5 Ways To Fix #CityCenter

Here's my LVW column this week. Enjoy. -sf

Free advice for CityCenter
A few modest proposals
By STEVE FRIESS

Now that we have several months of data showing that MGM Mirage’s $8.5 billion gambit on CityCenter has failed to move the needle on citywide visitation—let alone that it would help bump up 2010’s tourist numbers to a full 7 percent increase over 2009—perhaps it’s time to offer a little advice on how things can be better. After all, I interact on a daily basis with actual tourists and routinely check out MGM Mirage’s competition. So I have a few suggestions. They’re not groundbreaking ideas, but they’re commonsensical and, for the most part, not terribly expensive.

Read the rest at LasVegasWeekly.Com

Elaine Wynn on MGM Change, China & Sarah Palin

As you saw in my Portfolio piece on Tuesday, many people took umbrage to MGM Mirage's announcement that they'll be asking shareholders to change their name to MGM Resorts International. Some were defensive on the Wynns' behalf, noting that expunging "Mirage" from the corporate title is a way of distancing themselves from the portion of the part of the company that Steve Wynn built. MGM Mirage, of course, came into being after MGM Grand Inc bought Mirage Resorts in 2000.

MGM brass insisted the sole purpose for the switch was to refocus the company as a worldwide hospitality brand with properties that both do and don't offer gaming. Commenters at RateVegas.Com's blog, among others, weren't buying it, but you know who could care less?

The Wynns. At least not publicly.

Steve Wynn is in Macau opening the new 414-room Encore and stirring up trouble with a suggestion he might move the company's HQ to China. We'll get back to that in a moment. But I happened to have Elaine, his ex-wife and a board member and equal shareholder for Wynn Resorts to him, on the line for two unrelated stories I'm working on.

So I asked and she answered.

"I accept [MGM's] explanation [of the name change]. They don’t need to have their name be a mouthful. They’re entitled to call it the XYZ Co., if they want to."

Doesn't she still have an emotional attachment to the Mirage hotel and name as the entity that sent the Wynn reputation into orbit?

"I will always and forever have an emotional attachment to Mirage and Mirage Resorts. Whoever owns it or sells it doesn’t change that. ... I think most people recognize who built that brand. The brand served a very real purpose in establishing Wynn credibility. That’s what allowed us to use the name Wynn. It allowed us to show that it meant something."

I tried to get Mrs. Wynn to discuss Mr. Wynn's statements to CNBC that the company could become more of a Chinese company than American one. She avoided that bit except that she noted that with Wynn now trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it is, indeed, factual to say that it's Chinese company.

Finally, we wandered onto the topic of Sarah Palin. I can't provide the full context without disclosing what the stories are I'm working on, but on the same day as Mr. Wynn is all over the news claiming that Obama's policies could run him out of the country, Elaine said this of the former Alaska governor and potential 2012 opponent to Obama:

"If anybody thinks that Sarah Palin is a paragon of virtue and a moral compass for this country, they’re not speaking for me."

Mrs. Wynn was a huge and early supporter of Obama and had tempestuous public rows with her McCain-supporting now-ex-husband in 2008. Mr. Wynn said last month that had nothing to do with the divorce but that the two have "agreed not to discuss" politics because "it never ends well."

Still, on the merit of Sarah Palin, they seem to be of similar minds. Steve Wynn was more cautious in response his view of her, perhaps because he'll end up supporting her if she's the GOP nominee in 2012. But he said he was more a Mitt Romney fan and said of Palin:

"It is very difficult to ascertain who she was. ... The problems that face America are not given well to sound bite treatment."

Punk'd by Cirque du Soleil, re: #MJ?

Back in January, I had this conversation with Cirque du Soleil CEO Daniel Lamarre in Montreal for the Las Vegas Weekly:

Lamarre: “A lot of artists [ask us], but there are not that many iconic stars, you know? What do you do? Elvis and the Beatles are alone in their own game.”

Me: “What about Michael Jackson?”

Lamarre: “Yeah, he’s probably the only other icon I can imagine that would be of interest. Maybe Madonna, perhaps. We’re talking about people that will turn our creators on.”

Me: “Is there any movement right now towards a Michael Jackson show?”

Lamarre: “No.”

Me: “No discussions, no talks?”

Lamarre: “No.”

Me: “Is it too soon? Do you think there’s a certain cooling-off period right after the most recent round of Michael Jackson frenzy?”

Lamarre: “Yeah.”

Me: “You do.”

Lamarre: “Yeah, that’s what I think. I’m not saying no, not saying no to anything at this point in time. But we are focused right now on delivering Elvis.”

That was about four months ago and a lot can happen in four months, but somehow I find it hard to imagine there really were no talks going on back then because today, Lamarre made this announcement:

"We are honored and thrilled to be in partnership with the ultimate and most important record selling artist of all time. This association between two international entertainment brands promises to deliver to fans of both Michael and Cirque du Soleil unique artistic experiences."

