March 9, 2009: Las Vegas Trip Day 5
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Today, we are prevailing on Ron Drew and Jay again for the use of their minivan to take a trip out to Hoover Dam. Ron has been there before, but Jay, Steve and Mario have not. Of course, Fred and I have, and this is something of a nostalgia trip for us. The last time we were here was in 1999, and at that time, there were seven of us here- Ron Mathis and Chris Young, Ron Drew and Lowery Evans, Fred and myself, and Mike Racke. What makes today's trip so much more poingnant is the fact that of those seven people, three of them- Mike, Chris and Lowery- are no longer with us. Lowery died in 2000, Mike passed away in 2001 and Chris died just six days ago (and, in fact, his memorial service will be the day after we return). I'll have a bit more to say about these events a little later on, when all of us gather and have our picture taken in the same spot as we had group pictures taken ten years ago.

Our Day Excursion to Hoover Dam

As I said, today's big event was our trip out to Hoover Dam. The six of us (mostly Fred, myself and Steve) took lots of pictures all day long, and I am going to try to organize them in time sequence as much as I can. I won't provide a direct index here, but in general I'll group the pictures by "event." First, you'll see pictures of our arrival and those taken outside the dam itself (1). Then, we'll go inside the Visitor Center for Hoover Dam, buy our tickets for the tour, receive our orientation and then take a tour of some of the areas inside the dam itself (2). The tour ends inside the observation tower where we took a number of pictures (3), and then we moved to the outside balcony of the tower for another group of pictures of the dam itself (4). Scattered around the area on the Nevada side of the dam are a number of monuments and memorials, and I'll show you the pictures we took of those (5). Then we walked out onto the dam and about halfway across, and I'll include the pictures we took then as we walked from Nevada into Arizona (6). Returning towards the visitor center, we took a detour up a short service road to the major bypass spillway, and I'll show you pictures of it (7). The last group of pictures I'll show you from the area around the dam will be of the new highway bridge that is being built just downstream from the dam to funnel traffic from Nevada to Arizona (8). Lastly, I'll include a group of pictures that we took of Lake Mead and the surrounding area from an overlook we stopped at on our way back to town (9).

      Getting to Hoover Dam

Getting out to Hoover Dam from our hotel was quite easy, and although Ron and Jay had their GPS with them, I knew the route from our last trip out there:

To get there, all we had to do was go east on Tropicana Blvd. (the street just south of the MGM Grand) until it intersected with I-515. Then we took that south and east. It eventually ends and turns into the Nevada Highway, and that two-lane road takes you right to (and across the top of) Hoover Dam. There is a lot of traffic on this road, much of it going past the dam into Arizona, and that is why a new bridge is being built south of the dam; the bottleneck at the dam where the road goes across the top of it has just become intolerable.

In the aerial view at left, I've focused in on the area just around the dam. In yellow is the road coming from Las Vegas; this road eventually crosses over the dam and goes on into Arizona. Lake Mead is the name of the artificial lake that was created by the dam which is, of course, on the Colorado River. We are some 100 miles upstream from the Grand Canyon.

Before we take a look at the pictures taken here at the dam, I think I should orient you to the area immediately adjacent to the dam and show you the various landmarks that you will see in the pictures. So go on to the next section below.

An Orientation to the Area Around Hoover Dam

Let's use the aerial view at right to pick out some of the various locations and landmarks that will figure into the pictures that we'll see below. Of course, we arrived in the area via the Nevada Highway, which comes into the view from the left and winds down and around to approach and cross the dam from the southeast. As you can see in the image at left, there is a lot of traffic on this road, even this early in the morning. Just before getting to the dam, we turned left into the large parking structure that was built between now and the last time we were here. At the front of that structure there is a restaurant and gift shop, and also some of the memorials that you will see a bit later. Also from in front of the parking structure (and indeed from everywhere outside the dam itself) you can see the new bridge being constructed just a few hundred feet away downstream.

From the parking structure, you follow the walkway to a set of escalators that take you down to the Visitor Center entrance. At that entrance, you can buy tickets for the tour (there is a long one and a short one, and we opted for the shorter of the two) or just an entry into the museum. Our tour took us way down into the interior of the dam and then through a long subterranean hallway to one of the powerhouses (more later). The tour ended with an elevator ride up, ending in the observation tower/museum.

We also walked out onto the patio of the observation deck to get a lot of good pictures, and then we walked on the sidewalks that take you all the way across the dam. We just went as far as the middle of the dam so we could get pictures looking downstream, pictures of the reservoir and the intakes, and the obligatory pictures of us straddling the state line.

So let's begin our visit with the first group of pictures.

      (1) Outside at Hoover Dam (Nevada Side)

As soon as we came to the front of the parking garage on the level where we parked, we found ourselves on a balcony where we had good views of just about everything (although we could not see down into the canyon from here). We took this opportunity to take a few pictures of each other and of these views, and if you will click on the thumbnail images below you can see some of these pictures:

Once we were done taking pictures from the parking structure, we went down the stairs to ground level and to the walkway that led from the structure towards the entrance to the subterranean Visitor Center. As Ron, Fred, Jay and myself walked along, Steve dropped back and got a picture of us walking towards the escalators.

We walked past the actual entry, and Fred got a picture looking back towards the parking structure of Steve and I.

