TripCart :: The Travel Blog

Las Vegas Casinos Go Boom

We love watching stuff blow up.  And in the past decade Las Vegas has blown up a bunch of their casinos to make way for bigger and brighter gambling establishments.  Over at Cynical-C you can see 9 different casinos imploding in the name of progress.  Here's a sneak preview of the The Aladdin biting the dust-

(thanks neatorama)

The Most Luxurios Spots in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is growing at incredible rate, in the last decade the number of people visiting per year has gone up about 25% and the number of hotel rooms will have almost doubled between 1996 and 2010.  Forbes has compiled their list of the best places in Sin City to live in the lap of luxury-

• Best Luxury Hotel - The Venetian - this 4,000+ room behemoth is the most lavish property in town
• Best Hotel Suite - Hugh Hefner Sky Villa at The Palms - it's a 2-story 9,000-square-foot behemoth whose living room can hold 250 people and costs a measly $40,000 a night
• Best Nightclub - Studio 54 at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino - trapeze artists, go-go dancers and four floors of party space
• Best Place for Poker Players - The Poker Room at the Bellagio - 30 tables and world-renowned players
• Best Entertainment - Cirque de Soleil at the Mirage - world famous performers in a theater with 360-degree seating and panoramic video projection
• Best Resort Hotel - Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas - 17 miles off the strip with both mountain and desert views
• Best Restaurant - Rosemary's - this place got more votes than any other in this year's Zagat's
• Best Spa - The Canyon Ranch Spa Club at the Venetian - over 120 services from acupuncture to Ashiatsu

Another 38,000+ Hotel Rooms Coming to Las Vegas

Between now and the end of the decade, over 38,000 hotel rooms will be built in Sin City with an estimated value of $30 billion.  Here's a quick rundown on some of the major construction taking place right now in Las Vegas-

• Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino - the transformation of Aladdin Casino and Resort will be completed this year
• The Venetian Palazzo - 3,000+ hotel rooms for a little over a billion and a half dollars (we assume the theme is "Italian")
• Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa - adding 430 hotel rooms this year as well as expanding their spa and opening a 72-lane bowling center
• Palms Place - this $600 million project will open next year with 599 rooms (1 room = $1 million?)
• Trump International Hotel & Towers - Donald's newest creation will debut next year with over 1,250 rooms
• The Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino - this mammoth project costs in the neighborhood of $2 billion and will have roughly 3,000 hotel rooms
• Encore - the second tower of the Wynn Las Vegas will have 2,000 rooms and will cost $1.4 billion when it is completed next year
• CityCenter - an absurdly grandiose project from MGM Mirage, the 18 million-square-foot project will include almost 5,000 hotel rooms, 2,700 luxury residences and cost an estimated $7 billion making it the largest privately funded project in America.  Amazing.
• Echelon Place - this one won't open for another three years but when it does there will be 5,300 new hotel rooms in town
• W Las Vegas Hotel, Casino and Residences - also scheduled for 2010, this project will have a mere 3,000 rooms

(thanks travelmole)

Related posts: Beautiful Early Vegas Photos • The Most Luxurios Spots in Las Vegas • Las Vegas Casinos Go Boom • Bye, Bye Stardust • Recycling Vegas • Top 10 Most Expensive Places for Your Date To Order a Salad • Top 10 Places to Cool Off This Weekend • Top 10 Cities For One Night Stands (and Singles)

Related travel guides: Places to Visit in Las Vegas and the Nevada desert • Casino Gambling in Las Vegas and the Nevada desert

Beautiful Early Vegas Photos

If you're traveling to Las Vegas soon and want to see some great pictures of how The Strip used to look there are some great photos over at EarlyVegas.com

(thanks presurfer)

Related posts: Another 38,000+ Hotel Rooms Coming to Las Vegas • The Most Luxurios Spots in Las Vegas • Las Vegas Casinos Go Boom • Bye, Bye Stardust • Recycling Vegas • Top 10 Cities For One Night Stands (and Singles)

Related travel guides: Places to Visit in Las Vegas and the Nevada desert • Casino Gambling in Las Vegas and the Nevada desert

Bye, Bye Stardust

In case you didn't hear, the iconic Stardust Hotel and Casino was demolished a few days ago.  Following its construction, the Stardust was the largest casino in Nevada with state's largest swimming pool as well.  The Stardust sign became an easily-recognizable icon for the city of Las Vegas over the years.  For more Stardust related minutiae head over to YesButNoButYes for a great roundup of Stardust related links and photos.