Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

A LOOK AT THE PAST 297
lush tropical foliage—not to mention a 50-foot volcano that dramatically
erupted regularly! Wynn gave world-renowned illusionists Siegfried & Roy carte
blanche (and more than $30 million) to create the most spellbinding show Las
Vegas had ever seen.
THE 1990S THROUGH TODAY: KING ARTHUR MEETS KING TUT
The 1990s began with a blare of trumpets heralding the rise of a turreted
medieval castle fronted by a moated drawbridge and staffed by jousting knights
and fair damsels. Excalibur reflected the ’90s marketing trend to promote Las
Vegas as a family-vacation destination.
More sensational megahotels followed on the Strip, including the new MGM
Grand hotel, backed by a full theme park (it ended Excalibur’s brief reign as the
world’s largest resort), Luxor Las Vegas, and Steve Wynn’s Treasure Island.
In 1993 a unique pink-domed 5-acre indoor amusement park, Grand Slam
Canyon, became part of the Circus Circus hotel. In 1995 the Fremont Street
Experience was completed, revitalizing downtown Las Vegas. Closer to the Strip,
rock restaurant magnate Peter Morton opened the Hard Rock Hotel, billed as
“the world’s first rock ’n’ roll hotel and casino.” The year 1996 saw the advent
of the French Riviera–themed Monte Carlo and the Stratosphere Casino Hotel
& Tower, its 1,149-foot tower the highest building west of the Mississippi. The
unbelievable New York–New York arrived in 1997.
But it all paled compared with 1998–99. As Vegas hastily repositioned itself
from “family destination” to “luxury resort,” several new hotels, once again
eclipsing anything that had come before, opened. Bellagio was the latest from
Vegas visionary Steve Wynn, an attempt to bring grand European style to the
desert, while at the far southern end of the Strip, Mandalay Bay charmed. As if
this weren’t enough, The Venetian’s ambitious detailed re-creation of everyone’s
favorite Italian city came along in May 1999, and was followed in short order
by the opening of Paris Las Vegas in the fall of 1999.
The 21st century opened up with a bang as the Aladdin blew itself up and
gave itself a from-the-ground-up makeover, while Steve Wynn blew up the
Desert Inn, with plans to open a new showstopper, Le Reve, by 2005. Along the
way, everyone has expanded, with first the Luxor, then Caesars, and lately, Mandalay
Bay, Venetian, and Bellagio all adding new towers and hundreds more
rooms each. Clearly, no one can rest on their laurels in Vegas, for this is not only
a city that never sleeps, but one in which progress never stops moving, even for
a heartbeat.
For the latest shake-ups on the Strip, see “What’s New in Las Vegas,” at the
beginning of this guide.