      (2) Our Tour Inside Hoover Dam

Fred was nice enough to pick up the admission for all six of us (our way of partially paying Ron and Jay back for the expense of getting a car, and partially paying Steve and Mario back for all their work in getting us tickets for the various shows that we went to). We had a bit of time to wait before filing into the small theatre for a half-hour movie talking about the construction and operation of the dam, so we wandered around the lobby and small museum area. Fred took a couple of pictures that might be of interest. On the walls around the area were a number of movie posters, all of which had to do in some way with Hoover Dam or Lake Mead. There were a surprising number of them. (You might look again at the "Viva, Las Vegas!" poster to see if you can find the tie-in. The other picture that you might find interesting was an aerial view of the dam, taken from a helicopter and looking straight down onto the dam. You can pick out the same features that I have tried to show with the aerial views I've gotten from the Internet.

When the movie was over, it was time for the tour. We went down the main elevator in groups, and there were two stops on our tour. The first took us down one tunnel to an observation room that is situated directly on top of one of the huge spillway tunnels that bring water from Lake Mead down through turbine blades. Here, we got a short lecture, given by our tour guide and using an illuminated diagram on the wall of how this process works.

Then, we went back the way we had come and down another level in the elevator. This let us out at the entrance to another long tunnel to one of the two generator rooms. Here, we all gathered around a semi-circular balcony overlooking a long row of huge turbines, all spinning due to the force of the rushing water. Below are thumbnail images for two good pictures of this generator room; click on them to see the full-size images:

While our guide was explaining what it was we were looking at, I made a movie of part of his explanation as I panned around the huge room, and you can use the player below to watch it:

In the Hoover Dam Generator Room In this movie, you can listen to part of the explanation our tour guide gave us on how the generators work, their output and so on, and you can see the entire room as I pan the camera around.

      (3) Inside the Observation Tower

As I said earlier, our tour ended when the elevator brought us up inside the observation tower, shown at left in a view actually taken from out on the dam. Inside the observation tower, there were lots of exhibits about the dam and its construction, and we were also able to take some candid shots- such as the two below. Click on the thumbnail images to view these candid shots:

We also saw a couple of exhibits relating to the new highway bridge being built south of the dam. You can click on the two thumbnail images below to see some drawings and a model of what the bridge will look like when completed:

One other thing that I wanted to do here in the observation tower was to take a picture of all six of us using the same backdrop that I used in 1999 when there were seven of us. I was able to get the same backdrop, but now, as I am reviewing the pictures, I find that Mario is missing from both the pictures that I had another tourist take for me. Why he is absent I cannot imagine, and I am disappointed that these pictures are incomplete. In any event, you can click on the thumbnail images at the left to view them.

Lastly, I mentioned that the observation tower contained a number of interesting exhibits, and Fred took some pictures of almost all of them. Each describes some aspect of the dam or its construction, and if you want to learn more about Hoover Dam, you can click on the thumbnail images below and have a look at these exhibits:

      (4) On the Observation Tower Outside Deck

Below I am going to repeat the aerial view that you saw in the orientation section above. Now, we are on the observation deck just outside the museum- the cylindrical structure at the western end of the dam:

Having looked around inside the museum, we have come out onto the patio/balcony/deck where we can get panoramic views of the dam, Lake Mead behind it and the Colorado River below it. All around us are the accoutrements of the dam- the power lines, the new highway bridge in progress, the dam itself and, looking below, the powerhouses and spillways.

To begin, imagine that you are standing on the observation deck, and you first look directly east across the face of the dam. A couple of examples of the view that you would see are here and here. And if you turn and look in the other direction, you can see the Nevada Highway as it approaches the dam (with the beginnings of the new highway bridge in the background), and also the parking structure on the other side of the highway. You might note that the traffic is getting very heavy; we drove out here over two hours ago, when the traffic was fairly light. Now, it is backed up quite a ways from the dam- hence the construction of the new highway bridge that you can see in the first picture.

When we moved over to the eastern edge of the deck, we could look directly down at the base of the dam and, moving the camera just a bit southward, we could see the the powerhouses, one of which we were inside during our tour. (The water that turns the turbines comes out in the area between the two powerhouses). Then, as you continue to pan downstream with the camera, you get excellent views of the Black Canyon just below the dam and, finally, the Colorado River resuming its course southward towards the Grand Canyon. In this last picture, you can also see the Arizona side of the new highway bridge being built.

Out here on the observation deck, there were more exhibits and signs that offered a lot of interesting explanation of what we were looking at. Here are four of those informative signs that you might find interesting; just click on the thumbnail image to read it:

We spent a fair amount of time out here on the observation deck, just looking around and marveling at the views- of nature and of man's construction. Below are some thumbnail images for the pictures that we all took here. To look at any picture, just click on its thumbnail:

Fred and I took a couple of good movies out here on the deck and you can use the players below to watch them:

Panorama From the Observation Deck In this movie that Fred took, he will show you the activity on the observation deck and pan across Hoover Dam from side to side and top to bottom.

Panorama from the Observation Deck In my movie, I begin by looking downstream at the Black Canyon, and then bring the view upstream, past the new highway bridge, and then to the base of Hoover Dam and upwards to the top. I've tried to add as much informative narration as I can, some of it taken from the various signs and exhibits.

