Nipsey Hussle was a man of vision and action, which has been articulated by many since he was shot and killed on March 31 in the Hyde Park section of Los Angeles.
Because not only did the rapper purchase real estate in the area — including the plaza where his store The Marathon Clothing sits — he was also going to open a Las Vegas casino and resort in 2020 called The Virgin Las Vegas.
The plans were revealed by Hussle’s business partner David Gross, a
private equity and real estate investor.
On Tuesday, Gross shared a photo of himself and Hussle at a meeting about the resort and explained it was taken after they made an unsuccessful bid for Viceroy Santa Monica, a beachfront hotel in Southern California.
After that failed bid Gross and Hussle found out some bigwigs at Virgin Hotels wanted to speak with them.
“A few weeks later, senior execs from Virgin Hotels reached out to Atlantic (@dallaslifestyle) to meet with us to see if we were serious about being in the hospitality space. We were 👌🏽,” read Gross’ message. “This is the meeting a couple months later, that would result in us becoming partial owners, of not a hotel… But a resort and casino in the desert.”
According to Forbes, Gross also purchased The Marathon Clothing plaza with Hussle, and they had plans to knock it down to build a six-story residential building over the store. The two met at a Los Angeles Lakers game many years ago and made a connection through their shared vision of helping inner-city youth.
Eventually, they opened Vector 90 in South Los Angeles, a co-working space that focuses on “developing underrepresented entrepreneurs,” according to its website.
In addition to the post about the resort, Gross also shared a photo of Hussle on Friday, one day after the rapper’s memorial at the Staples Center. He also explained what Hussle meant to him in the caption.
“I’m lucky that I got to know you and spend so much time with you. I’m proud that we were business partners and ultimately brothers,” he wrote on Instagram. “I definitely appreciated how special you were while you were here, but I took for granted how much time we’d have to continue building.”
“I honestly don’t know if there ever would have been an occasion for me to look you in the eyes and tell you I loved you and valued you as a friend, but I did. I do,” added Gross. “And I hate that it took this to say it.”
According to the Star-Advertiser newspaper, the Virgin Las Vegas will open in November 2020.
