CityCenter Stories

The art of provoking: Wednesday, February 3, 2010; The LED installation at Aria is the best evidence that CityCenter dares to be different; Steve Friess; Some 200 other truisms greet visitors retrieving their vehicles from the subterranean valet car pick-up at Las Vegas' newest, most expensive hotel-casino, Aria at CityCenter

Photo exhibit at CityCenter highlights U.S.-China relations: Wednesday, February 3, 2010; By Amanda Finnegan; Nestled between the high-end retail shops of Crystals at CityCenter are photos of U.S. presidents shaking hands with Chinese leaders and the historic 1971 Ping-Pong match between the two countries.

CityCenter to host traveling photo display on relations with China: Tuesday, February 2, 2010; By Amanda Finnegan; A public exhibit displaying 30 years of photos symbolic of diplomatic relations between China and the United States is set to open today on the Las Vegas Strip.

Unhurt by downturn, high-end retailer Hermes sees growth: Thursday, January 7, 2010; French retailer opening new store this month at CityCenter's Crystals; By Buck Wargo; The country is emerging from its worst economic downturn since the 1930s and Las Vegas remains mired in a recession, but a high-end French retailer hasn’t felt that impact along the Strip and is even eyeing expansion plans for the market.

Money management giant has faith in MGM Mirage: Monday, January 4, 2010; T. Rowe Price has bet $277 million on casino company’s future; By Liz Benston; Although short sellers were betting on the demise of MGM Mirage last year, portfolio manager Joseph Fath of T. Rowe Price was buying shares. The money management giant has found itself increasingly alone in thinking things can only get better.

American Fish's design as interesting as its food: Tuesday, December 22, 2009; Michael Mina, SLDesign present 'elegant comfort' in cuisine, construction; By Sarah Feldberg; Two years after starting his work on Michael Mina's new American Fish restaurant at Aria, Chris Sheffield ate fish last week. The designer -- one-third of the team at tiny Philadelphia-based design group SLDesign, which created Mina's new digs -- broke his vegetarian diet to dine inside the space he worked on.

Will CityCenter change type of tourist in Vegas?: Friday, December 18, 2009; Gaming: Profits might drop as discounts lure thriftier visitors; By Liz Benston; After a night spent gaping at Aria’s modernist splendor, draining designer cocktails and downing caviar and sushi, invited VIPs and other well-wishers at the opening gala for CityCenter’s centerpiece resort woke up Thursday to a grim reality on the Strip: Amid the worst recession in 70 years, only the toughest, best-equipped competitors will survive the coming battle for customers.

Analyst: CityCenter's opening will 'push economy forward': Thursday, December 17, 2009; By Buck Wargo; A day after a UNLV report painted a pessimistic picture about the Las Vegas economy, a local analyst pointed to signs of improvement and at least some hope. During a video conference today, Jeremy Aguero, a principal at Applied Analysis, said “we are bullish and hopeful on the opening of CityCenter."

What's being said about CityCenter: Thursday, December 17, 2009; Gaming:; From East Coast to West Coast, from syndicated columnists to bloggers, from the national networks to local TV affiliates, the news media have been buzzing about the Strip's newest visitor attraction, CityCenter. The reviews were mixed, with some keying on entertainment and the shopping, while some critics dug a little deeper into the architecture and the wisdom of it opening in a recession. Here's an overview of those opinions, gleaned from Web sites

At CityCenter, art for the masses right next to the slots: Thursday, December 17, 2009; GAMING: Sculptures and paintings sprinkled with great care throughout Las Vegas’ newest Strip attraction; By Liz Benston; CityCenter's $40 million modern art collection has instantly put the resort on the map as one of the world’s largest public installations of corporate-owned art. Although some industry observers worry CityCenter isn’t revolutionary enough to generate strong profits in a recession, art publication artdaily.org recently hailed it as a “cultural destination of worldwide significance.”

Welcome to CityCenter: New Strip casino opens its doors: Wednesday, December 16, 2009; MGM Mirage debuts Aria, final component and crown jewel of newest casino-resort; By Amanda Finnegan; The wait is over. After a two-minute fireworks display, the Aria Resort & Casino opened its doors to the public late Wednesday night, giving tourists and Las Vegas residents a glimpse inside the centerpiece of CityCenter.

Report: CityCenter may drive Vegas room discounting trend: Wednesday, December 16, 2009; By Buck Wargo; CityCenter won’t be a panacea for the Las Vegas economy, which will actually be in worse shape next year because of nearly 8,000 new hotel rooms and condominiums on the Strip, according to a report released today by researchers at UNLV.

MGM Mirage execs gather to mark opening of CityCenter: Wednesday, December 16, 2009; By Richard N. Velotta; The countdown is nearly over. For months, MGM Mirage, the managing partner of the $8.5 billion CityCenter, has tantalized the public with a reminder of how many days it would be before Aria would be “revealed to the world.”

CityCenter aims to make dining experience 'cooler and hipper': Wednesday, December 16, 2009; Veritable who’s who of celebrity chefs headline casino-resort’s restaurants; By Amanda Finnegan; The list of chefs behind CityCenter’s restaurants reads like a celebrity who’s who in the culinary world — Wolfgang Puck, Todd English, Michael Mina, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Julian Serrano, Martin Heierling. They are part of MGM Mirage’s effort to create food offerings at CityCenter that are as unique as the rest of the new casino-resort.

Water — swirling, spewing, frozen — to entertain visitors at CityCenter: Wednesday, December 16, 2009; By Richard N. Velotta; Most Las Vegas residents already know the work of Mark Fuller, chief excellence officer of Southern California-based WET. Millions of Strip visitors have been awed and entertained by the fountains of Bellagio, one of the signature attractions of the hotel that debuted in 1998, and by the renovated Mirage volcano, redesigned with a grander eruption just last year.