      (5) Memorials and Monuments

Beginning right at the parking structure, we noted that there were a number of plaques, memorials, monuments and dedications all around and inside Hoover Dam. One of the legends on one of these expressed the general sentiment of all of them: "It is fitting that the flag of our country should fly here in honor of those men who, inspired by a vision of lonely lands made fruitful, conceived this great work and of those others whose genius and labor made that vision a reality." I've gathered all the pictures we took of these various historical and commemorative markers here in this one section. Just click on the thumbnail images below to have a look at these items of interest:

      (6) Walking Out on Hoover Dam

The next item on the agenda was to actually walk out onto the dam itself. We wanted to walk at least halfway across so we could say we'd walked from Nevada to Arizona.

We walked from the observation area along the sidewalks on the south side of the road that crosses the dam out basically to the middle of the dam. On the way, we got some really great views of the dam, and you can look at a few of these if you click on the thumbnail images below:

We got to the middle of the dam and then waited for a break in the traffic (which was, by now, almost a continuous stream of cars moving in both directions across the top of the dam), and then crossed to the north side of the dam. Here, in almost the exact middle of the dam, we found the plaque indicating the position of the Nevada‑Arizona border. We stopped to take a few pictures here (one of which you can see in the section below) before we headed back towards the western end of the dam, this time walking along the sidewalk on the north side of the road.

On our way out across the dam and on our way back, Steve, Fred and I took numerous pictures. I have had to severely cut them down in number for inclusion here- weeding out those that duplicated views you've seen earlier. If you would like to look at some of the pictures that remained after the culling process, just click on the thumbnail images below:

I also took a movie while walking across the dam:

Walking Across Hoover Dam In this movie, I begin by walking ahead of the rest of the guys and looking back on them, and then I pan around the top of the dam, looking at Lake Mead and downstream. All the while I am walking towards the Nevada-Arizona State Line, and eventually cross into Arizona.

      (7) The Bypass Tunnels

When we got to the western end of the dam, we turned north along a service road that runs alongside Lake Mead, past some of the intakes and up to the entrance to one of the old bypass spillways. I noticed, as I walked along, that I was being observed by some of the local residents- one of whom is shown below:

At the end of the road and parking area, I came to the spillway. This spillway was, originally, one of the bypass spillways that were constructed to divert the water of the Colorado River around the site of the new dam. From the end of the parking area, I was able to look directly down into the spillway tunnel. Once the dam was completed, then the entry to the spillway bypass was itself dammed up with the miniature dam shown here. Now this bypass tunnel serves as a safety valve, should the flow of the Colorado fill Lake Mead faster than the turbine tunnels could handle it.

From this point, I could also get a good view of the north side of the dam, and you can see the lake right up against the dam as well as some of the water intakes for the turbine tunnels. Finishing up here, I walked back down the road to rejoin the rest of the guys.

      (8) The New Highway 93 Bridge at Hoover Dam
           (The Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge)

The Hoover Dam - US93 Bypass Project is a complex project made up of 3.5 miles of roadway (two lanes in each direction), several bridges, wildlife crossings, a 1,900-foot-long bridge over the Colorado River and various pedestrian and visitor improvements.

Because of the magnitude of this project, it will be constructed in four distinct phases: the Arizona Approach, the Nevada Approach, the Colorado River Bridge (officially designated the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge by an Act of Congress on September 15, 2004) and final roadway surfacing.

Construction of the Arizona approach began in January, 2003, followed by the Nevada approach in October 2003 and the bridge in early 2004. The entire Hoover Dam Bypass Project is expected to be completed in 2010 at a cost of about $240 million.

At the right, you can see a picture I took of the model of the bridge that is in the observation tower exhibit area. You may note when you look at some of the pictures in the gallery below that there have, apparently, been some design changes.

Among the project highlights are:

	--	Construction of 3.5 miles of new 4-lane roadway including seven bridges in addition to the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
	--	Excavation/Embankment of over 3.5 million cubic yards of earthwork
	--	60,000 cubic yards concrete (243,000,000 pounds)
	--	8,000 tons steel (16,000,000 pounds)
	--	Will be the longest concrete arch in the US and 5th longest in the world, having a 1,900-foot overall length with a 1,060-foot main span
	--	Will be the highest concrete arch construction in the US, being built 880 feet over the Colorado River
	--	Will use the highest concrete strength of any major arch highway bridge in the US at 10,000 psi
	--	Over 1,200 trade and craft workers will participate in manufacture and construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass

We took quite a few pictures of this new bridge under construction. All of them show some different aspect of the construction project, but you may not want to look at all of them. Just click on the thumbnail image for any picture that you would like to see:

      (9) Views of Lake Mead

We ended our visit to Hoover Dam about two in the afternoon, after seeing just about all there was to see there. We retrieved the car from the parking garage, and headed back towards Las Vegas on the Nevada Highway. About two miles east of the dam, we took a turnoff that led up the hill to a parking area for the Lake Mead Overlook. This overlook offered very pretty views of the Lake, looking miles and miles north and west and east. The overlook itself is 400 feet above the water of Boulder Basin, the westernmost end of Lake Mead. The lake's north shore is roughly six miles away. Boulder Basin is only one-fourth of Lake Mead. The capacity of the entire lake is more than 46 billion cubic yards- enough to store nearly two years of the Colorado River's flow. Completely filled, the lake is 500 feet deep, and more than 500 miles of shoreline ring its basins and arms.

