Boyd Updates Echelon Status

Boyd Gaming company CEO Keith Smith gave an update on the stalled Echelon Place project during the company's first quarter 2011 earnings conference call question and answer session on Tuesday, May 3rd.

Smith confirmed that nothing will be done on the project anytime soon, and said that Boyd would consider selling some or all of the land if presented the right opportunity:

"With respect to the Echelon development on the Strip, we continue to, kind of, I guess keep it as an option and assess our future. We are not taking any specific actions right now. We're, obviously, continuing to watch the market and try and determine when the best time to move forward on that asset may be. It's clearly not today. It's clearly not this year. It's probably not next year. As we kind of look into the future of the Strip and we look into the future of consumer demand and when it hits a point that you could add another project of that caliber. So if we had an opportunity to sell some of the land, we just sit on 88 acres, would we entertain it? Sure. That opportunity hasn't presented itself. We clearly have long-term confidence in Las Vegas, in Las Vegas Strip. We look forward to having an asset on the Strip at some point in our future as a company. We think, strategically, that's important for us. And still have that as a longer-term focus as we look to the growth of our company."

Source: Q1 2011 Boyd Gaming Corp Earnings Conference Call.
Transcript courtesy of Seeking Alpha.