Perhaps because it opened during the height of the holiday season, when LVA staffers are at their busiest, few have found the time to check the place out. Managing Editor David McKee was among a group of journalists, podcasters, and bloggers who were shown around Encore by none other than Roger Thomas, Steve Wynn’s design guru.
While some of the over-the-top elements worked better for David than did others, in general he found it a considerable improvement on Wynn Las Vegas. He wrote, in part, "Encore is the most tactile casino on the Strip and probably in the U.S. You'll be wanting to 'cop a feel' many times over, whether it's of the wood finishes, the wall coverings, or the sculpted textures like the 'wall of bodies' that ushers you into nightclub XS."
Three elements dominate Encore: butterflies, laurel-wreath patterns (there’s even a statue depicting the Greek nymph Daphne’s famous transformation into a laurel tree), and more red than you can shake a stickman at. Wynn’s Mirage is regarded as having been the demise of that Vegas staple, the "red casino." However, says Thomas, "We killed it. We get to bring it back." Particularly striking are the fire-engine-red chandeliers, with so many fez-like lampshades that looking up might remind you of a Shriner's parade on Valentine's Day.
The casino itself features a Macau-inspired pattern of squared-off smallish gambling areas –- an effort at intimacy that contrasts dramatically with the wide-open vastness of other recent casinos (Palazzo, South Point, Eastside Cannery, MGM Grand Detroit). The additional carpeting, proscenia walls, and draperies that decorate the wide walkways of the casino mute the noise level and create a spaciousness for both players and gawkers by separating the two.
Observed one recent visitor, "It's very civilized."
Perhaps Encore's coolest "attraction" is the display of the Oscar statue that Frank Sinatra earned for the movie From Here to Eternity. The mighty statue is the highlight of several pieces of the crooner’s memorabilia -- including a Grammy and a gold record -- exhibited at the entrance of the eponymous Italian restaurant, Sinatra.
As for the omnipresent butterflies, they represent "an abundance of good luck," according to Thomas.
But we suspect you want to read the views of Anthony Curtis himself. In which case, we urge you to hold out for the February issue of LVA, in which A.C. is certain to unburden himself on the subject of the Strip’s newest megaresort.
Check out David McKee's Stiffs & Georges blog for several recent entries that feature photographic highlights of the restaurants, rooms, public areas, and nightlife scene at Encore.