On the aerial view at left, I've marked where this turnoff and overlook were located. You may note in the pictures below that the water level in the lake is lower than it seems to be in the aerial view; this is certainly true. The floating marina, for example, is a good deal further east than it is in the aerial view, as the anchoring mechanism has allowed it to float further out so that it still floats on the lowered water surface.

The Boulder Dam Project created Lake Mead. Completed in 1935, the dam blocked the Colorado River as the river turned southward here into Black Canyon. The backed-up waters formed a 110-mile long series of basins and coves, now known collectively as Lake Mead.

Since its establishment in 1936, the recreation area around Lake Mead has been managed by the National Park Service. In 1947, Boulder Dam was renamed Hoover Dam. At that time, the area to Lake Mohave, stretching 67 miles southward from Hoover Dam to Davis Dam, was added to the recreation area.

In 1964, Congress established this entire area as the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This was the first nationally designated recreation area in the country.

Below I have put thumbnail images for some of the pictures that we took here at the overlook, and you can click on those thumbnail images to view the full-size pictures. As you do, notice how the drought of the last two years has lowered the lake levels; the lake is down some 80 feet from its normal level.

Here is the movie taken here at the overlook:

At the Overlook for Lake Mead In this movie, taken at the overlook for Lake Mead, I'll pan around the entire vista, and it will be as if you were standing there looking at the view with us.

This ended our visit to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, and we headed back to Las Vegas to collect Mario (who had been feeling poorly this morning) and go have some lunch.

Lunch at New York, New York

When we got back to the MGM Grand, we went upstairs so that Steve could find out how Mario was feeling. As it turned out, he was much better and so the six of us decided to go across the Strip to New York, New York to find a place for lunch. We walked across the pedestrian bridge, watching the New York, New York roller coaster as we walked. When we got inside the casino hotel, we walked around until we found a place called "The American Cafe," and this looked good enough for what everyone wanted.

Below are some thumbnail images for pictures we took while waiting for our food to arrive; click on them to view the full-size images:

The most interesting thing about this restaurant was the ceiling decoration. Attached to the ceiling and tapering down to essentially "hang" at the back part of the restaurant, was a huge "sculpture" of a map of the United States. It appeared to be either one large sculpture or a collection of individual state sculptures that were attached loosely together. Each state was molded out of what appeared to be three or four-inch-thick styrofoam, painted and decorated with items that might be found at that general location. Texas had its oil wells and space center; Florida had its oranges; Kansas had its wheatfields. It was a very interesting decoration, and must have taken quite a bit of time to put together. Below are some thumbnail images of sections of this sculpture; click on them to see the detailed pictures:

Another interesting aspect of The American Cafe were the gigantic old-style postcards from various cities and towns that were hung all around the restaurant on the walls. I went around looking at them, and took pictures of a few that I thought were relevant- Marfa ('cause it's in Texas), El Paso ('cause we've been there) and Atlanta (we've been there and Jeffie lives there). Those are the three pictures whose thumbnail images are at the left; click on them to see the full-size greeting cards.

I made a movie in the restaurant, too:

In "The American Cafe" at New York, New York Some of the photographs of the unique ceiling sculpture that we took in The American Cafe didn't turn out all that well, so I went ahead and made a movie of the sculpture as well.

After lunch, we headed out to walk along the Strip once again, heading to the fountains at Bellagio. I want to show you four more hotels, each of which we visited this afternoon, but most of which we'd visited on other days, too.

Hotel #15: Paris Hotel and Casino

Paris, one of the larger of the resort/hotel complexes on the Strip, is located across the street from the Bellagio and just south of Bally's. The next casino south of Paris is Planet Hollywood.

      Aerial View and Location

Paris Las Vegas is owned and operated by Harrah's Entertainment. As its name suggests, its theme is the city of Paris in France; it includes a 5/8ths scale, 540-foot-tall replica of the Eiffel Tower, a neon sign in the shape of the Montgolfier balloon, a two-thirds size Arc de Triomphe and a replica of La Fontaine des Mers. The front facade of the building suggests the Paris Opera House and the Louvre.

In the aerial view at left, I've pointed out the Eiffel Tower, the Arc d'Triomphe and the Mongolfier Balloon. You can also see the Fontaine des Mers just north of the balloon.

      Description

Paris Las Vegas is one of the major "themed" hotel and casino complexes on the Strip. It is linked via a promenade to its sister property, Bally's Las Vegas. It also is linked to the Las Vegas Monorail.

Address: 3655 Las Vegas Boulevard South Opened: September 1, 1999 Theme: Paris Rooms: 2,915 Gaming Space: 85,000 sq/ft Permanent Shows: The Producers Signature Attractions: Risqué de Paris       Eiffel Tower Experience Owner: Harrah's Entertainment Website: www.parislasvegas.com

 

      History

The project for the new complex was originally announced by Bally's Entertainment, owner of the adjacent Bally's Las Vegas. Ground was broken for the Paris on April 17, 1997. It opened September 1, 1999 with fireworks being shot from the Eiffel tower. French actress Catherine Deneuve flipped a switch, turning on all of the Paris' lights.

