I took some new photos of the progression of the Switch Beach Club at Encore. The photos seem to comfirm the validity of the renderings I posted a few weeks ago.
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I created two new pages on the site, one for the Ruvo Center for Brain Health and one for The Smith Center for the Preforming Arts

These were just blurbs on the Symphony Park page and deserve their own pages. I also updated the construction photos for both projects.
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well, a few words come to mind when pondering the remodel of Luxor's casino:

Unfocused
Blurry
Hazy
Indistinct

They not only de-themed the place, they failed to give it any character at all (unless hazy is a character) The carpet looks old and faded (soft blues and tans), the ceilings are soft blues, the lighting is blueish. I found it difficult to achieve a focus, there is no contrast.

I uploaded some photos to the site, they are at the bottom of the Luxor section

On the up-side, it is an improvement from the tacky, older, over-themed motif. The new look is clean (albeit too clean for my taste). The lack of contrast does bring your attention to the slot ... << MORE >>

The $850-million Tivoli Village at Queensridge is out of the "stalled" category. Construction is moving at a good pace on one of Vega's most expensive new projects. The 29-acre development is going to be a true mixed-use project with shopping, entertainment, office and residential all rolled into a beautiful, walkable village-like setting.

Tivoli Village uses real building materials (no EIFS here)

I created a new page for the project with lots of model and construction photos.

Enjoy.
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The restless Mr. Wynn has the front of Encore torn up and is building a new Beach Club where the Porte Cochère was.
The club (Switch Beach Club) will be viewable from the Switch restaurant within Encore. I've included some construction photos and sneak peek renderings to the site. The renderings may or may not be the actual project as the source is unknown (we all know The Steve never releases renderings. so enjoy them while they are up.

another change to Encore is the removal of the drapes and palm plants in the casino, apparently to open up the space. I liked the more intimate feel of the draped casino. What do you think?
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Well, it looks like Carl Icahn's measly $156.2 million bid for the Fontainebleau will win the foreclosed property (as reported in the Las Vegas Sun on Tuesday), since the other bidders failed to meet the Monday deadline. Icahn has deep enough pockets ($9 billion deep) to finish the project.

There is a big "however" attached to this deal - It is doubtful that  Icahn will complete the project with the same vision as the original developers. According to an earlier LV Sun article, Icahn could finish the project on the cheap, replacing the planned high $$ restaurants with middle class chains like Cheesecake Factory and Outback Steakhouse - an overall dumbing-down of the resort. Or, he could sit on it and wait out the economy.

The dumbing-down option might be the best choice (I hate ... << MORE >>

As some of you probably know, last weekend, Harrah's took over the management of Planet Hollywood from Sheraton. Since they do not (yet) own PH, THE Who Owns What Map will stay as it is. The Total Rewards program is not yet in place and Harrah's will have nothing to do with the PH Tower(s).

Speaking of the PH Towers, I visited it a few weeks ago and took some photos of the lobby and pool area. The lobby is a very nice open area with a full view of the pool.
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I've added some shots of the expanded casino and the new (very dark) HRH Tower lobby.

The casino is much larger now that the old The Joint has been opened up and filled with slots, tables, a bar and a lounge. The whole place has a classier look and feel.

The HRH lobby is real dark and very cool.
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I updated the Coke v/s Pepsi Map to include ARIA as a Coke property. Way to go Coke!!!
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I just uploaded several new photos of the Cosmopolitan. Its slow-but-sure progress can be seen when compared to the last set.
The most newsworthy feature is that the ziggy-zaggy facade will be outlined with white (neonish) light which will look awesome (IMO).
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I posted a few new photos of the Hard Rock's expansion. The project looks great. The North hotel tower has been open since late July while the HRH (all-suites)Tower will open on 12/28/09.
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I found a video on the Trop website and captured this rendering. From the looks of it, the Tropicana will indeed b reborn into something nice. There looks to be a nightclub (Copa Cabana anyone?) over the Porte Cochére. The towers appear to be untouched. I am still waiting for the official renderings.

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I updated THE Map, sadly removing many of the proposed projects.
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The $100 million makeover of our beloved Tropicana is well underway. Finally, the ugliness of the 1996 exterior makeover will be removed.
The "theme"of the project is South Beach Florida Deco (sounds great to me).

This remodel will encompass the entire resort (inside and out). Remodeled will be the casino, restaurants, lounges, pool area, and guest rooms along with a new canter casino bar, a new sports book and new poker room.

The bridge connecting the casino with the back of the property is getting a white marble floor. While the pool area is getting all new walks and decks.

They are also planning to extend the bridges form MGM Grand and Excalibur right into the casino.

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I just uploaded 45 photos of ARIA at CityCenter.



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I just got back from ARIA and have a load of photos to process. All I can say is WOW, what a great resort. This is the first time I was now underwhelmed by a new property. Stay tuned....
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I've added an updated photo of the Octavius Tower at Caesars.


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I updated "THE Who Owns What Map" taking TI out of MGM's hands and eliminating many outdated items.
Still much to do........
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The Rush Tower opened on 11/20/09, I was there om 12/02/09 and took some photos. The lobby is quite stunning (It's hard to believe this is downtown). This completes the GN expansion and remodel.
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I've updated the 61-acre Symphony Park page with the latest site plan. I also added New construction photos of the Ruvo Brain Institute and the Smith Center for the Preforming Arts.