You're referring to what was a sadly short-lived installation called Caesars Magical Empire. The late '90s coincided with the latter years of Vegas’ brief experiment at being a "family" destination and magic was BIG. 1996 was the year Lance Burton signed his 13-year contract with the Monte Carlo and the same year that Caesars opened a new multi-bucks attraction called the Magical Empire, located by the Race and Sports book and what used to be the Palatium buffet
It was, as the Wikipedia entry describes it, an "extravagantly-themed immersive dining and entertainment experience," with a cavernous atrium that featured firepits, a wizard, live birds flying around, classical statuary, optical illusions, and a generally mystical ambience that set the tone before you proceeded into the "experience" itself. The designers used a lot of imagination (and dough) throughout and it was really pretty cool. (Strangely, we couldn't find any good pictures while researching this answer – if anyone reading this has some, do send them our way so we can share).
The show featured relatively well-known talent performing in various forums including close-up rooms and an intimate theater, plus dinner in a seemingly subterranean venue (actually, it wasn’t underground at all) that maintained the magical theme throughout your meal, with a sorcerer MC, trick menus, séances, and so on. They even kept the magic going when you went to the bathrooms, which featured some funky holographic effects in the mirrors.
Despite the lavish setting and the decent -- sometimes high -- caliber of the performers, Caesars Magical Empire just never got off the ground. For one thing, its obscure location shoved in a back corner of the casino meant an absence of foot traffic. Although not super-expensive when you consider it included dinner, the $75 ticket price was doubtless a deterrent to some.
Schedules were tweaked and promotions launched, but persistent rumors of closure began not long after the venue opened and dogged it througout its lifespan. In fact, the surprising thing is that it lasted as long as it did, lurching along until the end of 2002 when the curtain finally fell and the other equally persistent rumor –- that the venue would be converted into a nightclub –- came to pass. The space that was formerly occupied by CME is now the home of PURE nightclub and the Pussycat Dolls lounge.
