Fontainebleau Casino May Still Rise on Las Vegas Strip

The Fontainebleau Las Vegas Casino project, thought as dead as could be last week, may rise from the ashes like a phoenix, as a new lender is reportedly involved.

The projected casino to carry the Fontainebleau brand to Las Vegas may not be a dead endeavor after all. An unnamed lender has emerged at bankruptcy hearings to offer financing to finish the casino resort if banks involved will unfreeze current loans.

The judge hearing the bankruptcy, A. Jay Cristol, urged all parties to attempt to find a workable compromise which would allow the project to go forward. He said litigating the matter would end up costing everyone hundreds of millions of dollars.

"It would be in everyone's best interest if this matter could be resolved in a prudent businesslike manner rather than through litigation," said Cristol.

Bank of America and its partners had withheld a $656 million loan to build the Fontainebleau, deciding that cost overruns and mismanagement had doomed the project. But the mysterious new lender will cover all further financing, according to rumors.

Word is that officials connected with Wynn Resorts and Harrah's Entertainment have bothe visited the construction site of the gambling venue. While Harrah's may be stretching itself to provide financing with its own situation unresolved, Wynn may be in position to provide some cash.