Building began under Hilton Hotels, which purchased Bally Entertainment in 1996; Hilton's casinos were subsequently spun off into Park Place Entertainment, which purchased Caesars World in 2000 and changed its name to Caesars Entertainment in 2004. At the time of its opening, the hotel ran amusing television advertisements throughout the United States implying that it had ensured the authenticity of its reproductions of Paris landmarks, culture and cuisine by looting the real city. When the scale model of the Eiffel Tower was built, it was planned to be full scale, but the airport was too close and the tower had to be shrunk. The scale is approximately 5/8ths.

Paris cost $785 million to build, and occupies 24 acres. The casino itself contains a sky painted ceiling, a popular choice among Las Vegas resorts. A unique aspect of Paris Las Vegas is that the back legs of its Eiffel Tower actually come down through the ceiling into the middle of the casino floor. In November 2006, the Paris sports book was temporarily shut down pending an investigation of its employees for allegedly underreporting tips.

In 2007, Paris Las Vegas premiered their new show The Producers, headlined by David Hasselhoff. Once continuing issues regarding Hasselhoff not showing up to shows were fixed (i.e., he left the show), the show refocused on Max, played by Tony Danza, who came on as the celebrity actor for the show until its end in February 2008. To counter the 2008-2009 economic downturn, Harrah's focused on marketing its properties to specific segments of the population; as a result Paris is being marketed heavily towards gay and lesbian travelers.

      Picture Gallery

Below are groups of thumbnail images for some of the many pictures that we took as we walked around and through the Paris Hotel and Casino, on multiple days, during our stay in Las Vegas. To see a full-size picture, all you have to do is click on its thumbnail. Please feel free to have a look at as many of the pictures as you like:

Paris Hotel and Casino This movie was taken outside the Paris Hotel and Casino, from the corner adjacent to the Fontaine des Mers. It shows the fountain and then pans up to show the height of the 5/8 scale Eiffel Tower.

Hotel #16: Bally's Hotel and Casino

When we walked through the promenade inside Paris, we found ourselves, at the other end, in the Bally's Hotel and Casino.

      Aerial View and Location

Ballys Hotel and Casino is a "sister" hotel to Paris. It is located just to the north of Paris and on the southeast corner of the Strip and Flamingo Road. Across Flamingo Road is Bill's Frontier (where we ate once) and across the Strip is the Bellagio:

In the aerial view at left, I have marked a couple of the features that you'll see in the pictures we took, including the garden in front of the hotel and the unique "people mover in a tube" that leads from the Strip right to the base of the escalators that take you to the lobby entry and casino floor.

      Description

Bally's Las Vegas is owned and operated by Harrah's Entertainment. One of the signature features of the hotel is the neon lighting wrapped around the covered moving sidewalk that brings guests from Las Vegas Boulevard to the entrance of the casino while old hits from the Rat Pack are pumped out. The resort has a large shopping area a floor below its gaming level, including several restaurants and there is a Las Vegas Monorail station at the rear of the property. Bally's is home for the long-running production show Jubilee! which opened in 1981.

Address: 3645 Las Vegas Blvd South Opened: December 5, 1973 Theme: Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Rooms: 2,814 Gaming Space: 67,000 sq/ft Permanent Shows: Jubilee! Signature Attractions: Garden Walkway Owner: Harrah's Entertainment Previous Names: Bonanza; New Bonanza       MGM Grand; Bally's Grand Years Renovated: 1981, 1994, 2004 Website: www.harrahs.com/casinos/ ballys-las-vegas/hotel-casino/property-home.shtml

 

      History

The 43 acre site was first occupied by the Bonanza Hotel and Casino which opened in July 1963. It was later renamed the New Bonanza Hotel and Casino shortly before construction on the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, owned by Kirk Kerkorian, began. It opened in 1973 with 2,084 rooms and was the largest hotel in the world at that time. The hotel had a Los Angeles movie theme when it opened.

On November 21, 1980, it suffered a fire in the casino that spread through the hotel, resulting in a death toll of 87 guests and employees. The fire was, and still remains, the largest disaster in Nevada history in terms of loss of life and a major reform of city fire safety, which are now among the strictest in the United States. The facility was rebuilt in eight months.

The hotel was sold in 1985 to Bally Entertainment Corporation and the property's name was changed to Bally's (the MGM Grand name was transferred to the former Marina Hotel, now known as MGM Grand Las Vegas). Bally Entertainment Corporation was purchased in 1995 by Hilton Hotels Corporation whose casino resorts division was subsequently spun off and became Caesars Entertainment in 2003. Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. acquired the property with its purchase of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. in June 2005.

      Picture Gallery

Below are some thumbnail images for the pictures that we took as we came out of the lobby entrance to Bally's and went through the "Garden Walkway" and back out to the Strip. To see the full-size images, just click on the thumbnails:

Hotel #17: The Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino

The Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino is one of the hotel/casino complexes that we did not spend much time in. Unlike some of the other hotels, it was neither on the way to something nor did it sport some signature attraction that we wanted to see. But since we did take a few pictures, I'll add it to the list of hotels.

