The soft opening of the Palazzo scheduled for today is being pushed back while Clark County inspectors continue to test fire and other systems throughout the property.

However, sources close to the company say parts of the new property could still open sometime this weekend if the county issues temporary occupancy permits.

"We're still working with the county on some final approvals," Ron Reese, spokesman for $1.8 billion Palazzo's parent company, Las Vegas Sands Corp., said Thursday. "We still plan to open parts of the building prior to the grand opening."

Reese said that Jan. 17 remains the grand opening date for the newest Strip resort, but he declined to commit to a firm soft opening date.

The hotel is now taking reservations on its Web site for Jan. 6 and beyond. Rooms at the 3,068-room hotel are listed at prices ranging from $369 to $679 per night.

Clark County fire and building inspectors have been at the property the past few days, a typical procedure on such a large project, but they had not issued any occupancy certificates as of Thursday afternoon, county spokesman Dan Kulin said.

County officials could not say when any occupancy permits might be issued.

"We do not know what issues may arise (during the inspections) or how long it may take to correct them," Kulin said.

Reese declined to say if there was a drive by management to open parts of the property by New Year's Eve to help capitalize on one of the city's busiest days.

The company had announced in August that it would open the Palazzo Dec. 20, but it began backtracking in November when it said the resort would have a soft opening in late December.

Postponing the soft opening several days, or even weeks, should not have an adverse financial effect on the property or the company in the long run, Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Bill Lerner said.

"It is not really a meaningful development," Lerner said. "Las Vegas Sands has really executed quite well in China as well here in the United States. A couple days here or there, I don't think Wall Street would be that concerned about."

Las Vegas Sands Corp. opened the $2.4 billion Venetian Macau, its second property in the Chinese gambling enclave, in late August. The company plans to have eight hotel-casinos along the growing Cotai Strip.

The company is planning several different celebrations during next month's three-day grand opening, including a concert featuring Diana Ross.

The Palazzo, which is being built to adjoin The Venetian, will be the Strip's first new hotel-casino since the April 2005 opening of Wynn Las Vegas.

The Shoppes at Palazzo, the property's 450,000-square-foot retail space, anchored by Barneys New York, will open Jan. 18.

When completed, The Venetian and Palazzo complex will represent the world's largest integrated destination resort, with 7,128 hotel rooms and 2.3 million square feet of meeting, convention and exhibition space.

Because the Palazzo is being operated as an extension of The Venetian, Las Vegas Sands executives have said the company should obtain back-of-house and other operating savings of between $40 million and $60 million for the combined complex. The Palazzo's casino is being operated under The Venetian's gaming license.

The Palazzo's more than one dozen restaurants will include locations operated by celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali and Charlie Trotter.

The Palazzo theater, which will feature the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "Jersey Boys," is expected to open in the spring.

While the Palazzo is unable to commit to a soft-opening date, music mogul Jay-Z's 40/40 Club, a sports-themed restaurant at the Palazzo, is still planning to open Sunday night, according to club spokeswoman Alissa Kelly.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. shares fell $1.95, or 1.81 percent, Thursday to close at $105.97 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Contact reporter Arnold M. Knightly at aknightly@reviewjournal.com or (702) 477-3893; Review-Journal reporter Howard Stutz contributed to this report.