Strapped with significant debt, but nearly 85 percent complete from a construction standpoint, the $3 billion Cosmopolitan Resort Casino on the Las Vegas Strip has been the subject of increasing speculation in recent weeks as to who its ultimate owner-operator will be.

Just two years ago, the 2,998-room resort was touted as one of the “must see” properties being built as part of the next wave of expansion planned for the Las Vegas market. Since then, however, tightened credit markets and an economy in recession have proven to be formidable roadblocks in the Cosmopolitan’s — and several other Las Vegas projects’ — progress.

What is apparent is that the original developer of the project, New York-based businessman Bruce Eichner, is no longer at the helm. A recent Wall Street Journal article noted Eichner’s fallout with the financial firm Deutsche Bank, which has invested more than $760 million into the Cosmopolitan thus far. At the beginning of this year, Deutsche Bank said it would foreclose on the project. Since then, several hotel and development companies have reportedly been negotiating to purchase the project.

So who could the eventual suitor be? Many gaming industry observers and analysts note that MGM Mirage may have both the best motive and resources to emerge as the Cosmopolitan’s new owner. The 8-acre site on which the project is being built sits between two of MGM Mirage’s biggest ventures, the Bellagio and CityCenter, the $8 billion, under-construction mixed use urban development that will include multiple hotels, entertainment venues, amenities, retail, gaming space and apartments and condominiums.

MGM Mirage, for its part, has been coy about its plans. Chief Operating Officer Jim Murren has not outright dismissed the idea of taking over the Cosmopolitan, but told the Las Vegas Business Press, it would have to make significant sense for his company from a financial perspective.

“It’s not something we’re looking at,” Murren said. “We hope somebody can find a way of fixing this because it doesn’t help the Strip, Las Vegas or us to have a half-finished project sitting there.”

Another possibility could lie with some form of joint venture between Marathon Asset Management, a New York-based hedge fund that loaned roughly $125 million to Eichner, and Hyatt Hotels, which had signed on to be the project’s hotel operator.

Still other interested parties include Starwood Hotels and real estate developer Related Cos. There is also speculation that other established casino companies without a Las Vegas Strip presence, such as Pinnacle Entertainment or Penn National Gaming, may become involved in talks.

In the meantime, Perini Building Co., the project’s lead architect, has continued its work on the Cosmopolitan. Perini CEO Ronald Tutor recently noted that he expects the project to remain on schedule for a late-2009 completion.

“I’ve attended two meetings with the principals at Deutsche Bank,” Tutor said during a recent conference call. “They are negotiating with a major national developer. As you might expect, it is a difficult negotiation. Our role is to continue to be paid by them and keep the project going on schedule in hopes they conclude those negotiations and we finally have an owner back on board.”

—Andy Holtmann