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Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
The interior of Crystals features the dramatic designs of Studio Daniel Libeskind and David Rockwell.
Published Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 | 11:36 a.m.
Updated Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 | 7:07 p.m.
Crystals: Touring the Mall
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CityCenter opened their second building Thursday: Crystals retail and dining district. We take you on a tour of the 500,000-square-foot mall on Las Vegas Boulevard that boasts indoor artwork and such high-end retailers as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Christian Dior, Hermes and Prada.
Sun Coverage
Adding a slew of high-end retailers to the Las Vegas Strip, CityCenter’s Crystals retail and entertainment district opened on Thursday, marking the unveiling of the massive project’s second building.
Crystals opened at noon for a charity shopping event and at 5 p.m. to the public. The 500,000-square-foot retail and dining district has direct access from Las Vegas Boulevard and houses some of the most high-end brands in fashion.
The retail selection at Crystals includes names such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Christian Dior, Hermes and Prada. A total of 23 shops and restaurants opened on Thursday.
More stores will open Dec. 16 in conjunction with the opening of Aria, with additional retailers added throughout 2010.
“Originally, when we put together a portfolio of all the stores, we realized this is a niche that the market is missing — a selection of retailers under one canopy that are extremely high end, and that’s what we went after,” Crystals Vice President and General Manager Farid Matraki said.
Crystals brings in 13 first-to-Vegas retailers, including names such as Paul Smith, Tom Ford and Miu Miu.
Matraki said Crystals’ unique architecture and design helped bring in those retailers.
“Most of the European brands are looking for that,” Matraki said. “They are looking for something new and different.”
Porsche Design is one of the retailers with a new presence in Las Vegas. Best known for its automotive counterpart, the retailer sells everything from leather goods to its eyewear collection, made famous by Yoko Ono in 1979.
Porsche Design left Las Vegas in 2003 after 10 years at the Forum Shops as a result of the company’s change in strategy, said Guergen Gessler, the company’s After another change in strategy in 2006 and the opportunity for retail space in CityCenter, Porsche Design jumped at the chance to enter the Las Vegas market again.
“To be here in this very design-oriented shopping mall, for us as a design brand, it’s very obvious,” Gessler said.
Matraki said it was a priority to capture brands not already in the market.
“But you have other brands like Louis Vuitton that will complete the building,” Matraki said. “Of course we want something that isn’t in the market and if they are, we want them to be bigger and with a better selection.”
Louis Vuitton will represent one of the largest retailers in Crystals. The three-story, 14,000-square foot store is the largest in the Americas for the brand, Louis Vuitton Senior Vice President John Slavinsky said.
“When we looked at the model five years ago and we saw the strip of stores from here, down to where Gucci was going to be, we said, ‘We need to be there,’” Slavinsky said. “We knew we wanted a big presence on the Strip. I’m not sure I realized the first day that it was going to be this big but we knew it was going to be big.”
The dining offerings bring some familiar names to Crystals.
Wolfgang Puck is opening two restaurants, including a French brasserie and full-service café.
Later Thursday, Todd English was to help open his restaurant with Eva Longoria Parker — Beso — with a red carpet event. The restaurant doubles as Longoria Parker’s nightclub, Eve.
Invited guests on Thursday strolled in and out of stores during the opening day event, admiring the architecture and high-end fashion, even if they couldn’t afford it.
Specialty publisher and bookseller Assouline is one of the featured tenants of Crystals, the shopping component of CityCenter.
“I love the architecture and design,” Boulder City resident Christine Sheams said. “It’s a big illusion. It’s like going to a show.”
While Sheams said Crystals is not somewhere she would shop, she said she enjoyed the window-shopping.
“I can barely afford to look,” Sheams said. “But I love drooling over all the jewels.”
MGM Mirage put as much into the design of Crystals as it did with its retail selection, several executives have said.
The shopping mall was envisioned as a gateway from the Strip into CityCenter, with a tram that runs from Monte Carlo through Crystals and into Bellagio, an MGM Mirage spokesperson said.
