
The Palazzo is slowly starting to take shape. The new hotel being built between The Wynn and The Venetian is set to open later this year (though more likely early next year), but for those who can’t wait to see what it looks like, here’s an artist’s impression!
The main hotel is the large left building, while the building towards the right is a new condo that’s being built as part of the new complex. You can just about see the existing Venetian sandwiched between the two.
Posted on Monday, June 4th, 2007 at 11:09 pm by Mike Evans
Filed under
Future Hotels,
News

Following on from the succession of new multi-billion dollar mega-hotels currently being built at the north end of the Las Vegas strip comes news of, well, another new multi-billion dollar mega hotel.
Called the Crown Las Vegas, the new hotel resort will be built next to the $3.4 billion Fontainebleau that’s currently being built opposite Circus Circus.
Crown Las Vegas will be slightly different from other hotels in Las Vegas though.
At 1,888 feet tall, and with 142 stories, it’ll be the tallest building in Las Vegas by a mile, dwarfing even The Stratosphere.
Actually, it’ll be the tallest building in the Western hemisphere!
More details and pictures of the Crown Las Vegas after the jump.
Posted on Monday, June 4th, 2007 at 10:14 pm by Mike Evans
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News

Parts of Las Vegas have always seemed so outrageous, you sometimes feel you’re in a theme park. Excalibur, for example, with its giant King Arthur’s castle, sandwiched between a giant black pyramid and New York New York with a rollercoaster.
Now, though, that theme-park feeling has been brought vividly to life, courtesy of Lego. At their Californian LegoLand themepark, they’ve built a gigantic replica of the entire Vegas strip out of 2 million Lego bricks. It took their designers over 3 years to make, and features a 20 foot tall replica of The Stratosphere, working rollercoasters, and Lego showgirls.

MGM Mirage’s shiny new Project CityCenter resort that’s currently being built in Vegas sits neatly next to the Monte Carlo hotel, which also happens to be owned by the company. So, a nice contiguous block of land, with two first class properties standing proudly side by side then?
Not quite. Sandwiched in the middle is a tiny WalGreens drug store (or what we in the UK called Chemist!). Apparently, WalGreens refused to sell their plot of land, and are quite happy running their little store as the western hemisphere’s most expensive privately financed project is built around them.
Posted on Sunday, June 3rd, 2007 at 11:14 pm by Mike Evans
Filed under
News

A picture paints 1,000 words, as they say, and now Google proves it. Not content with just providing its users with streetmaps of various cities around the world, it’s now added the ability to see fullly interactive panoramic photos of some of those cities as well. And yes, Las Vegas is naturally one of the first cities to be included.
As you can see from the screen shot, the pics are a bit on the blurry side, but it really gives you a sense of being in Vegas, as you can pan left and right, and even more forward and backwards, with newer images morphing over the existing one to provide a sense of movement.
This really is impressive technology, and is a great way of checking out an area before you decide to book a hotel. Go have a play with it now at Google Maps. Just type in the name of a hotel, followed by “Las Vegas” (e.g. “Circus Circus, Las Vegas”), and then click on Street View. You’ll be amazed!
Posted on Friday, June 1st, 2007 at 11:31 pm by Mike Evans
Filed under
News

Harrah’s Casinos will be among the first companies in the world to use a brand new table-top computer from Microsoft.
The new computer, called the Microsoft Surface, is straight out of the film Minority Report. You can see images, files and documents on the table-top screen, and then drag them around with your hands, just by touching them.
You can then move them around the screen, resize them, or manipulate them any way you want, exactly as you would if they were real life objects.
Better still, the Surface will recognize objects placed on it, such as digital cameras or mobile phones, and will let you move files into and out of those objects. Harrah’s envisages using the technology to load free slot-play to your account when you place your Total Rewards card on it.
Posted on Friday, June 1st, 2007 at 10:06 pm by Mike Evans
Filed under
Vegas Implosions

The Stardust was imploded on 3rd March 2007 to make way for the $4 billion Echelon Place resort. The Stardust was one of the Strip’s more iconic casinos, and had been running since 1958. Now, all that’s left is rubble, and the promise of another 5,300 rooms being built in its place.
But enough of the tear-jerking sorrow - in Vegas, everything’s a show, and that includes imploding buildings! And with The Stardust, Boyd Gaming (its owners, and the people behind Echelon Place) pulled out all the stops to create one of the most amazing implosions yet seen.
See the video of The Stardust’s implosion after the jump.