Executives with Eastside Cannery, Aliante Station and M Resort are optimistic about the fortunes of their new properties that will open when most consumers are tightening their grips on their wallets instead of loosening them.

Although each executive thinks he has the solution on how to be successful at a time when gaming numbers are down and visitation is off, he'll be up against steeper odds that the properties will be the instant success stories of those that opened when times were better.

The Eastside Cannery on Boulder Highway is set to open Aug. 28. TIFFANY BROWN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

"It's never ideal to open in a down economic cycle," said Bill Lerner, a Las Vegas-based gaming analyst with Deutsche Bank. "But all of these projects are being built for the long haul, so even though it would be more favorable to open when times are good, they should be able to survive the short term and look ahead to the long term."

Lerner warned that properties probably would overstaff as they open and early margins would reflect that as the resorts adjust. He also warned against discounting room rates right out of the gate because the consumer expectation would be hard to change.

"You'll never see Steve Wynn cutting rates when a new property opens," he said.

Eastside Cannery will be the first to test the stormy economic waters.

"It's always a challenge to open a new resort," said Sal Semola, who's already done it three times. "It's always paramount to deliver value to your customers, but in today's economy it's even more essential to exceed the customer's expectations."

Eastside Cannery at 5255 Boulder Highway goes live at 8 p.m. Aug. 28, the first property to open in the east valley in more than a decade.

The iconic saw-toothed roofline tops a 16-story building with an industrial theme and an interior filled with warm earth tones and murals.

Anthony Marnell III speaks at M Resort during the topping off ceremony on Aug. 8. ULF BUCHHOLZ / RESEARCH DIRECTOR

Semola - who opened Kansas City, Mo.'s Station Casino; the Silver Eagle Casino Riverboat in East Dubuque, Ill.; and Detroit's Greektown Casino - is the general manager for the property just up the street from Sam's Town, one of the first stops in his gaming career. He's also worked at the Reno Hilton, a tribal casino in Tucson and the MGM Grand (now Bally's), where he worked up until the day a disastrous fire swept through the resort.

The 65,000-square-foot Eastside Cannery casino will have nearly 2,200 slot machines, 26 table games, a 450-seat bingo hall, a race and sports book, a poker room and a live keno lounge. Six restaurants will ring the casino with brands that are familiar at the company's North Las Vegas Cannery, such as the Casa Cocina Mexican restaurant, and some that aren't, such as Carve, a steak restaurant.

Sweet Lucy's Tableside Buffet will have servers who will bring food to guests' tables, and the resort's ambience will reflect the 1960s, unlike the 1940s and '50s feel associated with the North Las Vegas casino.

Semola said he has worked in tough economic environments before: the early 1980s when interest rates skyrocketed and during the post-Sept. 11 era when the whole country was reeling.

He predicts it will be at least the first quarter of 2009 before Las Vegas sees any major recovery. But he's also confident that the buzz of new properties - not just his, but Aliante Station, Wynn's Encore on the Strip and the M Resort - will foster a better mood and improve the environment.

"New property openings do nothing but good for everybody," Semola said. "There's no question that as the Strip improves, things will trickle down to us."

Two and a half months after the Eastside Cannery opens, Aliante Station will debut on Veterans Day.

Scott Nielson, executive vice president and chief development officer for Station, doesn't expect the company to do anything different from previous openings and concurs with Lerner's assessment that building and marketing for the long term is best in a down economy.

"It's a matter of intensity," Nielson said. "It's going to be a brand-new, nice property, head and shoulders above anything offered by our competitors in that area in terms of level of finish as well as location."

Aliante Station at Las Vegas Beltway and Aliante Parkway towers above nearby Sun City.

Aliante Station is owned by Station and the Greenspun family, which also owns In Business.

Hiring already is under way, and Nielson said many applicants are excited about the opportunity to have jobs in North Las Vegas. Aliante will feature a mix of Station Casino staples - a steak and seafood restaurant, an Italian restaurant and a brand that has been particularly successful at the company's Green Valley Ranch Station: an Original Pancake House franchise.

A movie theater is a part of the plan and when the property opens, there will be more than 1,000 jobs created.

Bringing up the rear among the locals openings will be Anthony Marnell III's M Resort on the opposite end of the valley from Aliante Station at Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway in Henderson.

On Aug. 8, Marnell had a topping-off ceremony at the 11-story, 400-room M Resort, which is opening in March in advance of its earlier planned May unveiling.

"We have to be more creative in what we deliver," Marnell said of opening a resort during tough economic times.

He said historically the city has managed tough times and he expects openings in a down economy would be a challenge that would be met successfully.

Richard N. Velotta covers tourism for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at 259-4061 or at rick.velotta@lasvegassun.com.