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Las Vegas Strip casinos to go dark for Earth Hour
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, flanked by showgirls Meda Bell, left, and Candice Dickerson, speaks during a 2010 Earth Hour news conference at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign Tuesday, March 9, 2010. Earth Hour will take place on March 27 at 8:30 p.m. Las Vegas time. For the second year in a row, casinos on the Las Vegas Strip will turn off marquee and non-essential exterior lighting for the event.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | 2:02 p.m.
Earth Hour 2009
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Las Vegas dims the Strip lights and joins the rest of the world for Earth Hour 2009.
Earth Hour Time Lapse
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Time lapse of the Strip during Earth Hour 2009.
Sun Archives
- Las Vegas unplugs for Earth Hour (3-28-09)
Las Vegas will join the worldwide Earth Hour event as lights are turned off around the city – and the Strip – from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27.
The World Wildlife Fund, which organizes the event, held a news conference Tuesday at the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, which also will be turned off for the event.
The organization hopes to send a message about climate change and the importance of energy conservation by getting as many people as possible to turn off their lights for one hour, and this year more than 80 countries will be participating.
But the participation of Las Vegas is crucial to the event, said Leslie Aun, the U.S. managing director of the event.
“It turned a corner when Las Vegas signed on in 2009,” she said. “That was the event that really turned the corner and put Earth Hour on the map.”
When Aun travels and talks to people, they usually don’t get excited when she tells them that the Eiffel Tower, the Great Pyramid and the Empire State Building will be going dark, but when she tells them the Las Vegas Strip will turn off its lights, people get excited, she said.
“People don’t think about Las Vegas and sustainability,” she said. “It’s such a juxtaposition.”
She also uses Las Vegas as an example when she tries to convince other cities to participate.
“If Las Vegas can turn off its lights, you can,” she tells representatives from other cities.
For the event this year, all Boyd, Harrah’s and MGM Mirage properties will be participating, as will many other local landmarks and buildings.
Representatives from Harrah’s and MGM Mirage stood together at the news conference Tuesday to show the competing gaming companies are united for Earth Hour activities.
“We’re competitors in a lot of places and our companies are great, but when it comes to green, all green is good,” said Cindy Ortega, MGM Mirage's senior vice president of energy and environmental services. “We think our message is united in this, and that’s what Earth Hour is really about -- it’s about a powerful message to unite people to say that we’re all on the same team.”
The companies also use the opportunity to tell customers about their efforts to be environmentally responsible and to encourage them to do likewise.
“Watching all of Las Vegas Boulevard, which is known for having lots of lights, go dark is awe-inspiring,” said Rick Mazer, Harrah’s regional president. “Our signs are so much a part of what we are all about, the idea of turning them off for an hour might cause some people to go home and think twice.”
Local political officials also said they support the event and encourage people to turn off their lights at home for the hour.
“It’s important that we as a public entity buy into Earth Hour not only in words but in action, and we certainly have,” Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown said. “We need your help on March 27 to join us in this effort worldwide and be a part of the solution.”
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said people think of Las Vegas as a great travel destination, but don’t know about the region’s green activities.
“What the public doesn’t know about Las Vegas and where we really are leading the league is in the area of sustainability,” he said. “The city has really dedicated itself to going green in every single respect.”
And participating in the event is simple, Goodman said.
“All we have to do is flick a switch, flick a switch and then an hour later flip it back up and we’ve made our statement to the whole world that we believe that the future of generations to come depends on the kind of example we set here today.”
List of participating locations
- California Hotel and Casino
- Eldorado Casino
- Fremont Hotel and Casino
- Gold Coast Hotel and Casino
- Jokers Wild Casino
- Main Street Station Casino, Brewery and Hotel
- Orleans Arena
- The Orleans Hotel and Casino
- Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall
- Suncoast Hotel and Casino
- Fashion Show Mall
- Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas
- Bally's Las Vegas
- Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon
- Caesars Palace Las Vegas
- Flamingo Las Vegas
- Harrah's Las Vegas
- Imperial Palace
- O'Shea's Casino
- Paris Las Vegas
- Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
- Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino Las Vegas
- Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
- The Palazzo Las Vegas
- The Venetian Las Vegas
- Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas
- Aria Resort and Casino at CityCenter
- Bellagio
- Circus Circus Las Vegas
- Excalibur Hotel Casino Las Vegas
- Luxor
- Mandalay Bay Resort
- MGM Grand Las Vegas
- Monte Carlo Resort and Casino
- New York-New York
- Slots-A-Fun at Circus Circus Las Vegas
- THEhotel at Mandalay Bay
- The Mirage Resort
- The Signature at MGM Grand
- Vdara Hotel and Spa at CityCenter
- Miracle Mile Shops
- Riviera Hotel Casino Las Vegas
- Sahara Hotel and Casino
- Stratosphere
- Springs Preserve
- The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
- Treasure Island Las Vegas
- Tropicana Las Vegas
- Trump International
- Encore Las Vegas
- Wynn Las Vegas
Discussion: 30 comments so far…
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Wonder how much megawattage will be saved for the hour of blackout..
