While building the Stratosphere, maverick casino owner Bob Stupak ran out of money, leaving the tower only partially erect. Wags were quick to dub the stymied Stratosphere “Stupak's Stump.”
Stupak, of course, eventually finished the tower — although it proved his undoing in the gambling industry. I was reminded of this while pondering MGM Mirage's predicament with its forcibly foreshortened Harmon condo-hotel. (If it had gambling, we'd call it a “failsino.”)
At a truncated 25 stories (or roughly half its intended height), The Harmon cries out for a nickname but so far nobody has risen to the occasion. That's where you, dear readers, come in. How does “Lanni's Lump” grab you? Or “Murren's Midget”? Perhaps even “Baldwin's Bump”? “Perini's Plinth,” anyone?
Better still … suggest your own nickname for the mountain that was made into a molehill. Let the alliteration commence!
