February 1st, 2010 | 
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Aria
I have been waiting to set foot in City Center since June of 2006 when work started on the project. Expectations were set high as this property is the most costly one to date in Las Vegas, not to mention it’s a very large structure. City Center has a nice flow that as Steve Wynn said it best “connotes expectation”. Curves have been around Las Vegas for a very long time and although Wynn would like to think he created the very first arabesque building in Las Vegas it was Jay Sarno with Caesars Palace who did so. Wynn just made it better, and Aria tried to keep up with Wynn. Everything about Aria is curved, the taxi pick up and drop off as well as the road leading into the property. The commercial for Aria also puts the idea of curves in your mind as you watch it. With all this expectation one that had been gathering for the past 4 years I had to make City Center one of my first stops on my recent trip to Las Vegas. Our very first stop of the trip was Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. Since Wynn has yet to disappoint me with any of his properties past and present, I use his properties as the standard for Las Vegas greatness! Why start at Encore when this is a review of Aria? Well the answer is simple, City Center as a whole was billed as a ultra modern resort, so it’s only logical that it is compared with other ultra modern resorts. Not to get too much into the details of Encore but light is as much a part of this resort and casino as is everything else in the building. The norm for any casino is to hide the people in the casino, we can’t know the time of day or we may not keep playing craps or any other casino games provided. Wynn is trying to change the norm, by letting light inside the casino, this being the case I expected something similar of Aria. Light seems to be the enemy of Aria’s casino, its dark, and it’s been done before. All that you have to do to experience Aria’s casino is go to The Mirage or MGM Grand and it’s the same thing! I expected something new and exciting maybe something to that makes you feel as though something will be around the corner but it was a big letdown. With expectations set so high for this property I was really disappointed that it wasn’t something more. The Building feels like I am in any other big city which is what City Center wanted to be and with this they did a good job, I was just a little let down by the inside. As soon as we walked in we walked the casino checked out the shopping and then went past the lobby, followed by restaurants. It was a quick trip do to the downer atmosphere inside. Something that Las Vegas is known for is being new and exciting and this just didn’t fit the bill. In the rush to get this project done it feels as though things still aren’t complete. This said I want to re-review this property again when I make my return trip. Maybe it was the 55 degree weather or the fact that there was no one in there that made it disappointing, so I want to give it a fair chance next time around.
Fireworks
Read a lot of articles and comments about the fireworks show at 8 hotels on the strip. Seemed lame compared to past years to many people who were there. Due to regulation changes from the 2008 fire at Monte Carlo fireworks can no longer be done from the top of the hotels unless it is setup and inspected by the proper people. This decision came down the line to late to get the hotels to meet the requirements and as a result they did the fireworks from the ground. According to an article and video on www.LasVegasSun.comthere may be something different all together next year! I hope its nothing like the Fremont Street Experience.
In the year 2010…
Well its now the year 2010 and there are several projects that are still sitting around on the Las Vegas strip! Let’s start with Wynn, 2010 will be the last year of golfing at Wynn as the course will be torn down for the building of between 4 and 6 hotels. I think this will happen sometime around the end of June, so hurry up and give your $500 to play while you still can. The Frontier site will be one of the sites that will be purchased and sold many times between companies and in the end I think Wynn will purchase it and build an extension to his current resorts over at Wynn corps. Fontainebleau will sit unfinished just as Echelon has sat this past year, Wynn will gain increasing interest in Fontainebleau as it was a throw back to his childhood when he would spend time in Florida at the Fontainebleau there. Harrah’s will announce plans just days after to compete with Wynn and Kerkorian plans but in the end do nothing as they haven’t done anything in a long time with any of their properties. OH! Wait they did put a lot of useless development over at Caesars. I say useless as the only things that they did is put an outdoor stage that is only fit for ABC’s “The View” to broadcast from. A big bowl of suck over there, it would be better used for more casino space, I mean come on take out the outdoor bar that is not useful unless it’s a cool 70 degrees out, and even then if you get a $11 beer it will be warm by the time you get over the street to the lower priced slots over at the IP. Mgm Mirage will lose more money on City Center as it is not going to be filled to capacity most of the coming year, as a result they will sell off additional properties as they have done with TI. Possibly Circus will be for sale, someone small will purchase the for sale properties and do nothing with them, circus will continue to be run down until torn down or be planned to be by the end of the year.