Designed by Studio Daniel Libeskind with interior architecture by David Rockwell, Crystals is intended to feel like an outdoor park brought indoors.
A 70-foot wooden “tree house” sits in the middle of Crystals, serving as the concierge desk and terrace seating for Mastro’s Ocean Club restaurant.
Other features evoking the outdoor feel include skylights to bring natural light into the mall, carpets of flowers, hanging gardens and reclaimed wood throughout the property, a part of Crystals’ LEED Gold certification.
“The original design of Crystals was that is was going to be an open space, but three days after they calculated and found out how much the electricity would be, they decided to cover it up,” Matraki said.
Crystals received its LEED Gold certification in October, making it the fourth of six facilities to receive the high environmental achievement.
Other sustainable features of Crystals include radiant floor cooling, skylights, wood products from forests with sustainable management practices and efficient water fixtures expected to save 1.8 million gallons of water a year.
This wooden tree house structure contains the concierge on the ground level and a dining terrace on the second level for the restaurant Mastro's Ocean Club at Crystals, the retail and entertainment district of CityCenter.
The Crystals opening event included some prominent members of the Las Vegas community.
Wynn Resorts Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Wynn toured the mall with CityCenter’s President and Chief Executive Bobby Baldwin while Nevada Ballet Artistic Director James Canfield and Smith Center for the Performing Arts President Myron Martin were among other notables at the opening.
Nevada State Sen. Randolph Townsend, who toured the mall with his wife on Thursday, reiterated MGM Mirage Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Murren’s position that the $8.5 billion complex is better experienced than explained.
“This may be the only shopping experience that I’ve ever had where you don’t feel like you are in a mall. You feel like you are in a park or museum that happens to have some retailers,” Townsend said “When you look at the detail in every nook and cranny, granted that takes a lot of money, but it also takes a lot vision.”
The high-end mall is the second building to open at MGM Mirage’s CityCenter complex. The Vdara hotel celebrated its grand opening Tuesday.
The luxury, non-gaming Mandarin Oriental hotel will open Friday.
CityCenter’s crowning jewel — the 4,004-room Aria Resort and Casino — is scheduled to open Dec. 16.
OMG ! New York City's Fifth Avenue transplanted here to the Vegas Strip ! I'm sure it will just be crawling with New York City transplanted Fifth Avenue Millionaires to buy up two thousand dollar Coach Purses, and Five thousand dollar Tiffany's crystal serving bowls LMAO !!!
So the "Fortress of Solitude" is now open.
They're not even half leased and will likely file for bankruptcy next year. Is a tiny little mall of nothing special and no significance
I am going in 2 weeks to check out City Center.
It looks beautiful. Bad timing but a gorgeous addition to LV
More redundancy on the Strip.
And we can't get an IKEA in this town?
Wonder if Coach will cash an unemployment check?
Just what Vegas needs,another L-V store (rolls eyes).
Looks like something North Korea would have built if Kim il Sung had more money. I thought people shop online.
A bunch of haters - the more something costs, the higher the sales tax, we should be asking any rich millionaires out there to shop here every day if you ask me. You people thinking wayyyy short term on everything. Trust me - these high end stores would not add a second location on the strip (Louis Vuitton and others), if they didn't think they were getting something out of this long term.
Rather than moan and complain about everything related to business and future projects for this city, support something for once. The same people complaining about the same things ... gets old after a while.
I second that gats.
Exactly Gats. People this is our city and City Center is a prominent fixture that could be pivotal in our city's recuperation. Why not support it and hope for the best? This same City Center is providing numerous jobs for our acquaintances, friends and or family. So I challenge you to have some pride in our city, rethink your position and provide support for a better Las Vegas. That is all.
Travel, gats and tomslick
Sorry but most locals can't afford to support these high end stores (although I'm pretty sure you guys can).
gats, tomslick, By Traval :
You all have a right to your opinion, but so do all the MAJORITY of Las Vegans who hate this project, and the corporate idiots who ruined this town.
