BOOM TOWN LAUGHLIN AREA IS GROWING EXPLOSIVELY, ADDING GOLF, SPA, RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

Byline: Jerry Rice Staff Writer

BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. - As Dave Lords surveys the development of his dream, he stands in awe of everything around it.

To the east are the Black Mountains. To the west are the Spirit Mountains, and below them the casinos of Laughlin, Nev., and the Colorado River.

``Everywhere you look, it's a vista. It's like a postcard,'' said the veteran land broker. ``The mountains, the lakes, the river, the casino lights - whichever direction you look, there's something. That's the beauty of it.''

Called Laughlin Ranch and situated on what the developers are promoting as ``Arizona's West Coast,'' Lords' master-planned community of 45,000 town homes, homes and estates will eventually include four golf courses, shops, restaurants and more than 60 miles of walking, hiking, bicycling and horseback-riding trails - most of which will be available to the public.

The development is by far the largest of many new projects in the works on both sides of the river. Other notable ones include:

--A two-mile, amenity-rich recreation trail that will run along the river from the Laughlin Bridge to Davis Dam. A $13.5 million federal grant will pay for the development of the pathway, which will include shade structures, picnic benches, several trailheads, restrooms and interpretive panels that tell about the area's history. A raised walkway over the Laughlin Bridge will make it easier for pedestrians to access it from the casinos.

--The building of two new bridges, giving vacationers and locals additional ways across the Colorado River. The first bridge will be built by the Laughlin Ranch folks and is scheduled to open by December 2006 (more about that later). At least $18 million for the second one was included in the federal transportation bill passed by Congress in July.

--A new 18-hole public golf course, two-story clubhouse and restaurant at the El Rio Country Club, a 628-acre, 1,600-home community located on Arizona's Highway 95, across the river from the Avi Resort & Casino.

--The construction of a 14,000-square-foot convention center (for banquets, concerts and other events) at the Avi, plus an expansion of the casino for at least 300 more slot machines, a new Italian restaurant and a 700-vehicle parking garage.

Beyond those projects, there is buzz around Laughlin that there finally might be some progress on the Emerald River development, which has long been marked by the steel-and- concrete skeleton of an unfinished building. Developers are redoing their plans to include another 110 acres that they acquired in June, giving them 375 acres to work with.

``When the current replanning is completed, probably close to the end of the year, we'll be able to move forward with a new direction,'' said Jim Shaw of Emerald River Realty.

That will improve an area that became even more of an eyesore since the start of summer, when the golf course next to the structure was closed and the lush green grass turned brown.

Also, there's talk of an expansion at the 300-room Golden Nugget, but nothing has been announced officially yet. The property, along with the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, is being acquired by Landry's Restaurants, and the new owner is keeping mum about future plans until the purchase is finalized later this month.

Driving much of the increased activity are Californians - rich with equity in their homes thanks to rising real estate values - looking for vacation and retirement properties, and developers anxious to give them opportunities to spend that money.

At Laughlin Ranch, more than 80 percent of the subdivision's first 1,000 lots were snapped up by residents of the Golden State. The experiences at some of the other developments have been the same.

``Southern Californians are familiar with the area; they've been coming for years and years,'' said Greg Ellis, director of golf and general manager at the El Rio Country Club. ``For many of them, it's a great value to come here. You've got gambling casinos just like you'd have in Las Vegas. You've got great golf. You've got entertainment and some very good dining. It's not all the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, but it offers everything at a much more affordable price.''

And it's not just newcomers and current residents who benefit; vacationers will, too.

One of the 18-hole golf courses at Laughlin Ranch is finished and open to the public. Two of the remaining three courses, when completed, also will be open to the public. So will most of the horseback-riding trails, and the walking and biking paths.

A 39,000-square-foot clubhouse opens in November with a gym, pool, spas, salon, banquet facility and sports bar. Also, villas are on the way so vacationers will be able to take advantage of a stay-and-play option.

``Those amenities and the other things for people to do - gaming or boating - are attributes people want to have, whether they're permanent residents or visitors,'' said Chuck Rathbun, president and publisher of the Mohave Valley Daily News in Bullhead City. ``It becomes more of a complete package as far as the market is concerned.''

Access from the casinos to Laughlin Ranch, El Rio Country Club and the other new Arizona developments will be easier late next year after a new span bridge - financed by Lords and later donated to the community - is completed over the Colorado River.

The bridge itself will be a showpiece. Giant picks, recalling the region's mining history, will be the stabilizers for the cables that will support the bridge. Fiber optics will be run throughout.

``The Bellagio (in Las Vegas) does a water show, and we're going to do a light show,'' Lords said. ``Of course, you're not going to see it as you're driving on the bridge because we don't want people stopping. But from the sides looking up toward the casinos, they'll see a light show frequently throughout the night.''

