Irritated at Vegas hotels

[toad94]

I need to rant for a moment. I was perusing my chip collection when I came across a Chipco I picked up at Luxor several years ago. It's the red $5 Chipco with the pyramid and Nefertiti (Cleopatra?) on it. This immediately reminded me of how irritating it is that almost every hotel in Vegas now assumes they need to drop their "theme" in lieu of some generic "we're hip and chic like every nightclub ever" routine. Treasure Island did this to become "TI," MGM got rid of their movie-studio decorations (I heard), Aladdin is now Planet Hollywood (call them PH for short?) and Luxor took out all of their Egyptian elements... except one! Hey Kerkorian, the main building is still a freakin' PYRAMID!

One would think some hotels like Excalibur and New York New York are pretty much stuck with their themes, but leave it to some MGM/Mirage Junior Marketing exec to change that as well. Excalibur will eventually be renamed "X" and NY, NY will be painted black and gray and renamed "GOTHAM" --not for a Batman theme, mind you, but for the untapped market of Goth kids who need a hotel-sized nightclub of their own.

I'm irritated at the marketing people that will eventually turn the strip into a collection of indistinguishable glass buildings trying to out-chic each other. I understand the hotels want to make everybody feel young and wild so that the money will come flowin', but I'm not that hip. I don't like the nightclub scene. Besides, if baby-boomers need to feel young again by hanging out around the MTV crowd--isn't that what the Hard Rock is for? Or try the Palms? I mean, c'mon, leave my fake King Tut's tomb exhibit alone!

That being said, I don't really like Circus Circus and Excalibur is a study in kitsch. I think properties like Mirage, Mandalay Bay, and Luxor (after they took out the Egyptian costumes & riverboats) had a good balance between class & theme without going so far as, well, Excalibur.

Oh well, I guess there's always Caesars Palace and the Venetian (until they take out the Roman statues and the Gondolas and rename them "CP and the Big V")

[Brent]

I'm no Vegas expert, but isn't that movie/circus/tut's tomb theme style stuff that you seem to be pining for the same exact kinda stuff the really old school Vegas gamblers totally hated back when that trend started? At least that's what I picked up from the end of Casino.

[whataboutj]

It's the nature of Vegas. One of the biggest attractions in Vegas is when they implode an old hotel property to make way for a new one. These new changes are MGM's way of not taking on the cost of a complete reconstruction. The hotels you mentioned were getting old and needed an overhaul. Especially the Luxor & excalibur. It's only natural that the corporations will change to wherever the cash flow is now and in the foreseeable future. Just like the "Family oriented" concept Vegas went after in the 90's this is a trend that will again change in 8-10 years. Til then go to the properties you enjoy -- there are so many still available and many good times to be had
J

[Sea Vulture]

In the cases posted, it does not appear that hotel/casinos are "dropping" themes, but rather changing them. For example, Aladdin isn't themeless, it just changed to Planet Hollywood theme, to reflect new ownership. TI, didn't drop it's theme, it modernized it's name and is using a sexy show, still the same theme. MGM, still has same lion based theme, but it changed a few decorations.

I guess I don't see it the same way.

[Button Potato]

Crazy rant if you ask me. The very things you complain about are the exact reasons that Vegas is the greatest city to visit IMHO.

[BlondWidow]

Ah, Luxor. We used to hate that place with it's over-themed Egyptian madness. We decided to go check out its new style last week when we were out there and to grab a new $5 chip for our collection. I didn't think I'd really like it any more than I had in the past, but, personally, I think the new decor is really working for them. I'm not even sure it's complete yet.

I've never been one for heavily themed places like Excalibur. To me it's like a big Renaissance fair with gambling and somehow at the same time, too kid/family-friendly. It's just bizarre. It's not the same type of over-doing it as with Venetian or Caesars Palace (at least not in my mind), both of which could ditch parts of their themes and still be left with some merit for the artwork and architecture.

If you're still interested in the replicas of the artifacts the tomb of Tutankhamen, a good part of the collection was donated to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, so you can check it out there.

[toad94]

I was talking more about the marketing gurus jumping on the same bandwagon (basically following whatever Steve Wynn does--besides buying a ton of high-priced art) whenever a new trend comes up. Re-inventing Vegas isn't bad; trying to ignore the fact that a huge black pyramid might have had something to do with Egpyt is silly. It was just a silly little point that struck me as being odd and slightly exploitative. I was laughing at the marketing people, that's all. Thanks for going along for the ride though, geez. I even rhymed "CP and the Big V" --what's it gonna take to get a LOL??