Here's the link to the article and the images:
http://www.newcityskyline.com/Caesar...Expansion.html
Caesars Palace expands its domain in Sin City
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
By Kelly Matlock
Las Vegas, NV, US (NCS) - You might think Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. is bluffing when you hear about their expansion plans for Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. But remember, they’re experts in gambling.
Having just celebrated 41 years, Caesars Palace is one of the oldest casinos on the strip. Cabana motel owner Jay Sarno came up with the idea to build the hotel in 1962, and he used a $10 million loan to make his vision a reality.
Sarno ended up designing the 14-story, 680-room hotel, which began construction in 1962 and was inaugurated in 1966. Sarno had trouble coming up with a name for his hotel but he decided on Caesars Palace because he wanted the guests to feel like royalty, like the Roman general Julius Caesar.
The 85-acre Caesars Palace currently has 3,348 rooms, features one of the most extravagant casinos anywhere in the world and regularly attracts clubbers and night owls across the nation for its internationally known Pure Nightclub and now Pussycat Dolls Nightclub and Lounge. High-end shopping available here is not seen anywhere else in Vegas. It has also been a boxing and wrestling mecca off and on since the 1980s.
Shows at Caesars Palace have spotlighted past entertainers including Celine Dion, Elton John, Jerry Seinfeld and Ronnie Vannucci, now with the Las Vegas-based band The Killers, who was the youngest performer to sing in a band at age six in a lounge at Caesars Palace. Bette Midler will have a permanent performance there beginning early 2008.
After all of its current offerings, it sounds like wishful thinking to expect Caesars Palace to offer a new hotel tower, new pool villa suites, three new swimming pools, new landscaping, a new ballroom and meeting facility, a major refurbishment of an existing tower, new casino interiors, and a remodel of the front entrance. But that’s exactly what Harrah’s is promising Caesars guests within the next few years.
While there have been a number of renovations and expansions over the years, none have been quite as monumental as the $1 billion expansion and renovation in the works right now.
“This billion dollar investment in our flagship property, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, is an important part of our comprehensive global growth strategy,” said Gary Loveman, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. “From the United Kingdom to Las Vegas and beyond, we will continue to enhance our network of branded properties to deliver unforgettable guest experiences and provide good jobs for our nearly 100,000 team members around the world.”
Although several different firms prepared various interiors for the expansion, Marnell Architecture is the executive architect of the entire expansion and Bergman Walls is the architect of record.
Central to the expansion, the new 350-foot hotel tower will be called the Octavius Tower after Julius Caesar’s great nephew who later changed his name to Augustus, and will adjoin and resemble the Augustus Tower which opened in 2005.
The $375 million tower will be located on Flamingo Road on the southeast corner of the Caesars property.
“Our guests have been thrilled with the Augustus Tower and its associated upscale services and amenities,” said Gary Selesner, president of Caesars Palace. “This new expansion opens an exciting new chapter in the renaissance that began with opening of The Colosseum, and continues with the February 2008 debut of Bette Midler's all-new production, which will be presented a minimum of two years. With a spectacular new show, new guest rooms, suites and more, Caesars Palace will be well positioned to continue to welcome the world's most discriminating clientele.”
Rising 23 stories, the Octavius Tower will comprise 665 rooms. Three new pool villa suites will be built along the second floor of the tower and will overlook three new swimming pools that will rim an expanded outdoor whirlpool spa retreat, a poolside café, and nearby garden wedding venue.
Internationally acclaimed designer Wilson & Associates will create Octavius Tower interiors. Following the resort’s Greco-Roman heritage, guest room entry doors will be customized with Greek key patterns, where electronic doorbells and electronic “Do not Disturb” features will ensure guest privacy. Spacious guest rooms will also feature flat-panel televisions and bedside clock radios with iPod docking stations. Beds will feature fashion-forward matlasses, replacing traditional duvets. Marble bathrooms will feature dual-head showers and whirlpool tubs with televisions above double vanities.
The tower is slated for completion in early 2009 and will increase the Caesars Palace total room/suite offering to 4,013.
The three new pools, scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2009, will replace the resort’s Apollo pool and outdoor spas. They will be elevated to set them apart from the Temple, Venus, and Neptune pools. One 1,600-square-foot pool will be available only to invited guests and will offer premium amenities and services. Two 1,900-square-foot pools will adjoin the new meeting and convention addition, and will be offered to hotel guests as well as for private pool parties and catered functions. New landscaping with the resort’s signature fountains and statuary will surround the pools.
In addition to the new Octavius Tower and pools, the resort’s existing 512-room Forum Tower will receive an overhaul. A regal new front entrance and expanded valet parking will open to expansive new casino interior décor, inviting guests to a remodeled buffet restaurant, redesigned Cypress Street Marketplace casual restaurant and enlarged Race & Sports Book.
The complete remodel of the Forum Tower will include 452 guest rooms, 10 two-story suites, which became widely known after the release of the movie “Rain Main,” 60 two-bay suites, and 18 executive suites and penthouses at 9,500 and 12,500 square feet.
The refurbishment of the tower is scheduled for completion in January 2008 at a cost of $83 million. The tower’s two penthouses will be remodeled by the first quarter of 2008.
Also included in the expansion is a new 263,000-square-foot ballroom and meeting facility constructed on two levels and connected to the resort’s Palace Tower meeting and convention center.
The building will feature 110,000 square feet of flexible meeting, ballroom, and exhibit space with additional breakout areas, grand promenades, banquet kitchens, and support facilities. Included will be two executive boardrooms, and two regal ballrooms will be expandable to 52,000 square feet. The upper tier will offer a large terrace overlooking two new swimming pools.
Interiors of the convention center will be designed by Marnell Interiors, a division of Marnell Corrao Associates of Las Vegas, and will complement the Palace Tower meeting center design.
Last but not least, the existing Caesars Palace front entrance will be expanded in breadth and height, opening to palatial new casino interiors, created by globally renowned design firm Allard & Conversano. The central ellipse will remain, highlighted by new decor and flanked by grand ceiling heights, raised to 20 feet.
New interiors will extend to the Casino Cashier and Cleopatra's Barge corridors, inviting guests to explore new dining, entertainment, and gaming offerings. During the transformation of the central front entry, Caesars guests will enter and exit through resort entrances a few steps on either side of the central doors.
When all is said and done, Caesars Palace will have an even stronger reputation as a premier resort and casino in Las Vegas. Caesars will truly be an escape, where guests are treated like royalty, and where people are given a place to relax, have fun, or to play out their fantasies of becoming rich and famous.
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LOL... the PH facade pictures look like bubble wrap or the back side of a cheese grater...
Harrah's Arena / "Caesar's Coliseum"
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