The Vegas Thread!

Wow! I just watched the concept video of Resorts World Las Vegas, and if it is ever built Joey will have to give us the official tour.

That will be an amazing property, if its ever constructed.

^It's scheduled for 2016, but they were supposed to restart construction in June and it's just sitting there. I've yet to see a single person out on the site and I drive past everyday/ work next door. Hell, I even saw a work crew on Fountainbleu the other day and that's deader than dead right now.

Right now, I'm most excited to see what they do with Sahara turning it into SLS. They are moving fast with the demolition of it right now.

^The press release said June...of 2014. They'll be building a preview center before that.

Regarding SLS...we'll see if it can last. Mid/High end market and party goers will be tough to get to that location. Could get good convention business. Sam Nazarian doesn't even have a gaming license yet either (Sahara's casino was operated by another company).

I just hope all these projects don't do the 1/2 way through and quit trick like many of the others!

The bad storm that moved through Vegas on Friday night wreaked havoc on quite a few places.

Here's a video of Gilley's Saloon at the Treasure Island. The weather apparently caused part of the roof to collapse letting in a deluge of rain on their main floor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG7XPZqtDFs

That's karma for ruining what was left of the themeing at treasure island.

The storm was pretty awesome. A lot of hotels have lights out on the building as a result of the rain and high winds; but for the most part everything is fine, just a bit soggy. It continued tonight but really didn't hit the strip much. Supposed to keep going through Monday night into tuesday morning and then finally clear out.

Gotta love summer monsoons.

That's karma for ruining what was left of the themeing at treasure island.

LOL

Reports are that Bellagios lake spilled over onto the street, Las Vegas Blvd had flooding, Caesars casino floor flooded from a leak caused by the storm, and The Quad parking garage ground level flooded.

^Here are a couple pics of the flooding on the Strip and Caesar's casino.

That must have been quite a storm! I hope it washed away the Civic Center and other terrible projects.

^ Still there... Sadly.

Wonder how long it took that part of the casino to get back up and running?

Most of them were back up and running the next day in some capacity. Gilly's was even open on Saturday. There are still some visible remnants of the storm. Circus Circus just got the sign on the Skyrise tower facing I-15 working at full capacity again, Mandalay Bay still has some of the upright lighting out in sections, Luxor has one the chaser lights on the southwest corner out, there is still a completely destroyed billboard near Mirage on the Spring Mountain exit. Other than that, most everything that I've seen is back to normal.

Some High Roller photos for you guys.

Half the wheel is done.

From the parking lot at The Quad.

The station

The new marquee for The Linq.

Last one, from the Monorail station.

^Interesting to see how they are putting the wheel together.

I attended a seminar for work today at The Westin and this was my view. They were out prepping about 5 mor sections of the wheel to go up. It seems like they do enough to fill the whole station area at a time and then work on attaching a few cables and the temporary blue arms and then repeat. You can see the pieces they were prepping along the bottom there. The little blue umbrellas were give the workers shade, looks like they were focusing on the connection spots of the cables.

Any idea when it is supposed to open?

^ I'm pretty sure, from this gigantic giant-wheel, you will see even more from the Area 51, "just around the corner" !

Thanks for the updates from this really tremendously wheel!

Any idea when it is supposed to open?

I think they were shooting for Fall this year, but they also announced the whole project is behind schedule. I can believe The Linq will open by the holiday season, but the wheel will likely be early next year. They still have to complete the wheel, finish all the support cables, remove the temporary support structure (all the blue lattice structure), attach the pods, and then test everything. I'm no expert on Ferris Wheels, I just don't see it being done this year.

Found this on LAtimes.com....

Parts of the Linq, a retail and entertainment complex along the Strip, will open in December, but don’t plan to ring in the New Year aboard the world’s tallest Ferris wheel. It won’t be completed until next year.

Plans call for a part of the restaurants and shops that will populate the 300,000-square-foot pedestrian mall to open their doors in time for New Year’s Eve revelers.

“We looked at (New York’s) Meatpacking District [and] Third Street Promenade (in Santa Monica),” said Jon Gray, the Linq’'s general manager. “It’s meant to feel like you’re walking down an old street that’s been closed to vehicles.”

Gray said about a quarter of the businesses would open in December with others to follow in February.

The High Roller, the giant Ferris wheel, is expected to be completed by year’s end, but Gray would say only that it would open “during the first half of 2014,” after safety tests.

When fully operational, the Linq, which is between the Quad and Flamingo resorts, will feature an outpost of Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The museum, complete with a themed restaurant, will front the sidewalk along Las Vegas Boulevard.

Officials at Caesars Entertainment Corp., the parent company, estimate that more than 20 million visitors walk past the site each year.

The mall will also include the only Brooklyn Bowl bowling-and-music venue outside of the popular New York City original. Besides a 2,000-seat performance area, the location will host a restaurant and, of course, a bowling alley.

To the rear of the project, the High Roller is taking shape behind the two resorts. At 550 feet, it will be 9 feet taller than the Singapore Flyer and more than 100 feet taller than the London Eye. The creative team behind both those attractions is also working on the bigger cousin along the Strip.

Each of the Ferris wheel’s 28 cabins will hold 40 guests. It will take 30 minutes to make one revolution.

Gray said tickets would be in the $30-$35, comparable to the London ride.

“This is Vegas and we intend to do Vegas right," he said. "This will be a very entertaining experience from start to finish.”

They're looking at February for the whole thing to be ready--Linq shopping center & wheel.

I'm excited for a YardHouse on the strip. And beer pong at O'Shea's again. The branch of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame could be cool too.

Thanks for the L/A-Times-article.

Finally a ferris-wheel without such a typically "2000-Millennium(Eye)-look/design", which I find extremely boring to my opinion.

^Yes, finally a giant-wheel, between a mixture of the old twentieth century and the following Millennium (3000)...lol

No, I like this "postmodern" style/construction (for example the radius arms) really and I'm looking forward to the next updates/pics, if possible

^ You realize the blue lattice arms are only temporary. They are there to hold the wheel in place while the cables are attached. Eventually they will be removed and the entire wheel will be supported by cables just like the London Eye.

^ Really didn't know that - that's sad

Anyway, thank you for the info!