Genie to reappear on
Las Vegas Strip -
New
Aladdin Hotel rises from the rubble
By Robert Macy
Dateline Las Vegas
Editor's Note: Robert Macy, an Associated Press
writer for 30 years,
was Correspondent of the Las Vegas AP bureau during the city's dynamic growth years, 1981-2000. He has covered the opening of the dozen new
megaresorts that have transformed the city in the past two decades.
Now a nationally-syndicated writer, he takes a first media look at the city's
newest hotel-casino, the Aladdin, which opened Aug. 17.
---
LAS VEGAS --
lvis and Priscilla were married
there, Wayne Newton and Johnny Carson engaged in a caustic ownership tug-of-war, the place was
once shuttered because of mob connections, and it finally disappeared in a
spectacular implosion.
Now, the Aladdin hotel-casino, like the genie in the famous
fable, is
set to reappear Aug. 17.
The 2,600-room $1.4 billion project is the latest in a
series of
megaresorts to open on the Las Vegas Strip, the only major resort to
debut in 2000. Three major resorts -- Mandalay Bay, The Venetian and
Paris-Las Vegas -- opened on the strip in 1999.
The Aladdin represents the epitome of the
city's past -- and its future. Opened in 1966,
the old Aladdin featured some of the town's
most famous entertainers, from Frank Sinatra
and Dean Martin to Newton, Tina Turner, Neil Diamond and Sting.
Some of the country's most infamous also played there, with
mob figures from Detroit, Kansas City and St. Louis at one time having a hand in the
till.
When the original Aladdin opened 34 years ago, it marked the
southern end of the Strip and was considered locationally-challenged. Today,
with Paris next door and Bellagio across the Strip, its location is one of its
greatest assets.
The hotel gained international headlines on May 1, 1967 when
Elvis
Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu in the private suite of Aladdin owner
Milton Prell.
The hotel suffered a series of financial and legal problems
in the
early 1970s and early 80s, and was closed for a time when former owners
were convicted of wrongdoing.
In 1980 Newton bought the property with gaming figure Ed
Torres for $85 million. Ironically, Torres was the boss at the Fremont Hotel years
earlier when brothers Wayne and Jerry Newton began their Las Vegas careers there.
Wayne Newton outbid "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson for the
Aladdin, igniting a bitter feud between the two stars.
Japanese businessman and high-roller Ginji Yasuda bought the
hotel in 1985, sparking a series of resort acquisitions by Asian business magnates
in the mid-80s.
In 1994 Jack Sommer and his Sigmond Sommer Trust bought the
Aladdin for $85 million, closing it three years later and following a growing Las
Vegas trend of tearing down the old to make way for the new.
At sunset on April 28, 1998 thousands of tourists gathered on
the Strip to watch the Aladdin, like the genie, disappear in a cloud of dust --
reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds by 860 charges of dynamite.
The implosion of the17-story icon was the fifth demolition of a Las Vegas landmark in as many years.
Aladdin President Richard Goeglein promised that the Aladdin,
like
the mythical bird the pheonix, would "rise from the ashes."
Jason Ader, gaming analyst for Bear, Stearns & Co., says
the big
question on Wall Street is whether the Aladdin will be able to contribute
to this city's tourism boom, or simply cannibalize on it.
Las Vegas is experiencing a record summer season and is
expected to
draw more than 34 million visitors this year. Analysts worried that
the
opening of Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, The Venitian and Paris within a year
would create a glut of rooms that would be hard to fill, but the new
resorts have proven the concerns unfounded.
"It's hard to get my arms around the competitive
advantage the Aladdin
will have, given the competition on the Strip," Ader told Dateline
Las Vegas.
"The challenge is going to be to convince the consumers they have something other properties
don't have.
"With summer bookings ahead of last year, the concern is
whether they will create something to build new demand or siphon off the existing
business," Ader said.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, Goeglein toured the property as
some
2,200 construction workers swarmed about, staining woodwork, laying tile, painting and moving gaming machines about the
100,000-square-foot casino.
The new Aladdin will cost some $900 million. Another 1,000
rooms are
planned on land east of the hotel, with that tab expected to run $300
million. No timetable has been set for that project.
And San Diego shopping center developer Trizec Hahn is
following the
growing trend for upscale shopping here, developing the
500,000-square-foot Desert Passage "shopping adventure" that surrounds the resort in
the shape of a horseshoe. The project will exceed $200 million.
Desert Passage will offer a sensory as well as a shopping
experience.
Visitors will meander along streets replicating an old port city, a North
African wharf, a sultan's palace. In one section, rain showers will
add to the atmosphere.
"Desert Passage will offer a literal presentation of
ancient cities,"
Aladdin spokesman Lynn Holt said as he dodged a forklift working its way between unfinished shops.
The resort will also offer 21 restaurants, including
Commander's Palace of New Orleans fame, Anasazi of Santa Fe, the Blue Note Jazz Club of New
York and P.F. Chang's China Bistro.
The casino -- the cash cow for any resort here --
will take a chapter
from the tales of "1,001 Arabian Nights." Banks of slot
machines are topped with flying carpets, a 36-foot replica of Aladdin's lamp rests above a bar
in the middle of the casino, there are giant ebony horses, and an "
enchanted garden" features fiber optic flowers 40 feet high that bloom to
music. Three stories tall, the casino affords a unique openness.
Down one floor from the casino is the lobby area.
Unlike some Las Vegas hotels, Aladdin guests won't have to walk through the casino to get to the
registration area.
"We believe if people come to town wanting that gaming
experience, they will be able to find it," Holt explains.
Above the main casino is a swank private gaming area that will
be
operated by London Clubs International, a 40 percent owner of the resort.
London Clubs currently operates gaming salons in Europe. The Sommer
Trust owns the remaining 60 percent.
Across the casino is Sinbad's Palace, a high-limit gaming
area.
"The casino was designed to create an environment that
is a lot more
fun," Holt said. "It's theme is based on fantasy."
Nearby is the 1,000-seat Aladdin Theatre
for the Performing Arts, which opened in 1976, is the only survivor of the 1998 implosion and has undergone a $20
million facelift. It will host theatrical productions and name
entertainers, with singer Enrique Iglesias headlining opening night.
The pool deck affords a unique view of the 50-story replica
of the
Eiffel Tower at neighboring Paris-Las Vegas. The area includes a
30-foot
waterfall that cascades to the Strip and an 8-story facade replicating an
ancient Moroccan palace.
Guests can enter the shops, restaurants and casino directly
off the
Strip while those checking in do so from vehicle lanes that run beneath
the 40-story tower.
Two banks of elevators ensure that every guest room is within
seven
doors of an elevator. Guest rooms are 450 square feet and up, and
feature amenities such as cordless phones and high-speed internet
access.