercial and residential real estate. BAIL BONDS BUSINESSES PROLIFERATE IN LAS VEGAS Resorts World Las Vegas: $350 million, 87 acres, 2013 By Ed Komenda staff writer New Frontier: $1.2 billion, 26 acres, 2007 above: steve marcus, top: file photo (2002) RISE AND FALL Prime Strip land used to cost up to $34 million an acre; today it can sell for as little as $3 million to $6 million By Ed Komenda staff writer A decade ago, when business was booming in Las Vegas and tourists flooded the Strip with cash, It's 11 a.m. on a recent Wednesday, and Jon Foster is sitting at his desk, waiting for the next call. A loaded .38 special rests on a cabinet next to his leg. A Cirque du Soleil performer walks into the bail bonds office holding a crisp $100 bill. Wearing a backward hat, baggy pants and high-end sneakers, the performer blends well with the clientele at Bail Bonds Specialists on Casino Center Boulevard. Most of the people who use the get-out-of-jail service are normal folks, first-time offenders. The performer, a musician, wants to make a payment on a $15,000 bond for a domestic battery charge. He pays about $300 every month. He is working to buy back family jewelry he put up as collateral. Foster, a hulking New Jersey native, asks the man to take a seat. Foster is happy to see he has come with money. see BAIL BONDS, page 16 INSIDE TODAY A BEAUTIFUL IDEA | P. 5 developers seemed destined to pull in record profits with each new multibillion-dollar project they The company behind downtown's upcoming "Life is Beautiful" festival announced. ¶ America's zeal for spending and fun, coupled with consumers' disposable income, HOUSING ANGELS | P. 7 fortified builders' confidence. Many inked absurd deals to gain a foothold in Las Vegas' real estate How investors are making money off short sales and keeping homeowners in houses market. ¶ Some paid as much as $34 million for a single acre of land. THE LIST | P. 22 20130902_VI01_F.indd 1 see STRIP LAND, page 14 Convention centers, by square footage 8/29/13 2:22:49 PM