What makes you think the majority of Las Vegans hate this project? I'm sure the 12,000 employed there as well as their families don't hate it. If the majority you are referring to are the hacks that post negative comments about every article written, you need to get out more.
I didn't know that the "MAJORITY" of Las Vegans hated this project. Thats news to me. I just thought it was a very vocal minority.
Anyway, City Center's unveiling is very exciting & having explored what was open of it last night, I am extremely impressed. As a space, it is stunning/breathtaking/overpowering. While very different from what is (currently) on the Strip, it is different in all the best ways. I've only had a small taste of the whole complex, but would not want to experience Las Vegas without it.
As corny/tacky/played a phrase it is, City Center is a "game changer."
It will be a huge draw for international tourists, which is what Las Vegas needs to attract.
Yes, just, City Center IS a "game changer". And yes, I also doubt a majority of Las Vegans "hate this project"... Maybe a majority of R-J & Sun commenters, but not the majority of people who either work at City Center or have friends & family working there.
Shouldn't we want to see more tourists come to Las Vegas? I know I do. And as much as people around here hate the idea of a resort that offers more than gambling and cheap booze, many of these tourists coming to town will appreciate all these new places to experience.
And before anyone else bashes me for being some "MGM Mirage flack", let me just say that NO ONE owns me. I've been critical of their business practices before, I've called them out on firing workers while piling on more bonuses for top execs, and I still wonder how they'll be able to work through their massive debt load. But if they can pull off with City Center what Steve Wynn did with The Mirage 20 years ago (turn a debt-fueled monstrosity into THE top sacred cash cow on The Strip), all the naysayers here will just have to eat their bitter words.
We will see who is right in 6 months.As for me I think there is to much luxury shops at the strip.Go into any luxury Casino/hotel and they are all the same. Top chefs,restaurants,shops ,inflated slots and other Casino games.
Hey tvegas, speak for yourself!! Your negative comments as well as everyone elses comments that are negative does nothing to help this city. Go back to the hole you crawled out of and let the rest of enjoy what we have here!!
To see the future of this center...go to the mall in the Palazzo
I can understand skepticism. But I'm frankly baffled so many people appear to be openly rooting for CityCenter to fail, and will probably be gleeful if it does.
Hate to break it to everyone, but since we haven't done squat to diversify our economy, tourism is pretty much it for us. And this is our last great chance to jump-start tourism.
If it goes down, we go down. Detroit-style down.
Now, I suppose that being able to say "I told you so!" will help keep a lot of people around here cheerful as the local unemployment rate passes 20%, the state budget deficit turns into the Grand Canyon, and more neighborhoods turn into tumbleweed ghost towns. But I, for one, would prefer to avoid that outcome. Call me crazy.
The situation will not change by cheerleading these more of the same projects...we need leadership that can bring in industry ..not just place another slot machine on the floor.
It's called reality folks..we don't need any more casinos or hotels ..this country can't and increasingly won't support them...they would rather eat and support their families.
So get your head out and start a real business and hire some people.
It is very important that City Center is successful, FOR THE EMPLOYEES ONLY!! Jim Murren can take his New York City behind, and just go back there WITHOUT his golden parachute. That should be preserved as severance for all the people who have gotten, and will get layed off from MGM/Mirage. Listen folks, Vegas was doing just fine as a themed resort carnaval city. WE DIDN"T NEED TO DUMP THAT WHOLE CONCEPT FOR THIS CRAP that has been stuffed down our throats. Lets face it, being the number one tourist destination just wasn't good enough for these greedy bums, they had to go and leverage our whole city to feed their greed. Now we are paying for THEIR mistakes. Jus'Sayin..
I remember when the only retail on the Strip was a row of shops facing west right next to and south of the Desert Inn.
Will there be a Walmart?
There ya go ! Rollingpassion !
OK ! I've got it! Las Vegas Sun : Please post an online Vote/survey as follows:
City Center is a great addition to and is going to revitalize the sagging economy in Las Vegas Y or N ?
City Center was a colossal waste of money and is out of touch with what Las Vegas is all about Y or N ?
"we realized this is a niche that the market is missing -- a selection of retailers under one canopy that are extremely high end..."
