Vegas Changing Rapidly
It looks like the Stardust casino has met its end. Las Vegas is changing swiftly and the old casinos and hang outs are quickly fading away. That's too bad, I liked some of the old school places. Las Vegas minus some of the tacky, kitschy funk is just too sanitary and plain compared to what its history has made it (and what it should be). Instead, people will be able to go to The Echelon which will be finished in 2010. What the hell is that? It sounds like a Star Trek ride. And it probably won't have the old school flavor of the Stardust. Now don't get me wrong, some of the old places are run down and in poor shape. But I really think some of these gaming companies are making a huge mistake. There's value in keeping or restoring some of the old names and places. How many Paris', Venetians, and Echelons can one city take? After a while there's going to be so many random names and places that the Strip won't have any real value in the actual names or locations. There won't be landmarks, only expensive mega-resorts that can all be exchanged for each other without any real personal connection. I'm even ok with a company completely recreating a casino; at least there will be someone's interpretation of what the old school casino would be in today's world. But to tear down the older casinos and replace them with these faceless, nameless behemoths seems to do something that could end up harming the essence of what made Vegas so great to begin with. Why even give the new casinos names? It's all ultra-, mega-, premium, world-class, luxurious, trendy, casino-land. That's really the new name of it and it's already been done (a dozen or so times at least) and it's kind of boring. Below is an article by the AP featured on CNN.com discussing the demise of the Stardust.
CNN.com
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Las Vegas
5 comments:
it bothers me too, son. vegas is nothing like its old image.
"echelon place"? right, what the hell is that?! doesnt the stardust sound a lot better?
i heard it said once that all the hotel casinos are just temporary facades. even the ones going up now will be replaced by something bigger and even more austentacious.
i still think vegas should build a huge huge momument of a big fake breast to symbolize our city. it would represent our values here: first of all, must be absurdly huge, secondly, must be just absurd anyway, and last but not least, must reference sex, but only in a way that may look alluring, but, like a breast implant, you immediately know its not the real thing!
Rumor is they are going to tear down The Tropicana and possibly Asian themed hotel across from ceasar's. I can't remember the name. Problem was Stardust wasn't making money like the newer casinos so they had to do something..i guess they felt this was the best option. Also I heard the Frontier was going to be imploaded as well for a new one as well.
Things change in Vegas quicker then I can keep up. I don't know who's who anymore here. Plus the big Project City Center is due to open in 2009 next to Bellagio. I'm just a little sad that The Aladdin is now Planet Hollywood.
Yeah, it's sad. I'm all for change and growth, but I think these developers can build something awesome and new, but still in the tradition (and name) of some of those old places. I think it would be cool if some of the new casinos named a tower or certain area of their casino after the previous casino. Or you could implode the Stardust, build something grand and call it the Stardust. Maybe even some of the older influence would show itself in the new design. That would be cool. I just hate the empty, sanitary, false-grandiose names and images that mean absolutely nothing. There's something great to be sad about the old names, images and icons of Vegas. It's getting redone in such a worse/flimsy way. The Strip is ripe for a new company or builder to break the mold and do something completely different or original. If there isn't a disruptive and creative force, all things get stale.
I hear you. Ceasar's did a revamp without tearing anything down. It's still a muggy and old school feeling in there. They replaced the old carpet with new carpet in the same pattern as the original carpet. They added a whole new high end mall area and an entire new tower with the same Ceasar's feel. And after all these years, Ceasar's is still the most famous casino in the world. I think these builders should take a look at see what Ceasar's/Harrah's is doing RIGHT!
I hear you. Ceasar's did a revamp without tearing anything down. It's still a muggy and old school feeling in there. They replaced the old carpet with new carpet in the same pattern as the original carpet. They added a whole new high end mall area and an entire new tower with the same Ceasar's feel. And after all these years, Ceasar's is still the most famous casino in the world. I think these builders should take a look at see what Ceasar's/Harrah's is doing RIGHT!
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