Las Vegas' newest mega-resort
Sin City gets its first look at the $1.9 billion Palazzo, just the latest in a string of new developments kicking off an impressive growth spurt along the Strip
LAS VEGAS -- The political caucuses weren't the only big news being made in Nevada last weekend.
Las Vegas welcomed its latest gonzo hotel-casino, the Palazzo, the first all-new mega-resort to sprout on the Strip in nearly three years.
(AP)
Stretching 50 stories into the desert sky, the $1.9 billion Palazzo, together with its sister property, the Venetian, are part of the largest casino-convention-resort complex in the world. This behemoth includes more than 7,000 hotel rooms and the ability to have 10,000 people over for dinner.
It's huge, even for a city more 'roided up than Major League Baseball. It's also the beginning of Sin City's latest -- and greatest -- growth spurt, experts said.
The premiere of the Palazzo kicks off a wave of development "that will be bigger and more extended than all three [previous waves] combined," said Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter. "The Strip alone will get 50,000 new rooms over the next five years."
And the people filling those rooms aren't just coming to feed the slots. A good proportion of the city's 40-plus million annual visitors are just as interested in eating sashimi at Charlie Trotter's new restaurant, shopping till they drop a small fortune at Barneys, getting pampered at Canyon Ranch Spa, seeing "Jersey Boys" and clubbing till it's time for breakfast. In the Palazzo, they can do all this and more -- under one ginormous roof.
"It is a city within a city; the beginning of the 'meta-resort' era of Las Vegas," said William Weidner, president of the Palazzo's parent company, Las Vegas Sands.
Make no mistake: the Palazzo didn't forget about gamblers. The 105,000-square-foot casino houses more than 120 table games and 1,400 slot, video poker and reel machines. But more than ever, Vegas feels like a place where gambling is the side dish, not the main course.
About 100 journalists from around the country (including non-gambling yours truly) were flown in for the Palazzo's grand opening: a weekend-long affair featuring fireworks, a Diana Ross concert and ridiculously limber Cirque du Soleil-types twisting on ribbons hanging from the hotel's ceiling.
The pretty people were out in full force for this shindig. Actresses Rebecca Romijn and Angie Harmon glammed it up on the red carpet during a party hosted by Barneys, the MVP in the Palazzo's luxury shopping lineup. Models in togas were tethered to the top of an indoor waterfall while an orchestra played and onlookers snapped photos with their cell phones.
Hilary Swank was among the A-listers hanging out at the resort's 40/40 Club, the Vegas branch of hip-hop mogul Jay-Z's Manhattan hot spot. With each of the club's 80-plus plasma screens tuned into sports, it felt more like a really rich jock's basement than a nightclub. Ladies, good luck dragging your dates out of this man trap.
But back to the party: Celebrity chefs Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Trotter showed up to promote their new Palazzo eateries -- some of which aren't open yet. In fact, a lot of the Palazzo isn't open yet. Construction crews are still building the "Jersey Boys" theater and expanding the Canyon Ranch Spa, where guests will be able to cool off in a snow cave.
Curious to check out the parts of the Palazzo that are finished, Emer Hilario and his wife, Lou, wandered over from the Treasure Island for a peek at the new kid on the block.
"It looks more classy than a lot of the other places," said Hilario, 47, of west suburban Lombard. "It's modern. And it's definitely big."
The Palazzo and the adjacent Venetian are sisters, but they're not identical twins.
The latter's inspiration came from Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson and his wife's honeymoon in Venice, hence the frescoes and singing gondoliers. The Venetian opened in 1999.
"Two children later, we've had about as much romance as we can handle," said Adelson, 74, dubbed the third richest American by Forbes magazine. "Now, we're going for more excitement."
The Palazzo's glass-dome atriums, marble and indoor formal gardens give it an Italian country estate look. The public areas feel a bit sterile in a city that's all about bling, but the 3,068 suites have more personality. Starting at $199 a night, they're a mix of hipness and European elegance.
I'm no gambler, but I'll bet the Palazzo won't have a hard time filling those 3,068 suites. Neither will the neighboring Wynn resort, currently building a second hotel tower, or MGM Mirage's CityCenter, a massive mixed-use development well under way.
"Every time a new hotel goes up here, people say the same thing, 'They'll never fill it,' " said Darcy Nielson, a Vegas native who manages the Christophe Salon in the MGM Grand. "And somehow, they always do."
Visit Palazzolasvegas.com or call (866) 263-3001.