      Aerial View and Location

The Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino was, in the late 1990s, one of the premier properties on the Strip. In the last ten years, it has been superceded by other more lavish properties. Also, it has suffered a bit because a kind of tacky Mexican restaurant has been built on a piece of vacant land at the corner of the Strip and Monte Carlo Boulevard. This has detracted somewhat from the "curb appeal" of the complex. The hotel is on the same side of the street and just north of New York, New York, and is just south of the huge new City Center development:

I've marked some of these landmarks in the aerial view at left, and I have also pointed out the huge Monte Carlo display sign that you will see in many of the pictures we took while walking along the Strip.

      Description

The Monte Carlo Resort and Casino is located on the Las Vegas Strip and is currently owned by MGM Mirage. The hotel offers 3,002 guest rooms, including 259 luxury suites. The hotel currently has an AAA rating of four diamonds. The hotel, named to invoke the Place du Casino in Monte Carlo, features chandelier domes, marble floors, neoclassical arches, and promenades, though its construction used far less expensive finishes.

Address: 3770 Las Vegas Boulevard South Opened: June 21, 1996 Theme: Morrocan - Place du Casino - Monte Carlo Rooms: 3,002 Gaming Space: 90,000 sq/ft Permanent Shows: Lance Burton: Master Magician Signature Attractions: Monte Carlo Pub & Brewery Owner: MGM Mirage Years Renovated: 2004 Website: www.montecarlo.com

One of the resort's highlights is Lance Burton, who performs magic at the Lance Burton Theater. The resort has a grand lobby, shopping mall, convention facilities, a spa, fitness center, tennis courts, a large pool area, which includes a wave pool and a lazy river tubing ride, and a wedding chapel. Tram service shuttles visitors between the Monte Carlo and Bellagio every 10 minutes. As of August 2006 the tram is not running due to the construction of the new CityCenter complex between the two hotels. The reconstructed people mover service will reopen in August 2009 with an intermediate stop at the Crystals retail district in the CityCenter complex.

      History

Ground was broken for the hotel in March 1995. It was originally known as the "Grand Victoria", but after it was criticized by MGM Grand officials, it was shortened to "Victoria" and then changed to "Monte Carlo". The Monte Carlo was built as a joint venture between Mirage Resorts and Circus Circus Enterprises. Its aim was to attract "middle-income tourists eager to sample European elegance at budget prices". The resort sits on 44 acres and cost $344 million to build.

The Monte Carlo opened to the public on June 21, 1996 at 12:01 AM. There was an invitation-only VIP pre-opening celebration the prior day starting at 7:00 PM. The party included a 12 minute fireworks show at 11 PM.

On January 25, 2008 at 10:57 AM, a three-alarm fire was reported on the exterior of the top floors and roof of the casino. Portions of the hotel facade's exterior insulation finishing system burned and with some debris falling off and starting smaller secondary fires on ledges three floors below. The fire was fully contained an hour after it began. It was an exterior fire, although there was water damage to parts of several floors. Monte Carlo guests were accommodated at nearby MGM Mirage sister properties. The Clark County Fire Chief stated 13 people suffered smoke inhalation. The ambulance company reported that 17 people with minor injuries were taken to area hospitals. Fire Chief Steve Smith credited the 120 firefighters for quickly containing the fire, as the sprinkler system could not reach outside.

A subsequent investigation found that welders working to set up window-washing equipment on the roof started the fire. The Hotel & Casino reopened to guests on February 15, 2008. MGM-Mirage officials put the total losses due to fire damage and loss of business at just under $100 million.

      Picture Gallery

We didn't go into the Monte Carlo, but we did take a few good pictures as we walked back and forth in front of it on the various trips we made up and down the Strip. I've put thumbnails for the best of these below, and you can look at the full-size images:

Hotel #18: Caesar's Palace Hotel and Casino

Caesar's Palace was another of those hotel/casino complexes that we did not actually go in. I've been there on previous trips to Las Vegas, though, and since we did take some pictures of the hotel from our walks along The Strip, I wanted to go ahead and include it here.

      Aerial View and Location

Caesar's Palace is one of the largest hotel complexes in the world. It may not have as many rooms as some, but the area and variety of what's contained in the complex is pretty amazing. In addition to the hotel and casino, there are residences and a huge shopping mall/arcade. Caesars is located north of the Bellagio across Flamingo Road, and just south of the Mirage. Harrah's is across the Strip:

I've marked these hotels in the aerial view at left.

      Description

Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip, and it is owned and operated by Harrah's Entertainment. Caesars has 3,348 rooms in five towers: Augustus, Centurion, Roman, Palace, and Forum. The Forum tower features guest suites with 1,000 square feet of space.

Address: 3570 Las Vegas Blvd South Opened: August 5, 1966 Theme: Roman Empire Rooms: 3,348 Gaming Space: 166,000 sq/ft Permanent Shows: Cher at the Colosseum       Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On       Elton John: The Red Piano Signature Attractions: Forum Shops Owner: Harrah's Entertainment Years Renovated: 1974, 1979, 1992, 2001, 2005 Website: www.caesarspalace.com

 

      History

In 1962, Jay Sarno, a cabana motel owner, used $10 million that had been lent to him by the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund to begin plans for a hotel on land owned by Kirk Kerkorian. Sarno would later act as designer of the hotel he planned to construct. Building of the 14-story Caesars Palace hotel began in 1962. That first tower would have 680 rooms on the 34 acre site. Sarno struggled to decide on a name for the hotel. He finally decided to call it Caesars Palace because he thought that the name Caesar would evoke thoughts of royalty because of Roman general Julius Caesar. Sarno felt that guests should feel they were at a king's home while at his hotel. It is called "Caesars" and not "Caesar's" because every guest is a Caesar.