He must be joking. The shops at the Wynn/Encore Esplanade already fulfill this niche. Not to mention the shops at Palazzo, Bellagio, Caesars... Looking at the store directory is like a Who's Who of stores that already have a location (or two) in Las Vegas.
I get that it will be nice to have such a large selection under one roof... Just that this idea of having luxury mini-malls is not new!
I walked through and checked out Crystals this evening and it's wonderful. Bring on the 16th!
FYI the two buildings between the Harmon and the Bellagio is the Cosmopolitan, not other Vdara towers. The only Vdara tower is the tower that says Vdara on it. You would think after covering City Center for 5 years that people would know what all the buildings are and what buildings are included in City Center. Every time I look at pictures, they show Cosmopolitan as part of City Center. However, it probably won't be long before Cosmo becomes part of City Center.
I don't think it doesn't go anything like that.
Brett Favre is also a meathead.
What does a meathead football player have to do with anything? The only thing that worries me is the number of unopened shops in the photo above. I would have thought they could've found a better angle.
I walked through Crystals tonight, and it was nice... but I'm not armed with a Black American Express card so absolutely nothing was in my price range. A scarf and beanie at tiffany's was $280. My grandmother can knit one higher quality than they were.
Besides the absurd prices, half the stores aren't even open, much less built. Most of them still have drywall fronts and signs that say "Opening 2010" I think I was one of 5 people and a dog who were actually there tonight. Not a typical Las Vegas opening.
I can't believe that Jim Murren actually believes this is a place for all Las Vegans. This is a place for fat cat foreigners to come spend money. I won't deny that is what we want, but this isn't a place for ordinary people.
Well, the only thing I am wondering, how many days of the year is the entire city sold out? Looks to me like creating 12,000 new jobs for 5 more hotels, is going to kill the business of 5 hotels currently in business. Doesn't sound like a long term plan to me.
So is the top of the 70 ft "Treehouse" for BESO or for Mastro's Ocean Club restaurant? The articles and the picture captions say two different things? I can't imagine BESO being in that tree house.
And commenters above are trying to say Las Vegans just embrace and love this place...HA HA !!
Not a hater, but have been coming to LV for about 20 years. I just don't see how opening this very expensive project at this time will succeed. Credit card lines have been cut and people are nervous.
Most of the condos won't close as banks are just not lending for these right now. If you don't have cash, forget it. And high end shops in a declining economy??!! And only one casino? People don't go to LV to navigate a 67 acre complex to try and get to one casino.
Does the Jockey Club have a
LOUIS VUITTON or PRADA?
GrandmaCrabby :
This place will undoubtedly become a landmark for Las Vegas, much like the World Trade Center was for N.Y.C., or Prudential Building in Boston, or Sears tower in Chicago. No question about that! It's taking a lot of hits right now because of the absolute WORST timing to open in the middle of our great world wide recession. So it's what this place of financial excess represents that makes it unpopular. We all know that there are not enough rich people here in the valley to sustain this property, nor are there any who are going to come over from California right now. So their only hope I guess is to get their big spending tourists from around the world. If they pull it off, that's great for them, however we can't be so surprised that regular folks around here feel more or less excluded from this property because of it's cost prohibitive nature. We feel that we are left out. It's kinda like how the locals are only welcome there if we work there, but don't even try to take advantage of any of the amenities because we can't afford 'em.
Unveiling a "red light district" would certainly bring a lot of customers and much needed tax revenue, most Europeans are wise to this and the tax benefits.
Come on MGM do something needed for the economy
Fear and Self Loathing in Las Vegas...That is what I am reading in these comments...Why not embrace the 12000 jobs that CityCenter created and be happy?!
Sure looks like a lot of empty high-end stores to me . Also,it seams to me;If MGM is going after the high-end foreign visitor for shopping,don't they already have a L-V store @ home? That way they do not have to ship it all the way back home? Just a thought... I know if I was buying a $5,000.00 Tiffany crystal thing I would be concerned if it were going to make it home in one piece.
