Thirty months after excavation begins, Naftali says the site will include seven high-rise towers atop a mid-rise podium. The structures will house 4,100 hotel rooms; 2,600 condominium units; 175,900 sf of gaming; 480,000 sf of retail and restaurant space; 539,607 sf of convention space; a 50,000 sf health club; a 1,500-seat theater; and 227,038-sf of recreation space for pools and other amenities.

"The delay is to allow us time plan and ensure the plans are fully complete and that all bids are in before construction can begin," Naftali said. "Unlike other projects that build and plan as they go, The Plaza wants to be as efficient as possible so they are mapping out all the plans and getting all the bids before beginning excavation."

El-Ad recently settled out of court another lawsuit related to the Plaza Las Vegas project. Resort Properties of America owner David Atwell, the broker who initiated the land acquisition, sued El-Ad in June 2007 for $12.5 million, the 1% brokerage fee he felt he was owed for initiating the transaction between El-Ad Group, which is controlled by Israeli billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva and Wichita billionaire Phil Ruffin. The lawsuit was settled last month for an undisclosed amount, though Atwell told GlobeSt.com "it is a considerable number."

With regard to the Plaza name issue, Atwell tells GlobeSt.com that when El-Ad originally approached his company regarding the property,"old Plaza Hotel downtown never even came into the discussion; I don't think they were ever aware of it."

Despite his tussle with El-Ad, Atwell is fond of their project and happy the company will be able to use the Plaza name. "I'm sure when things turn around, we'll see this fabulous Plaza project," he says. "It may be the finest ever built in Las Vegas and I'm glad they prevailed."