It used to be thought that the future of Las Vegas depended on its growth. The theme was “build it and they will come.” Well it looks like that MGM’s CityCenter project will the last one to be build for quite a while!

MGM CityCenter. Las Vegas. NV

According to a widely-quoted article in the Wall Street Journal, this philosophy has changed. Written by Alexandra Berzon, the article suggests that there won’t be another major building project in Las Vegas for at least 10 years.

Jim Murren, CEO of MGM MIRAGE Inc. (MGM) and chief architect of the company’s CityCenter project that opens in a few weeks, was quoted as saying, “The old model has been thrown out the window.”

Buoyed by the success Steve Wynn had in a building splurge beginning in 1980 with the Mirage Hotel Resort, Las Vegans watched their community grow exponentially over the next 25 years as multi-billions of dollars were spent building new casinos.

And, yes, the visitors came. And, yes, their pockets were filled with cash.

However, when the economy went bust throughout the world, Las Vegas was hard bit. Properties on the drawing board were scrapped; some companies filed for bankruptcy and partially-built facilities went unfinished.

Existing facilities set aside new developments in favor of reducing their losses or improving their profits by cutting costs; applying cash flow to debt payments and marketing to repeat customers and to locals.

Industry visionaries saw opportunities in other jurisdictions such as Asia, Europe and even South America. Macau, with casinos operated by Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) and MGM MIRAGE, has become the world’s leader in gaming.

But for Las Vegas, promotions seem to be focused on special events rather than new properties as a means of attracting visitors. And just what will happen to projects that were started, but not completed, such as Boyd Gaming’s Echelon or the bankrupt Fontainebleau – only time will tell.