Las Vegas went dark long time ago. We still do not have a street light at Blue Diamond and Forte Apache. We got high school students trying to cross that road to get to class at Sierra Vista High. Eighteen year old girl was killed there few days ago.
We got elementary school kids crossing at Rancho just south of Lake Mead. That neighborhood is over 30 years old. What is the excuse there?? They built two casinos over ten years ago there, but still no street light for the kids. Whatever!!!!
lp - Your talking about one light or a handful of lights. Earth Hour is about trying to get everyone for one hour to turn off all their lights.
Comment removed by staff. Comment contained vulgar language.
If they were serious about going green, why not turn off the bulk of the lights every night around 2:00 am.
I am new to Vegas, hence the username, but it seems to me that almost everyone on these comment boards seems to believe that it is there intitlement to bitch about what is being done. The story is about the casinos turning off there lights for an hour to set an example for everyone that every little bit helps, but this is, and if comments are any yard stick, never enough for some people. For a major casino to shut off there lights is a big deal, think about it, Vegas is all about lights. If you really feel that the energy saved or the example is not enough, then why dont you set an example for all of us and turn off your computer, and save not only the energy it takes to run it, but save us from your endless bitching.
As was the case last year, Station Casinos will not participate. Their greed is more important than Earth Hour.
How about we shut off the lights EVERY night between 4am & 6am. With the money they save, they could hire all the people they laid off.
I will turn on every light in my house, inside and out in celebration of "Earth Day". This is more crap from the environmental nazis who would have all us walking, reading by candle light, eating cold gruel, all while they ride in their limos and private jets! Al Gore and flunkies please shut up and go a way!!!
Meda and Candice should get a bonus for their fine work. They are the only reason I read the article. Hubba Hubba!
This does nothing but make someone feel good about themselves. It solves nothing nor proves anything
How utterly frigging STOOPID!! I'm leaving my lights on all day long - every single light and appliance I've got! Oh yeah and I'll be sure to send a thank you note to AlGore for inventing the internet and the myth called global warming!
I'm going to re-hang the Christmas lights (that's right, CHRISTMAS, not holiday!) and haul out old TV's, VCR's, humidifiers, and videogames and fire 'em all up. I'm in the market for a coal-burning stove, if anyone's got one, and plan on spending most of the day driving around in stop-and-go surface street traffic with the windows down and AC on. I plan on seeking out as many soft drinks in styrofoam cups as I possibly can and am seriously considering driving out to Death Valley and (gasp!) plucking a wildflower!
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone...
Lynsun. I am trying to make a point that all this publicity is to distract the public from the real issues. The city was poorly built to satisfy the coffers of city officials, and builders.
Turn off the lights on the strip for an hour!?!?!....HOLD ONTO YOUR WALLET...and if your at Fremont...carry a gun
Will they use the disposable "glow sticks" again?
Save some some energy and polluted the landfill. This shows how unbalanced the eco-freaks are.
Lip service over substance.
Oscar I love those body guard you have.
You have the best job in the world.
moronic
Hey... this would be a great time for Danny Ocean (alias Ocean's Eleven - Frank Sinatra, or George Clooney)and his pals to show up in Las Vegas again. This time, they wouldn't have to knock out the electrical power grid to get the job done.
The only lights that need to be on are those that spell out "Global Warming Is A Scam." Maybe Al Gore will fly in on his private jet to observe.
manoflogos; thats GOREBULL WARMING to you.
WHY???
You still several million autos driving up and down and up and down, not going anywhere just driving up and down.
lp: The intersection at Blue Diamond and Fort Apache didn't exist "a long time ago."
I think lp was trying to say he/she was NOT impressed with the 'effort' .... and I agree. Don't talk to me about saving power or whatever else the lights produce by turning them off for an hour when kids are getting killed because the city is too cheap to provide a much needed street light. So to lp, I say , DITTO :)
NewBe, 'what happens in Vegas STAYS in Vegas' does not apply - you can leave anytime LOL.... or if you don't want to leave and you don't like what you're reading find a good book and shut YOUR computer off -
why are there never any asian showgirls?
figuring china owns most of america now, they might want to look into that.
the Asians are doing acrobats - duh!
I wonder how much is actually saved using this method?
- Mark Szczygiel
I love this idea because it drives the teabaggers nuts whenever green policies become public policy.
Enjoy, baggers.
"figuring china owns most of america now,"
Gee Steve I why????