Lords, who has made millions kick-starting housing developments on the ever-expanding outskirts of fast-growing Phoenix, certainly isn't one to miss a beat. He owns 180 acres south of Harrah's Laughlin where the bridge will connect, and eventually he hopes to build three casinos on the property - at least one opening within the next three to five years.

Interestingly, Lords purchased the first two parcels for Laughlin Ranch sight unseen during an auction two years ago this month. Later, he discovered that his new properties were six miles apart and Don Laughlin, the man for whom the town is named and the owner of the Riverside Resort, held about half of everything in between.

After meeting with Laughlin and accepting his sales proposal, Lords started tracking down the owners of the other parcels until he acquired 12,500 acres for the development.

``A lot of them couldn't believe someone wanted to pay $750 or $1,000 an acre for their ground,'' Lords said.

Of course, that same land is a lot more valuable today. The least-expensive interior lots start at $149,000, and prime home sites - with panoramic views of the golf course or the river and casinos - range from $275,000 to $650,000.

But even at those prices, Lords says the homes in the development are inexpensive by Southern California standards. That price difference, he says, is what's driving the demand from many Southland baby boomers.

Watching workers in the searing summer heat busily construct new homes that have already been spoken for, it's difficult to dispute his claims.

There's also little reason to question Arizona officials, who project that the population of the 60-mile stretch that hugs the river from Bullhead City south to Lake Havasu City - and includes places like Laughlin Ranch and El Rio Country Club - will jump from its current 100,000 people to about 250,000 in the next 20 years.

By comparison, growth on the Nevada side of the river has been more measured. Laughlin has about 8,000 residents vs. Bullhead City's nearly 40,000. That's largely because Laughlin is hemmed in, by the Colorado River, the Lake Mead National Recreation area, Bureau of Land Management property and the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation.

Laughlin, the man, says that once the BLM releases the land it controls, Laughlin, the town, will grow - and fast.

``If we can get more land away from the government, I don't see any reason why it won't double in size in the next eight or 10 years,'' he said.

The BLM did, in fact, part with 281 acres in Laughlin during a two-hour land sale in June; another 1,800 acres that didn't sell was expected to be cut into smaller pieces and sold on the Internet or at another auction later this year.

A larger Laughlin will give the 5 million vacationers who come to the area every year even more to do.

``As the population of the general area grows, all those kinds of things like franchises of restaurants will start looking very seriously at the Bullhead-Fort Mohave-Laughlin area,'' said Bill Bieterman, director of food and beverage at the Avi casino.

Big-box retailers like Home Depot are relatively new to the area, and a Sam's Club, Lowe's and two stand-alone chain restaurants are due in the months ahead.

In Lords' view, the area is moving to a higher level.

``Twenty-five years ago, you could get free rooms at Caesars (Palace) - really at any of the (Las Vegas) casinos. They were trying to attract you with cheap rates,'' he said. ``But when the Mirage was being built and (Steve Wynn) knew he would have to make $1 million a day to break even, everyone said he would go bust. Well, the rest is history. That's what is happening in Laughlin, the same kind of renaissance that happened in Las Vegas.''

Lords - who finds inspiration from Wynn, Laughlin and Walt Disney - is quick to add that the two gambling destinations will always be worlds apart.

``Even at build-out, Laughlin is going to be a tenth the size of Vegas, and it is and will be a different clientele,'' he said. ``Families come with their boats and Jet Skis - things that aren't available in Vegas. You know, they can build pyramids in Vegas, but they can't build a Colorado River.''

IF YOU GO

LAUGHLIN-AREA RECREATION:

El Rio Country Club: [phone]; www.elriocountryclub.com

Laughlin Ranch: [phone], [phone] (for golf); www.laughlinranch.com

CASINOS:

Avi Resort & Casino: [phone], [phone]; www.avicasino.com

Colorado Belle: [phone], [phone]; www.coloradobelle.com

Edgewater: [phone], [phone]; www.edgewater-casino.com

Flamingo Laughlin: [phone], [phone]; www.flamingolaughlin.com

Golden Nugget: [phone], [phone]; www.gnlaughlin.com

Harrah's Laughlin: [phone], [phone]; www.harrahs.com

Pioneer: [phone], [phone]; www.pioneerlaughlin.com

Ramada Express: [phone], [phone]; www.ramadaexpress.com

River Palms: [phone], [phone]; www.rvrpalm.com

Riverside Resort: [phone], [phone]; www.riversideresort.com

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- color) Evidence of a development boom in a region known for its Colorado River casino strip, above, can be seen in one of four new golf courses, bottom, up and running at Laughlin Ranch. The guy who got it all started, Don Laughlin, already has a statue in his honor, below.

(4) At the south end of Laughlin, Nev., plans call for a new bridge over the Colorado River to ease traffic at a span to the north.

(5) In Bullhead City, Ariz., across the river from Laughlin, signs of rapid housing development are everywhere.

Jerry Rice/Great Escapes

Box:

IF YOU GO (see text)