Secrecy Surrounds Opening Of Wynn Las Vegas
Another Family-Fun Location Shuts Down
Updated: 7:31 am PDT April 4, 2005
Very few details are leaking out about what's going on behind the mountain at Wynn Las Vegas, the new $2.7 billion resort from Steve Wynn opening April 28th.No official photos, no floor plans, no artist conceptions, and almost no public comments about what you're going to see when you walk in the door have been released. The only interesting tidbit to hit the papers recently was that the casino will apparently feature lots of natural light through atriums and skylights, a 180-degree shift from the norm of casino design, where operators want to disassociate you from anything even resembling time or reality.Although the opening will undoubtedly generate ridiculous amounts of press, it's going to be at least a couple of weeks before you see any formal reviews of the full facility. With the exception of an exclusive Vanity Fair spread, the media are not being invited to the hotel until the week after the grand opening.
There are fewer and fewer places on or near the Strip for wholesome family entertainment, what with Wet 'N' Wild's closure in anticipation of a new casino resort and now Scandia Family Fun Center's impending demise to make way for a massive new condo complex.The miniature golf, bumper boats and other amusements at Scandia, located just on the other side of the freeway from the Strip, will stop running sometime this year so ground can be broken in early 2006 for a $550 million condominium complex featuring 700 units in two gleaming towers.Prices for the new condos will top out at $4 million apiece, but you can get a relative bargain-basement unit for a little less than $300,000.
Just a few years ago there was this little convention and trade show called Comdex, a display of current and future technology that was held annually in Las Vegas.By "little" I mean the largest convention in the United States, drawing more than 200,000 technophiles to the city every November.But a combination of a rough economy after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the bursting of the high-tech bubble drove the event to hard times, with the 2003 edition drawing a relatively paltry 50,000 people. The organizers, citing a general lack of interest and an inability to make financial sense of the whole thing, cancelled it for 2004 but loudly proclaimed it would be back and better than ever in 2005.Yeah, not so much.Comdex 2005 has officially been cancelled again for similar reasons, and the chances of it ever being held again are seriously in doubt.
After seven years as the daytime entertainment offering at the Tropicana, magician Rick Thomas has picked up his show and moved it up the street to the Stardust.Although nothing was publicly revealed about the decisions behind the move, the uncertain future of the Tropicana was most often cited in the local rumor mills. Of course, the hotel's murky outlook didn't stop magician Dirk Arthur from signing a deal to replace Thomas as the afternoon delight. Arthur had been performing in downtown Las Vegas.
Connoisseurs of the wiener-in-a-bun delight known as the hot dog have a reason to celebrate, with the official opening of Pink's at the Aladdin.The legendary hot dog stand got its start in Los Angeles in 1939 and has become an institution and sort of a rite of passage (you can't call yourself a true Angeleno until you've eaten at Pink's). Bringing the Tinseltown staple to Sin City is just one of the first steps in transforming the Aladdin into Planet Hollywood, an effort that will most likely be complete in about a year.You can get your hot dog fix by stopping at the Zanzibar Cafe, located inside the Aladdin casino.
There are fewer and fewer places on or near the Strip for wholesome family entertainment, what with Wet 'N' Wild's closure in anticipation of a new casino resort and now Scandia Family Fun Center's impending demise to make way for a massive new condo complex.The miniature golf, bumper boats and other amusements at Scandia, located just on the other side of the freeway from the Strip, will stop running sometime this year so ground can be broken in early 2006 for a $550 million condominium complex featuring 700 units in two gleaming towers.Prices for the new condos will top out at $4 million apiece, but you can get a relative bargain-basement unit for a little less than $300,000.
Just a few years ago there was this little convention and trade show called Comdex, a display of current and future technology that was held annually in Las Vegas.By "little" I mean the largest convention in the United States, drawing more than 200,000 technophiles to the city every November.But a combination of a rough economy after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the bursting of the high-tech bubble drove the event to hard times, with the 2003 edition drawing a relatively paltry 50,000 people. The organizers, citing a general lack of interest and an inability to make financial sense of the whole thing, cancelled it for 2004 but loudly proclaimed it would be back and better than ever in 2005.Yeah, not so much.Comdex 2005 has officially been cancelled again for similar reasons, and the chances of it ever being held again are seriously in doubt.
After seven years as the daytime entertainment offering at the Tropicana, magician Rick Thomas has picked up his show and moved it up the street to the Stardust.Although nothing was publicly revealed about the decisions behind the move, the uncertain future of the Tropicana was most often cited in the local rumor mills. Of course, the hotel's murky outlook didn't stop magician Dirk Arthur from signing a deal to replace Thomas as the afternoon delight. Arthur had been performing in downtown Las Vegas.
Connoisseurs of the wiener-in-a-bun delight known as the hot dog have a reason to celebrate, with the official opening of Pink's at the Aladdin.The legendary hot dog stand got its start in Los Angeles in 1939 and has become an institution and sort of a rite of passage (you can't call yourself a true Angeleno until you've eaten at Pink's). Bringing the Tinseltown staple to Sin City is just one of the first steps in transforming the Aladdin into Planet Hollywood, an effort that will most likely be complete in about a year.You can get your hot dog fix by stopping at the Zanzibar Cafe, located inside the Aladdin casino.
The Full Story
- Secrecy Surrounds Opening Of Wynn Las Vegas Margaritaville Provides Fun Theme, Good Food Helldorado Returns To Vegas For 100th Birthday Vegas Q&338;A: Is The Strip Really That Expensive?
In Next Week's Column
Next week: The latest from Las Vegas.Plus, don't forget to send your questions about Las Vegas. I've got room for more, so send them in today!Click here to go to the main page of Vegas4Visitors.com and see all of the fantastic resources Vegas4Visitors has to offer you when planning your next trip to Las Vegas.Rick Garman is the head writer for Vegas4Visitors
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