However, construction was suspended on August 1, 2008, as Morgans Hotel Group and General Growth Properties could not obtain financing for their portions of the project, due to the effects of the Great Recession.

However, in March 2013, Boyd Gaming sold the site to the Genting Group, which began developing it as a 3,500-room hotel and casino named Resorts World Las Vegas.

In the late 1990s, Boyd Gaming postponed plans to redevelop the site of its Stardust Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, to instead proceed with its Borgata hotel-casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

[2][3] In November 2004, Boyd Gaming purchased a 13-acre parcel of land for $43 million, as part of its eventual redevelopment plans for the Stardust site.

The sale gave Boyd Gaming a total of 63 acres (25 ha), and the company was in the early stages of a master plan for the site.

[12] However, it was later estimated that the project, upon completion, would bring an additional 12,190 vehicles to the busy Las Vegas Strip area.

[6] Boyd Gaming's stock dropped eight percent in the days following Echelon Place's announcement, due to skepticism about the project.

[10] In October 2006, Boyd Gaming agreed to sell its Barbary Coast hotel-casino to Harrah's Entertainment in exchange for 24 acres (9.7 ha) of property located adjacent to the Stardust that was previously occupied by the Westward Ho Hotel and Casino.

[8] In Echelon Place's design plans submitted to the County Commission, Boyd Gaming included the option of converting up to 1,000 rooms in the Delano and Mondrian hotels to condominiums, although the company had no intentions of adding condominiums to the project and only included them in the design plans as a potential option.

Boyd Gaming executives were concerned about overbuilding of condominiums in Las Vegas and a possible lack of demand for them.

"[8] Boyd Gaming believed Echelon Place's primary competitors would be Project CityCenter, The Venetian, the Bellagio, and Wynn Las Vegas.

[24] That month, a carpenter working on Echelon Tower died after falling 15 feet and hitting his head.

[27] On August 1, 2008, Boyd Gaming announced that construction would be halted for three to four quarters due to economic conditions,[29][30][31] as Morgans Hotel Group and GGP were unable to obtain financing to build their portions of the project because of the Great Recession.

[35] Later that month, Boyd Gaming announced that it would evaluate alternative options for the Echelon project throughout 2009 and that construction would not resume during that year.

The company planned to spend approximately $150 million over the subsequent few quarters to complete some of the project's steel fabrication.

[41] In July 2012, the Clark County Zoning Commission granted Boyd Gaming a six-year extension to complete the project,[42][43] which was considered an eyesore.

[44][45] The company also worked with the commission to create a $4 million beautification plan for the construction site that was expected to be finished later that year.