But Dick Rizzo, chairman for general contractor Perini Building Co., is not worried about finding enough hands for the 24-hour site.

"We are currently not facing any shortage in any particular trade," he said recently, decrying predictions that the Las Vegas construction workforce might not be able to support the $7 billion CityCenter, the $2 billion Encore and the soon-to-begin $4.4 billion Echelon Place - among other megaprojects on the Strip.

"If anything, we're struggling but making great headway in our professional administrative staff," Rizzo said. The company hires about 10 to 15 salaried workers each week.

So far, the demand for construction workers is being fed by increased output by union training programs and by out-of-state companies moving their headquarters or expanding to Las Vegas, he said.

In mid-March, those building the MGM Mirage hotel, condo, retail and casino development numbered nearly 2,000 on the craft side and 325 on the administrative side. The project will see the most workers in spring of 2008, when 6,900 craftsmen will be needed.

Rizzo does agree with another industry prediction: Wages will rise from all the extra work.

"That would be natural to assume that," he said. "It's all about supply and demand when the work is out there, and the workers are trying to negotiate. If there's a lot of work, they're going to get more money.

Perini Building negotiates labor agreements through the Nevada Contractors Association. The contracts usually run for three years, and their deadlines are staggered.

Construction continues Monday at the MGM Mirage’s Project CityCenter. Steve Marcus

Palazzo is expected to open by the end of this year, and Encore is slated to open by the end of 2008.

Project CityCenter is planned to open in 2009, as is the Cosmopolitan.

Rizzo said he does not mind wage jumps "as long as they're reasonable."

"We try to anticipate those costs in our budget," he said. "We're not 100 percent right, but we try to anticipate some of that and know that it never goes down."

The Associated General Contractors, which negotiates union contracts for another batch of member companies, has several of its agreements expiring this summer, said Dana Wiggins, its director of labor relations.

"I don't know that they'll have a problem with (raising wages) on the Strip because it's usually passed down to the customer," he said. "The problem I see is what they're going to do about those big paychecks when the work stops. That's going to be four, five or six years down the road."

The negotiations will coincide with what Wiggins expects to be a workforce crunch in June.

"I don't think they have time to worry about it right now, they have so much work going," Wiggins said.

Other fast-growing areas of the country demand workers, too, but Las Vegas may have a leg up.

Compared with Phoenix, which is just as fast-growing, Las Vegas has "significantly" better wages, Rizzo said.

"Those who are looking for the most for their dollar are going to relocate to Vegas, not Phoenix," he said. "(The labor market) needs to be very bullish because it is bullish. I'm very excited about the ability for the market to react positively to growth."