City Center isn't for the locals and most of the locals realize that. It's for the wealthy of the world to come, relax, and spend. Hopefully they will. Now if we could just get the politicians to support policies that encourage education, manufacturing & research, maybe we could move beyond our economic dependency on low wage retail & gaming jobs...
By Van : Sure we are happy for the 12,000 jobs created, however how long will those jobs be sustained? and what about the tens of thousands who don't have a job? What exactly is there to be happy about? I tell you what, lets all be happy when the casino executives who run these places realize that the rich people alone are not going to be enough to make this city go, and start offering some value to get the entire social spectrum participating in the success of Las Vegas again.
I would not shop there, it is cold and sterile.
The Asians have Macau, so why would they come here??
We might get some Europeans because the dollar is so weak right now.
Other than that I don't think that this town can support 3 to 4 high end malls.
I don't see how all the haters can know so much about this town and who's shopping at the high end stores when they spend their entire day on the computer.
I won't be headed up to CityCenter any time soon, but I hope it's successful.
jerrywayne
We are not haters ..just realists
You are not a realist - you are a pessimist.
"That it would blow your mind is a given, but at every turn you think, "Who's going to be able to afford to come here?"
The answer is very simple,less than 1% of vegas visitors can afford this.Yes there are those who can splurge for a purchase or two,but able to sustain those spending sprees are reserved too those few "wealthy" visitors
pricing some jeans,and a shirt along with a lighter shell jacket would have run my cc 1040.00.The posers will say they can afford that no problem,but in reality to be able to afford a simple outfit such as listed,and all things being relative you need to be well above the upper class in earnings.
lets face it,we all live in a dream world,and human nature dictates some materialism,and vegas with its ultra high end stores creates the "eye candy" that we seek,but reality still takes over,and at the end of the day,all most of us can really do is just look.
peace out
I honestly understand the viewpoints of people who think this is a worthless project, and I respect that.
But the people who made the comments in the article about finding a niche did not have the average joe in mind when they said that. They had the individuals who value possessions over a whole lot of others things. They had the individuals who are not in an ARM house or in a blue collar industry. They are not looking for the casino employee. They are looking for the wealthy tourist who doesn't want to stay in a crummy hotel, rather the Oriental. An individual who only wants to associate with others that are wealthy, and engage in table games with high stakes without worrying how old the casino actually is or if they are going to have Fredd Monday Night football hot dogs and $1 beer. AND, they will only have to walk a few steps to enjoy all the material valuable possessions they love - and will pay no matter what to get it. (SALES TAX and BUSINESS TAXES) So - no matter what, the "City Cemetary" won't ever come to fruition. It's going to be a success, and it has to - Las Vegas will not have another mega resort (according to the big casinos on the strip) for another decade.
So I suggest, at least until I might be wrong, to suck it up and be happy like others who have been waiting for something to help Las Vegas over the past two years.
You also can't compare the Crystal retail district to the Palazzo - these are two different management companies with two strikingly different goals - Crytal is part of a larger "luxury" atmosphere that doesn't have to rely 100% on gaming - MGM has plenty of casinos (Palazzo isn't as lucky).
My argument is always going to be from a long term perspective - of the many years we've been a country - and even the many years we've been a state and city for that matter, we have been in good times much longer than we've been in bad times. Companies and economists understand that - and that's why the wealthy will continue to make purchases that supplement many that need basic federal/state services. And why companies will continue to do their research for the long term before they make an investment into something such as Las Vegas. It's how its worked in the past and how it will work now.
Brett Farve may not spend a dime, but he is one of thousands of athletes who are NOT like that - just watch an interview in their massive house.
And don't think for a second I'm some genius or a wealthy individual myself. I'm just a recent college graduate who just happens to be objective and who will read more than one side to a story.
