opening. In September 2008, Boyd Gaming revised its development agreement with Morgans Hotel Group, which would have through 2009 to obtain financing for its two hotels in the Echelon project. Boyd Gaming was also in discussions to revise its agreement with GGP, which had intended to remain involved in the project. However, GGP experienced financial difficulties and the agreement was dissolved in October 2008. 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. Because the project was in the early phase of construction, it had the potential to be reconfigured and downsized. Other options included recruiting new joint venture partners and building the project in phases. Selling the property was not an option at the time. The company planned to spend approximately $150 million over the subsequent few quarters to complete some of the project's steel fabrication. At the end of 2008, the site of a 25-year-old McDonald's became part of the Echelon land following the opening of a new McDonald's on adjacent property, formerly occupied by the Westward Ho's casino. In October 2009, amid falling profits, Boyd announced that the project would be suspended for at least three to five years. In July 2012, the Clark County Zoning Commission granted Boyd Gaming a six-year extension to complete the project, which was considered an eyesore. 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. The plan would include landscaping the portion of the site that faced the Las Vegas Strip, and covering the complex's steel frames with material, while construction equipment had already been removed from the site. Boyd Gaming expected to resume construction within three to five years, with an opening as late as 2018. The company expected to spend $15.5 million to $17 million annually to maintain the site, for expenses such as security and property taxes. In March 2013, Boyd sold the Echelon site for $350 million to the Genting Group, a Malaysia-based gaming company which began developing the site as the 3,500-room Resorts World Las Vegas. Some of the unfinished Echelon buildings were incorporated into the Resorts World project. Following several delays, Resorts World opened on June 24, 2021. Proposed facilities Echelon Resort would be owned and operated by Boyd