LAS VEGAS | Boom Project Rundown! 2.0

[case_architect]

Originally Posted by ondarox

Thanks for the photos Vtown. In the second photos, I was wondering what's going on with the construction at the NE corner of Harmon and the Strip. Looks like they're moving dirt around in the photo. Also, has there ever been a plan for this section? Since the Aladdin redo its had that awkward area exposed. It looks odd- especially with the shops surrounding the one strip of vacant land like a peninsula. I can't find a way to cut and paste the photo, sorry!

harmon is being realigned and will run directly through this corner.

[ScottG]

ive always wondered what with go within the extra/empty space after the road is realigned - also - will the harley davidson area get more land since the road will be shifted?



the miracle mile shops - on the interior have yet to be redone as well - its all still arabian - they redid the floor, got rid of cobble stone and replaced with shiny black and red tiles - and the sky ceiling in some places are now silver foil. but there is still alot of arabia going on



i got a tour of the planet hollywood towers presentation level and snuck in a photo of their model - ill post soon - they have a helicopter fly by at night with a rendering cropped in - this is place wil be big - -the 3rd tower (there is a tower in between the two main one - think of it like an H or a U ---the third tower (duplicate of the one under construction now) will be completely up against the sidewalk - there is NO SET BACK that will be a first in vegas - and rare in general

[mdiederi]

Originally Posted by ScottG

ive always wondered what with go within the extra/empty space after the road is realigned - also - will the harley davidson area get more land since the road will be shifted?

Yeah, that's where that fabulous Elvis resort is supposed to be built. They should have no problem getting financing for that one, it's such a brilliant and original idea, sounds very luxurious. (tongue firmly in cheek.)

[mdiederi]

Originally Posted by LasVegasStripDaily

MGM MIRAGE's PR Firm called me and wanted to make sure I don't (or anyone else for that matter) call CityCenter by the name of MGM MIRAGE CityCenter or MGM CityCenter as the project is just now called CityCenter.

This is because of the Dubai World involvement. I thought people here would be interested in knowing the official name and how it is to be spelled etc - simply...CityCenter.

It seems everytime MGM MIRAGE wants to make sure their product is properly represented, people get mad. If you were the PR firm for Coca-Cola, imagine if people were all over the internet spelling it "Coca soda".

We all spell the Bellagio correctly, I see no difference with CityCenter. I guess because of certain capitals and spacing people get frustrated.

I guess they left out the space to distinguish it from all the thousands of other City Center developments in other cities around the world. CityCenter is one of the least imaginative names ever for a development (especially since it's not even in any city limits). Google "city center" and you'll see there's a development called that in almost every city.

[CosmoVegas]

Originally Posted by mdiederi

CityCenter is one of the least imaginative names ever for a development (especially since it's not even in any city limits). Google and you'll see there's a development called that in almost every city.

Too funny. Add to this that their own paid ad comes up with citycenter.com spelled without the capital C, if they are so concerned with it being misrepresented by others why don't they go the extra mile themselves.

[mdiederi]

Originally Posted by justdefended

It's on the outside near the Aria porte cochere. It's kind of a big circular driveway there and within the circle is the proposed installation.

It's so secretive that on some initial renderings there's just grass in the area.

In the front? Looks like when entering from the strip you might drive down a couple levels, but it's hard to tell what they are building there, exactly.

[justdefended]

It's slated for that circle area (grass in the rendering) right in front of ARIA.



In all the renderings and models the road into CityCenter is level, so I'm not sure what all that current structuring is.



Part of what we're seeing could be the underground level for parking. Veer Towers will have a driveway that leads underground so that residents and guests can valet park and take an elevator into the tower.

[mdiederi]

M is topped-out and fully funded.

http://www.globest.com/news/1221_122.../173005-1.html

[neworleans]

it's underground parking. you won't notice it once it's all filled in and flush with ground level.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by justdefended

You can see the down ramp in the middle of the roadway right at the termination of the row of trees.

[ScottG]

interesting report on the press-



Timing of gaming earnings can skew the numbers
By Liz Benston · August 11, 2008 · 5:52 PM

Sun archives

Aug. 11 -- June gaming wins soft on Strip casinos
Sun archives

Archive of gaming stories
A month ago, investors panicked over news that Nevada's gambling revenue in May plummeted 15 percent to its lowest level in 11 years while Strip gambling revenue fell 16 percent.

That was an overstatement. In reality, the numbers weren't as terrible as the reports indicated -- though pundits have only the casinos to blame. That's because of a quirk in the way casinos report slot revenue, a big chunk of their total revenue, to the Gaming Control Board.

