For all the trepidation about $8.5 billion CityCenter and its prospects, today’s opening of Vdara has been enough to set “the Internets,” the blogosphere, the teevees and even traditional newspapers aflame with excitement. After all, who can resist the scrotum settee (photo #10)? The plethora of coverage is more than Yr. Humble Blogger can aggregate at one fell swoop, but here’s an opening salvo.
The Las Vegas Sun‘s Liz Benston explains the somewhat byzantine workings of Aria‘s server-based slot floor. Given Nevada‘s congenital aversion to economic diversification, state leaders are banking everything on CityCenter sparking an economic turnaround. Financial boon or no, standards for architecture on the Strip will never be the same again. That was part of MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren‘s goal and to that, S&G says, “Mission accomplished.” The days when Paul Steelman Cos. could just phone in a design are well behind us.
The Bad Timing Award goes to whoever at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino chose this moment to trot out a photo of a new Tower Suite. The HRH (aka Scheetz’s Folly) is already so yesterday.
