Apr. 12--Former Caesars boss Henry Gluck said he doesn't miss the high life of the Las Vegas gambling industry because he's still allowed to express his creativity as co-chairman of Santa Barbara, Calif-based Transcontinental Properties Inc. 

Gluck was on hand Wednesday during a multimedia presentation on MonteLago Village, the planned centerpiece of a $5 billion luxury resort his company is developing in partnership with Vancouver, British Columbia-based Intrawest Corp. at Lake Las Vegas. 

The village's design was inspired by the European romanticism found at places such as Lake Como in Italy and the town of Cassis, on the Cote d'Azur in Provence, France. 

It will feature a 350-room Ritz-Carlton hotel, 60,000 square feet of village-style shops, 40,000-square-foot casino, 30,000-square-foot spa and about 170 condominiums priced in the mid-$200,000s and going up to the millions. 

Gluck said Transcontinental and Intrawest would be among the equity partners in the casino, but it would be operated by a separate gaming licensee, who has been chosen but not yet announced. 

Under Gluck's leadership, stock in Caesars World rose to $67 a share before it was sold to ITT Corp. in 1995, and The Forum Shops at Caesars set the trend for retail on the Strip when it was built in 1992. 

Gluck said he's not taking that leadership role here. 

"I'm just part of the total development. I think anyone who's had as much experience as I have ... it'll be more as an advisory (position)," Gluck said during a promotional event at the Discovery Centre, which opens to the public today. 

Visitors to the center can watch a slick 10-minute video production of Transcontinental founder Ron Boeddeker flying over the mountainous terrain between Henderson and Lake Mead in a helicopter, envisioning the possibility of putting in a 320-acre lake with 10 miles of shoreline, how far it's come from that 1986 dream and where it's going. 

The 2,245-acre Lake Las Vegas Resort is already home to the 496-room Hyatt Regency hotel, two Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses and a number of pricey custom homes with panoramic views of the pristine lake set against the rocky desert skyline. 

Gluck said development continues with a third golf course being designed by Tom Weiskopf at the entrance of the community off Lake Mead Drive, more retail on the north shore of the lake and two to three more hotels. It'll take at least seven years for build-out, he said. 

MonteLago Village, pitching an upscale hotel with European-style spas, boutiques and bistros, starts to sound a little like The Resort at Summerlin, which slipped from a golf-and-spa resort business plan into bankruptcy two years after it opened. 

However, the village possesses some key differences, Gluck said. 

First is the lake, which offers opportunities for waterside walks, sailing, rowing, paddling and fishing at a 1,400-foot desert setting. 

Also, all of the golf courses are owned by Lake Las Vegas, though one is for private use. 

The 50-acre site for MonteLago Village is now being graded, with construction set to begin in September. The anticipated opening is late 2002. 

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