I welcome a lively debate though - Fridays are always slow days. =)
gats,
although i respect your article.I will still maintain that there is such a low percentage of "beings" that can sustain the niche you write about
people no longer save for a year,to come out here and blow it in a weekend on extravagance,and bliss,this just is not reality.The herds will continue to frequent the high end properties,but they will not spend what they once did,if vegas success was written on window shopping,and dreamers then vegas would be a huge success
I am one of those dreamers who would love to participate,but am just a mechanical pipefitter,so there will be no 370.00 denim jeans for me,or a 199.00 nightly rate hotel room,and i suspect there are more of me than there is of what you propose
peace out
and dare i say,even though i am far from wealthy,I also dont think the wealthy are so loose anymore,even going as far as saying frugal
peace out
dont be so afraid of failure that it saboutages your own success!
They just don't get it. they will never learn. Just as if these zillions of other shops available on the Strip are not enough. People come to have fun and gamble. Airlines charge ridiculous surcharge for overweight luggage, so nobody will probably buy stuff he can't get at his hometown. So what's the point in buying expensive stuff while on vacation in Vegas???
I like the idea of putting an IKEA and other home-builder markets on the Strip. Perhaps somebody will buy himself a new sofa or a closet or a dog house and will put it in the luggage on the way to McCarran Airport :)
The wealthy are still spending, and are happy to do it. Most of the sales of the Mandarin residential unites were CASH purchases. If you're purchasing million-dollar condos in cash, then you'll have no trouble riding the elvator down to Crystals and picking up some LV handbags and Tom Ford clothing.
The recession hasn't hit the wealthy like it's hit the middle class. Yes, to some extent many of them have been effected, but it's certainly not enough to have a place like Crystals fail.
And remove MGM's stake in it for a moment. These luxury retailers that have opened stores there track this market globally--do you really think any of them would have opened stores (many of them flagship stores, too) if they thought they'd be out of business in six months?
This project is going to be just fine.
When will the first casino open up on CC? Any full pay machines, match play coupons, great b-j rules available?
I heard that theyre thinking to remove the 5s from the decks on b-j and pay fix even money on all b-j, regardless. But I am not sure if that's the new way and if this is really going to happen.
jayeTT,
"do you really think any of them would have opened stores (many of them flagship stores, too) if they thought they'd be out of business in six months?"
Yes I do think they would have opened stores in this retail district,because first its a great opportunity to be able to put your store in this mall.Secondly I dont think when they signed their lease,that the economy was as bad as it is now,These stores probably made their contracts up back 4-5 years,when project was concieved.
and the wealthy that can afford million dollar condos with cash represent about 7% of the united states population,so as far as city center being just fine,either my blue collar view,or your elitist view will show its face next year,after the initial buzz has died down
peace out
Those of us in the working class may shop at the Dollar Tree down the street from Sam's Town.
No, bldblu, some of the retailers in this mall just inked their deals over the summer and have been racing to get their stores open.
Five years ago there were no tenants signed to Crystals, because the concept hadn't even been firmed up yet.
Most of the retailers that are open or are opening in there either signed on right before the economy tanked last fall or a bit after.
All these places for the bourgeoisie...what about a few places for the masses where they serve bread and water? and a bowl of porridge? and sell homespun loincloths?
How about a "Proletarian Place" where people sleep on the floor???
I have my doubts about whether or not the shops will make it. I think they can if the rent doesn't become unreasonable. MGM might eventually have to give (not literally) the retail space away for the good of the rest of the complex. I do on occassion shop the high-end stores. Oddly, much of the high end stuff is just more-of-the-same, made in China under a different label. I then put it down and leave.
You cannot take MGM Mirage public comments on face value about high end offerings at the property.
It's very, very simple. It's not for everyone's consumption patterns.
City Center, like KA at flagship (former flagship?) MGM Grand, is directed at Asian customer wealth, based on the continued success of Chinese devaluation of their currency as the source engine for emerging markets (and expanded Vegas gaming customers) growth in that part of the world.
Customer number two is the convention guest working for a corporation with the revenues and tax incentives to pay for higher offerings in lodging, facilities and F and B.
One live bac game is often worth more to the company than every other live game in the casino. One big two hour buying spree at luxury brand boutique stores by the cherished gaming customer is worth more to the bottom line than a year's worth of sales at the generic hotel retail store.
