Only one of the six primary components that make up the CityCenter "metaresort" will have a casino. ARIA, the centerpiece of the complex, is due to open December 16, coinciding with the resort's Grand Opening celebrations, and consists of two 61-story curvilinear glass towers that house 4,004 rooms (including 568 suites) and a 150,000 sq. ft. casino.
The casino will be remarkable in a number of ways, one being that it breaks with design tradition to include natural light. MGM Mirage is striving to have the entire CityCenter project awarded LEED certification, meaning that the buildings need to comply with a number of criteria, including incorporating sustainability practices into their design, construction, and operations, and being pleasant environments to live and work in. While they haven't dared go as far as to make the casino smoke-free, dealers will be protected from smokers at their tables by a "wall of air" and patrons will be able to navigate the casino via "smokeless pathways."
As far as the other elements are concerned, the Vdara Condo Hotel opens on Dec. 1, followed two days later by Crystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district; the Mandarin Oriental hotel opens on Dec. 4. Veer Towers (the only strictly residential component) and The Harmon hotel, which is in the midst of a redesign, will not open until 2010.
