Boyd Gaming Releases New Cost Estimates for Echelon Place

The Echelon Place megaresort, which had its groundbreaking on Tuesday, is expected to cost $4.8 billion, instead of the originally estimated $4.4 million, according to a press release by Boyd Gaming this week.

Spokesperson Rob Stillwell attributes the cost increases to “broad plans being better defined.”

For instance, the 50/50 joint venture with Morgans Hotel Group, which includes both a Mondrian and a Delano hotel, has gone from an estimated $700 million to approximately $950 million.

And the 300,000-square-foot planned retail area, a joint venture with General Growth Properties, has gone up $100 million to a new estimated $500 million.

So just what will that amount of money bring to Vegas visitors? I’ll give you a rundown, complete with artist renderings, this weekend.

In the meantime, Boyd Gaming says the project is still on schedule to open in late 2010.