It all adds up from EVERY customer's pockets, but if you look at City Center with the eyes of a simpleton, it's easy to see where the company is directing it's offerings, and financial future, which at this SCALE AND COST, brings downward pressure on hospitality labor, and risks for the local industry.
As to the stores individually, the retail leases will bring short term high pressure on those who negotiated them and regional executives, as high end cosmetic and retail in this country in all regions of the country is under severe strain to perform for the street. Retail is a mature industry in the US, high profit margins are hard to find. Growth is in Eastern Europe and South America. American prefer value, such as outlet malls. In emerging markets, branding is fairly new, and there is a demand for boutique offerings with strong sales staff service. Those customers who can afford it will be attracted to offerings at Crystals. Retail remains a necessary element to a diverse resort property's offerings, hence the mall.
cc setting up to be one of the biggest disasters in las vegas history. They are forced to deep discount the rooms even before opening--not a good sign when your in 8.5 billion! No one in the casino industry wanted another property since the venetian--these properties just slice the pie that much thinner with each opening. Tip earners gross wages are down around 30%-40% all up and down the strip from mandalay to encore- bartenders to valet--the ones still working. This property will only steal customers from all of us and hurt everyone. An ill conceived idea thrust upon us by a egotistical management. boyd did the right thing by stopping construction at startdust property.
I have to say that prior to City Center opening I sided with the naysayers but as the openings have occured I have become more intrigued. I finally get what they have tried to do. Las Vegas has plenty of room for all sorts of concepts. I can't wait to see it on my next visit!
IMHO,they should have never torn down the Stardust. That place was great. Not dumpy at all. But nooooo, they have to put up yet another overpriced place for the 'rich' to come. Please....Vegas will never be NYC.
Awesome to see this place finally open. I wish MGM nothing but success for the new venture. Money brought into the economy by tourism is a good thing.
Absolutely Newman. I can't believe so many people are so negative about the project. As a long time Vegas resident, I will certainly dine and shop there. The restaurants should be fabulous and I love the fact that I have a new place to shop. The Forum Shops are nice but overly crowded so hopefully CityCenter will be a nice alternative. I'm also planning to give my employees gift certificates for the shops there so they can visit and hopefully spread the word to their out-of-state friends and family.
Blake,
Your proposal for employee gift certificates is an excellent plan and a boon to the local economy. The joy of a free enterprise is the ability to spend your money where you so desire, whether you are MGM, a once a year tourist, or those who still enjoy the older casinos. It is the apparent right of so many on this board to complain and whine about the acts of a private corporation that is mind boggling. For all those that wish for the past, or for hotels that have been imploded, here is a thought: Get all your personal funds together and build a hotel/casino. Then you can enjoy the history of Vegas every day. Or just stay home and complain, which apparently is a full time profession for several responders.
Gats : Your just young and idealistic which is FINE ! We need the young to have hope when us crusty old ones become cynical and crabby!!
ikea WAS thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to putting a store in vegas in the northwest in 2002/2003, but they backed out because the north las vegas government was greedy and didn't give them a good enough deal like other cities.
I dont live in Vegas but i go about everyother month and my best friend lives there ... What i dont get is how many Dior, LV and high priced stores does vegas need ? I like going to the forum shops at ceasars palace because they have express and the playboy store which i can afford and at the palazzo they have Victoria Secret. They need to build more stores like this. After a couple drinks we like to shop and even tipsy you cant get me to spend 300 dollars on a pair of sunglasses when on the strip they sell them for 10 dollars. My point is put stores that most people could afford on the strip so then we dont have to drive to henderson to shop !
I asked one of the staffers if there were ANY REAL stores in CityCenter...
Sorry, I just can't afford shopping in a place where Prada and Tiffany are the lowest priced stores. This is an entire experience that 99.9% of people can not afford to shop at...nor care to. How many of these upper-end stores do we need in Vegas?
CityCenter has blown it...big time.
A 9 billion dollar glass and steel failure...just like the time they tried to make theme parks here.
Duh.