Unlike table games, where casinos count their reportable winnings daily, if not multiple times a day, slot winnings are typically counted once a week. If a month ends on a weekend, casinos generally won't take cash or vouchers out of their machines until the following Monday or later that week -- even if that day falls into a new month. The Gaming Control Board doesn't count casino money as revenue until it's pulled out of the machines, counted and verified.

Because May ended on a weekend, slot winnings from that weekend were included in the June figures -- making the May numbers look worse and the June figures look better than they actually were.

That explains why today's figures don't look that bad even though casino operators had already reported worsening earnings heading into June. Statewide gambling revenue in June fell 1 percent versus a year ago and it dropped 3 percent on the Strip, the board reported.

It also explains the discrepancy between table games revenue, which was mostly down, and slot machine revenue, which was up in most markets.

Some markets with the largest slot declines last month reported big increases in June -- figures that were skewed by the lag in slot reporting. North Las Vegas, down 30 percent in May, was up 52 percent in June and the Boulder Strip, down 32 percent in May and is up 31 percent in June, for example.

So how much did the casinos really win from slots in May and June?

A better indicator of that is wagering volume, which casinos report daily through electronic accounting systems -- figures also reported to the Gaming Control Board.

Statewide, slot volume in June fell 10 percent from a year ago. It also fell 10 percent on the Strip.

That compares with declines in slot volume of 5 percent statewide and 7 percent on the Strip in May versus last year.

So, yes, gamblers spent less in June than a year ago and they spent less than they did in May -- even though the revenue figures appear to show otherwise.


http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/gam...-skew-numbers/

[jazfingr]

There are actually two underground parking entrances. One of them is under the ped bridge.

[justdefended]

The official Vdara website is up:

www.vdara.com

Just a pre-launch site but there are some nice renderings of the project.

[mdiederi]

Is the entire citycenterconventioncenter going to be this orange color?

[neworleans]

Originally Posted by mdiederi

Is the entire citycenterconventioncenter going to be this orange color?

is the convention center the same color cause if you're referring to the picture, i believe those are the bungalows. the convention center is on the other side of the pool area.

[mdiederi]

Ah, that's right. That's not part of the convention center.

[ondarox]

What an unusual and surprising interjection of color given to the bungalow (or convention center) area! I really like the color that it adds to the project. I wonder if they will be distributing more pops of color around the project to help liven up the primarily blue glass exterior.

Are models of the CC project still up in various resorts? I'll be in Vegas at Mandalay Bay in 2 weeks and wanted to see a model of the project that is close by.

Another question- on the shorter of the two Strip facing Aria towers, I noticed that super wide concrete wall. It is in a pretty poor location, and wipes out the potential of some rooms with stunning views. Is it for the elevators? Or is that something CC needs to maintain structure weight?

[MsuMix]

Yes, that "superwide concrete wall" is the center core for for that particular Aria tower, you'll see each of the two main towers has a core and it shrinks in width the higher up they go. These cores do have elevator shafts within them and play a vital role in support of the superstructure of the tower itself.

[cosmo2k8]

It's now official:

http://www.reuters.com/article/marke...0080815?rpc=44


By Deena Beasley

LOS ANGELES, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Elad Group, the owner of New York's iconic Plaza Hotel, confirmed Thursday it has postponed plans for a multibillion dollar Las Vegas Strip project as well as repayment of a loan used to purchase the site.

The decision comes as a slumping U.S. economy and much tighter credit markets have caused other developers to reassess the need for more hotel capacity in the gambling corridor.

"The (Las Vegas) Plaza project is set to break ground a little later than expected and will do so in 2009," said Michelle Tsang, a spokeswoman for Elad IDB Las Vegas LLC, a joint venture between Elad and Israel's IDB Group.

The developer said in March that it expected to complete the design and start excavation no earlier than the end of the year.

Meanwhile, two investment banks have postponed the repayment of a $625 million loan Elad IDB took out in 2007 to purchase the now-demolished New Frontier Resort & Casino at a record high price of $1.25 billion, or about $35 million an acre.

Payment of the loan from Goldman Sachs Group (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Credit Suisse Group (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has been deferred until May 2009, according to Tsang.

Officials at the banks have not responded to requests for comment.

Elad IDB has said it plans to develop a Plaza-branded "$5 billion multiuse ultra-luxury hotel, private residence, retail and gaming complex."

However, analysts and investors have questioned whether the Strip can support the thousands of new luxury hotel rooms expected to open over the next few years, including Wynn Resort's (WYNN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Encore in December and MGM Mirage's (MGM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) massive CityCenter project next year.

Boyd Gaming Corp (BYD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) earlier this month halted construction of its partially built $4.8 billion Echelon project on the Strip, citing an inability to arrange financing for two key joint venture segments of the project.

[mdiederi]

That sounds pretty bad if they can't even make the payments on the loan for the land.