You're referring to the venerable Brahma Shrine at Caesars Palace.
The four-faced statue, produced in Bangkok in 1983, is an authentic replica of one of Thailand's most popular Buddhist shrines.
Brahma is a Buddhist god associated with creation. He's believed to have traveled around atop a three-headed elephant named Erawan. The four faces of the Brahma statue represent the Four Divine States of Mind: loving kindness, compassion, sympathy, and equanimity.
The original statue was installed in the 1970s at the Erawan Hotel in Bangkok to ward off bad luck, after various disasters had struck the hotel during its construction. Apparently, the statue did the trick and it's been smooth sailing for the Erawan ever after. Thus, the Thai shrine has come to be associated with luck and prosperity.
The Caesars statue, the only one of its kind in the Western world, was a gift to the casino from a Thai newspaper tycoon, Kamphol Vacharaphol, and his wife Praneetslipa, as well as Yip Hon, a leading citizen of Hong Kong. Cast in bronze and plated in gold, it stands 14 feet high and weighs more than four tons.
For the past 22 years, visitors to Caesars have paused at the Brahma shrine to offer flowers, light joss sticks (incense and matches are kept fully stocked there), even make donations (in a lock box; Caesars supports charities in Thailand) -- and, of course, pray for luck at the tables and machines.
As far as we can tell, the statue has been moved only once, from its original location near the central Strip entrance to its current location, in the Roman Plaza at the south end of the property, just north of the pedestrian overpass over Flamingo Road, behind the Viale indoor-outdoor restaurant. We're not sure about any imperative that the statue face east, but since all of Caesars is on the west side of the Strip facing east, the statue does too, and always has.
