New Elvis-themed resort heading for the Strip?

Caesar’s Palace gets new $1 billion expansion

Harrah’s have announced that Caesar’s Palace won’t be left behind in the mad Vegas construction boom, and will have $1 billion spent on expanding the property. Part of the new expansion scheme includes the construction of a new 665 room hotel tower called the Octavius Tower, which will rise some 350 feet into the Vegas sky (or just over half the height of the new Palazzo).

Can the Excalibur survive the new Las Vegas building boom?

Old hotels in Vegas are disappearing at an alarming rate, with giant billion dollar mega hotels being built on their imploded ruins. The Stardust went in March 2007, and the New Frontier is set to be imploded in early 2008. These hotels, though large, were old, and although imploding them was expensive, the total cost of imploding them paled into significance compared with the billions of dollars being poured into the construction of the new hotels that will replace them.

However, Las Vegas is one city that doesn’t stand still, and the new hotels are changing not just the skyline, but the nature of the visitors who are set to come to the strip in future years. Just as the older hotels such as the Stardust and New Frontier fell out of favour once the huge themed mega-resorts such as the Luxor were built, the worry is that these existing mega-resorts will also go into decline once the new super-luxurious mega-hotels are completed.

Luxor undergoes $300 million transformation

The Luxor hotel in Las Vegas is undergoing a huge $300 million refit aimed at freshening the place up and removing much of the Egyptian theme that pervades the place (which you’d have thought would have been quite difficult for a gigantic black pyramid!). The refit is being carried out to ensure the Luxor continues to attract visitors amidst the changing nature of the tourists pouring into the city.

For the huge new billion dollar hotels that are currently being built in Vegas aren’t just changing the skyline - they’re also changing the type of visitor and their corresponding tastes.

New Project CityCenter renderings

As the giant Project City Center development continues its construction, some more renderings of the new Las Vegas hotel complex have appeared from some of the project’s architects, Rafael Vinoly. The renderings show what the complex will look like both from within its center, and also how it fits in with the existing Las Vegas hotels on the strip.

More pictures of Project City Center after the jump.

Las Vegas Dunes Hotel implosion videos

The Dunes hotel in Las Vegas was an icon of the Las Vegas strip for decades, until its life was cut short in 1993 by Steve Wynn, who decided that the ageing hotel had reached the end of its life and needed to go.

So it was that the Dunes was imploded in front of thousands of invited onlookers and tourists amid a spectacle of fireworks, pyrotechnics and showmanship. No-one does a hotel implosion like a Vegas hotel implosion!

More videos of the Las Vegas Dunes hotel implosion after the jump.

History of the Las Vegas Dunes Hotel

The Dunes was an iconic Las Vegas Hotel whose name even today is still remembered along the strip. It’s long gone now, of course - imploded in two stages to make way for The Bellagio in 1993 and 1994. This being Vegas, though, it’s demise was as spectacular as the old hotel’s reputation merited. The following post, therefore, provides a brief history of the Las Vegas Dunes hotel.

Pictures of CityCenter Las Vegas taking shape

Project CityCenter, MGM Mirage’s mammoth $7.7 billion series of hotels and condos on the Las Vegas strip, is slowly taking shape. Actually, it’s quickly taking shape, as these new photos show! What’s interesting to me is that despite still being in the early stages of construction, the glass is being added to the building.

Now, obviously I know nothing about construction, but adding that much glass in the middle of a building site seems like asking for trouble! Not only can the glass be easily smashed with all that construction going on, but imagine being a construction worker walking under it? As if the risk of falling masonry wasn’t bad enough - is a hard-hat enough to shield you if one of the panes falls out?

Rather them than me!

More photos of Project City Center after the jump.

Review of New York New York hotel and casino

New York, New York - so good they built it twice! New York New York is one of Las Vegas’s many themed hotels. Situated on the south side of the strip directly opposite the MGM Grand, New York New York features a scale replica of the Manhattan skyline, but with one slight difference - a giant rollercoaster twisting its way amongst the skyscrapers!

I’ve always liked New York New York. Not only does it look great, it’s got a great vibe inside - a real party atmosphere, which seems to be present wherever you go (particularly in the bars and clubs!).

Check out our review of the New York New York hotel, and also check out our new New York New York photo gallery to see just what I’m on about.

What everyone needs to know about Las Vegas

Las Vegas is one of the wonders of the modern world, but try telling your feet that when you’ve walked more in a day than you normally do in a year! To help you survive your trip to Las Vegas, here are some top Las Vegas tips on how to be at your best all week.