The Palazzo's Extremely Soft Opening

I knew the Palazzo was still not quite ready, and it was reported first at RateVegas.Com that the 12/28 (today) date for at least taking guests was delayed. But I was still stunned when I took a gander over there to see what there might be to see (and place $40 on the Giants to cover the points versus the Pats tomorrow.) Above is a shot of the hallway from the Venetian's dining row that would lead into the Palazzo -- curtained off. I kindly asked the security dude if I could peek behind the curtain, and I saw, as you see below, that they're still doing basic stuff like painting and tending to wiring. Indeed, the reason this is so dim is because, it seems, the lights aren't on. Also, considering that they expected to be somewhat open by now, why no maps in the Venetian that include the Palazzo?

The R-J's Arnold M. Knightly reports today that the company, stuck waiting on county permits, now says they hope to have "some parts" of the property open before the official Jan. 17 debut, but what I don't quite fathom is, Why? They've already missed the New Year's bonanza. Is it really that valuable to them to get a couple of rooms occupied? And what would the experience be for the guests -- their FIRST guests -- if they're stepping over ladders and breathing sawdust?

I wondered what it looked like outside and I caught this construction dude on his laptop...


The Barney's sign looks great and hopefully they'll be rid of the portapotties before opening day...



But mostly, how irksome it is to try to walk by the project. I stood for 10 minutes in the chilly weather because a pickup truck needed to be escorted from the construction site to the Strip.