The two Las Vegas daily papers announce the advent of the condo-hotel in Las Vegas. The Review-Journal notes that the first of its king, the Platinum, was topped out a couple of weeks back.

In a longer piece, the Sun notes that this is the start of a trend in Las Vegas real estate. It offers tax breaks to the buyers and a new finance route for developers.

“The economic model of this type of project does benefit a number of people. It’s become very popular, particularly on the developer side,” Attorney Rick Davis tells the paper.

But this is hardly news. Last May, the Business Press reported that the condo-hotel was not all that it was made out to be and that buyers had to be careful of the new real estate product.

Back then, Consultant John Restrepo spelled out the plain facts: “For the Strip resorts, there is no downside to condo hotels,” he said. “It’s essentially a way of financing your expansion for free.”