Sarno contracted many companies to build the hotel, from the Roman landscapes it presents, to the water fountains that have been stages of various events and the hotel's swimming pools. On August 5, 1966, the hotel was inaugurated, with Andy Williams and Phil Richards providing entertainment; they both played Julius Caesar at a play that night. Two days later, Latin bandleader Xavier Cugat and flamenco guitarist Charo became the first couple to marry in the new establishment.

In 1969, Stuart and Clifford S. Perlman, founders of the Lums chain of restaurants, purchased the hotel. On July 15 of that year, executives broke ground on an expansion area of the hotel, and they buried a time capsule in the area, but the time capsule was stolen days later. In 1973, the Del Webb company was contracted to build a 16-story building adjacent to the Palace. The project was finished in 1974. Many top performers, such as Celine Dion, Bette Midler, Liberace, Elton John, George Burns, Diana Ross, Cher, Julio Iglesias, Judy Garland, David Copperfield, Gloria Estefan, and Frank Sinatra have performed at the hotel.

During the 1980s, the hotel opened an Atari game room that had over 60 Atari video game arcade machines. In addition, the hotel boasted its own Grand Prix auto race circuit, and a large number of boxing headline matches in its huge sports arena. Even Robbie Knievel in 1989 successfully completed a motocycle jump of the main fountain- something that his father could not do years before.

The hotel's management wanted it to have a new, family-oriented atmosphere as the 1990s approached, a trend mirrored by many of the big Las Vegas resorts. This move was not strange to Las Vegas hotel owners, as most hotels there were planning to modernize anyway by adding more children features and making Las Vegas hotels seem more family friendly and less gambler oriented. In 1992, The Forum Shops at Caesars opened; it was one of the very first venues in the city where shopping, particularly at high-end stores, was an attraction in itself. Store-fronts were made to look like exteriors, in corridors with sky-painted ceilings. At points where the corridors change directions, elaborate marble fountains were placed, one with a sound-and-light show which played periodically. The fourth phase, which opened on October 22, 2004, has the second-built circular escalator in the United States. The other is at the Westfield San Francisco Centre.

Caesars has opened the Roman Plaza, an open-air area with a cafe on the corner, and the Colosseum theater, where Céline Dion (A New Day...) and Elton John (The Red Piano) were regular performers. The Colosseum was specifically built for Dion's show, a spectacular produced by former Cirque du Soleil director Franco Dragone. Dion's show was also notable for having some of the highest ticket prices for any show in the city, with seats as high as $220 each; nonetheless, the show regularly sold out.

Caesars Palace opened the Augustus Tower in August 2005. It stands 46 floors high and is perpendicular to the Strip. In 2005, Harrah's Entertainment acquired Caesars Entertainment and became the owner of Caesars Palace. In May 2007, Bette Midler was announced as Dion's formal replacement. Midler will reportedly only perform about 100 shows a year, with Elton John continuing to perform his popular Red Piano show 50 nights a year while Midler is on hiatus. After taking a three-year hiatus, Cher, following her Farewell Tour, is also returning to the stage with a three-year contract to perform 200 shows beginning May 6, 2008. Harrah's Entertainment announced in January 2009 that completion of the new Octavius Tower has been stalled due to lower demand. Only the exterior of the tower will be completed.

      Picture Gallery

We took a number of pictures outside Caesars Palace, and if you will click on the thumbnail images below you can see the full-size images:

The "American Superstars Show" at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino

This evening, Mario has gotten us all tickets to go see another tribute concert, this one by people impersonating various American stars, such as Tim McGraw and Britney Spears. It will be at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino- the northernmost hotel that we will visit (and just off the Strip). Let's take a look at that hotel before going on to the concert.

      Hotel #19: The Stratosphere Hotel and Casino

The Stratosphere Hotel and Casino is located quite far north on the west side of Las Vegas Blvd. It is so far north that it is not considered to be "on the Strip." It is not one of the old downtown hotels, either, though, so it is in a class kind of its own- like some of the other outlying hotels (Rio, Orleans, etc.). If you will take a look at the map at left you can see just how far it is from the other hotels we visited.

The Stratosphere is the northernmost of the major Strip casinos and the only one actually in the City of Las Vegas, as the rest of the strip south of Sahara Avenue is in the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester. Because it is inside the city limits, the Nevada Gaming Commission groups it with the other Downtown Las Vegas casinos.

Following its completion in 1996 it was initially less popular than first envisioned due to its location on the extreme north end of the strip, far away from the most popular hotel casinos, but its low room prices and unique offerings eventually ensured its success. While many tourists consider its location to be inconvenient, others feel the location is an advantage since it is equidistant between the more popular strip casinos and the downtown area (which includes the Fremont Street Experience).

But the hotel is recognizable from all over the Las Vegas area- primarily due to its Stratosphere Tower (which looks something like the Seattle Space Needle). At right is an aerial view of the complex.

The Stratosphere Las Vegas includes the tower, hotel, and casino and it is owned by Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co who purchased American Casino & Entertainment Properties which includes the Stratosphere along with three other properties. The sale closed on 21 February 2008 for $1.3 billion. The property's signature attraction is the 1,149 ft Stratosphere Tower, the tallest free-standing observation tower in the United States and the second tallest in the Western Hemisphere, surpassed only by the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario. It is the tallest free-standing structure in Nevada, and it is the second-tallest free-standing structure west of the Mississippi River, after the Kennecott Smokestack in Magna, Utah. You can see a really interesting diagram of the top of the tower if you will click here. The hotel is a separate building with 24 stories, 2,444 rooms and an 80,000 square foot casino.

In the early 1990s, The Stratosphere was conceived by Bob Stupak to replace his Vegas World casino. At the conception of the project, one of the planned rides was to be a giant ape that would carry riders up and down one of the tower's columns. Original plans called for the Stratosphere to tower beyond 1,800 feet tall, making it the world's tallest building at that time. However, due to possible interference with nearby McCarran International Airport and any possible flights that come through Las Vegas, the tower's proposed height shrank multiple times until it stopped at its present height.

Address: 2000 Las Vegas Blvd. South Opened: April 30, 1996 Rooms: 2,100 Gaming Space: 80,000 sq.ft. Permanent Shows: American Superstars, Bite Signature Attractions: Stratosphere Tower, XScream       The Big Shot, Insanity the Ride Owner: Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds Previous Names: Vegas World Years Renovated: 2001 (2nd 1000 room tower) Website: www.stratospherehotel.com

In 1995, Grand Casinos was brought on as an equity partner for the still privately funded project under construction. While construction was still progressing, the Stratosphere Corporation was formed as a public company with shares being offered to the public. On August 29, 1993, the tower caught fire while still under construction, causing a gigantic setback for Stupak and the construction of the tower. It was severe enough to close Vegas World, the adjacent resort next to the tower, and caused a crane to list to the side, almost collapsing to the street below. Nobody was injured, but the fire forced repairs and rebuilding that led to numerous delays in the construction of the tower.

The Stratosphere opened on April 30, 1996. Shortly after opening, the Stratosphere Corporation was forced to file for bankruptcy. This caused construction on the second tower to stop with only a few stories partially built and allowed Carl Icahn to gain control through one of his companies by buying a majority of the outstanding bonds. A major addition was completed in June 2001 for $1 billion that included finishing the 1000-room second hotel tower.

In the early 2000s, the company attempted to get approval for a roller coaster that would run from several hundred feet up the tower and, in the last proposal, across Las Vegas Boulevard. Part of that last proposal included an entry monument on the ride over Las Vegas Boulevard welcoming people to the City of Las Vegas. The City Council did not approve the project due to objections from the neighbors over possible noise from the enclosed cars on the proposed ride. This ride was intended as a replacement for the never-built ape ride.

Since its opening in 1996, five people have jumped to their deaths from the top of the tower.

Our evening visit to Stratosphere was the only time we had an opportunity to take pictures in and around the hotel, so there aren't many of them. But if you will click on the thumbnail images below, you can see the pictures that we did take:

      The "American Superstars" Show

This evening, Mario is reviewing the "American Superstars" show, a full-scale production show that combines the talents of tribute artists portraying the likeness and musical abilities of today and yesterday's hottest stars. The high-energy Superstars Dance Band and the beautiful Superstars Dancers backed the multi-talented cast.

The show included performance tributes to Britney Spears, Elvis, Tim McGraw, Michael Jackson and Carrie Underwood, and almost all the impersonators were right on the mark. (I've never actually seen Britney Spears perform, so now, if I do ever see her, I will be comparing her to her doppelganger.)

Mario's tickets got us to a great table right down front, which was good for Mario in doing his review. The tickets even included a drink for each of us, so all of us got a frozen drink at the bar outside the theatre. I couldn't take pictures or movies during the show, but afterwards, the "stars" appear outside the theatre for photo sessions with anyone who wants to have their picture taken. I got four good photos of this process, and if you will click on the thumbnail images below, you can see them:

      In the Stratosphere Lounge

Mario's publicist who provided the tickets for American Superstars also went the extra mile and provided us tickets to the Stratosphere Lounge, and even provided drinks there as well. So after the show, we all piled into the special elevator and were whisked over a thousand feet up to the Lounge. There, we sat at one of the bars, enjoyed our drinks and admired the expansive views out the windows of the rotating restaurant. If you would like to look at some of the pictures we took from the top of the Stratosphere Tower, just click on the thumbnail images below:

The Stratosphere Lounge The first movie that I took here in the Stratosphere Lounge is of the lounge itself and the bar area where we were seated. You can hear some of the entertainment in the background.

The View from the Stratosphere Lounge The second movie that I took here in the Stratosphere Lounge gets close to the windows of the circular, revolving restaurant, and show views looking south and west down the Las Vegas Strip.

We had a great time at American Superstars, and after our drinks in the Lounge, we headed home to the MGM Grand on this, our last evening in Las Vegas.

You can use the links below to continue to another album page.

	March 9, 2009: Las Vegas Trip Day 5
	March 7, 2009: Las Vegas Trip Day 3
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