He told Entertainment Tonight that Cirque will produce an arena-touring concert starting in fall of 2011 and then a permanent Las Vegas show at, of course, an MGM Mirage property, in late 2012.

The Wall Street Journal offers some skimpy details:

The Las Vegas show will be more akin to a theme-park attraction, possibly featuring elements like motion simulators and 3-D visuals. It's also likely to include a nightclub and restaurant that include a Michael Jackson theme. The casino was not named in the announcement.

So it's already in the works. Leave it to a dead MJ to steal Madonna's Glee-ful day in the sun.

But, of course, the real question is: Luxor, Mandalay Bay or Monte Carlo? I'm throwing in my lot in for the Monte Carlo. That way they can reposition the MC even more as part of CityCenter which, by 2012, will be desperate for some new loving. Let's just hope they don't go slapping ads on the Mandarin Oriental for the occasion.

[Image credit: BestWeekEver.TV]

Show is UP: Robert Earl

Here's the show, which has been in the feed since Sunday. In fact, most weeks the show is in the feed a day or more before it get it on the site or blog! Another reason to subscribe (it's free!) in iTunes or in Zune. Click on the date below to make it play or right-click to save it and listen at your leisure. Enjoy!

April 19: Robert Earl's Exit Interview

Back when he was unveiling the former Aladdin as the new Planet Hollywood casino, owner Robert Earl made some pretty lofty claims about what his resort would mean for Vegas. That was then. Earlier this year, Earl turned over control of the property to Harrah’s Entertainment, unable to keep his head above water amid these unprecedented, perilous economic times. Earl, naturally, has no regrets as he explains in this episode what his role will be going forward and why the old one-property entrepreneur model of Strip ownership is, for the most part, dead. Other topics on the agenda: CityCenter, Prive, the Palms and his memorabilia stash.

David McKee of the Las Vegas Advisor fills in for Vegas, bantering about Macau perils, CityCenter data, Matt Goss branding, surprising Strip charges and much more.

Links

David McKee’s blog, Stiffs & Georges
Matt Goss’ website
Caesars Palace’s Cleopatra’s Barge
RateVegas.Com on CityCenter’s damaging data
The NWiR episode with Steve debating Rich Velotta on whether it’s too soon to judge CityCenter
Bobby Baldwin admits to David Schwartz in Vegas Seven that the Aria casino is dark
MGM Mirage’s food seminars at Whole Foods courtesy (via SaveLV.Com)
Steve’s profile of Stephen Siegel and VegasHappensHere.Com post on Rumor
News of Prive’s closing, the big travel convention that’s coming and Philly Inq’s casino

The LVW Col: Some Heart CityCenter

Here's this week's column, all the more poignant given that MGM Mirage yesterday acknowledged that Aria's occupancy was a measly 63 percent in its first quarter and that it has lodged itself firmly in the mid-market. Still, some people are enthralled and I happen to be related to two of them. Read on. -sf

The other CityCenter
Talking with a couple of out-of-towners who think
MGM Mirage’s latest gamble
is—wait for it—the best place in town

By STEVE FRIESS

In the run-up to the grand debut of CityCenter, MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren said a lot of stuff. As a journalist, I focused on the absurdity of so much of it, from the claim that there was something analogous to Central Park somewhere in the 67-acre, $8.5-billion complex to the suggestion that there is anything novel, nine years after the Palms opened, about the concept of a themeless Vegas resort.

One of the strangest claims was when Murren told me CityCenter would draw in a whole new class of clientele from all over the world who had yet to discover Las Vegas and all the high-end offerings it had in store.

Who, I wondered, were these creatures? Who could possibly be left out there unaware of Vegas? Who on any level of social strata hadn’t at least given it some thought as a potential vacation destination? Who would hear of CityCenter and finally be persuaded that they could have a good time on the once-tacky Strip?

And then, late last month, I found two such people. As it turned out, I didn’t have to look any farther than my own family. And I realized that, for fairness’ sake, I owed Murren and his gang this column.

Read the REST at LasVegasWeekly.Com

The POTUS Pad, Caesars v Bellagio

It's a little shocking to have to say this, but the digs MGM Mirage provided to President Obama at Bellagio last night were shoddy compared with what Harrah's provided him when he came for the Harry Reid fundraiser at Caesars Palace last May.

That time, he stayed in a Penthouse Villa that, to quote my own New York Daily News report, is "a 22,000- square-foot mansion complete with six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, two kitchens, two outdoor decks with waterfalls, a sauna and much, much more. One of the eight marble bathrooms with an over sized jacuzzi tub. ... The suite occupies the entire top floor of Caesars Palace on the Vegas strip. Bronze-swirled marble floors and pillars accent the Roman themed abode."

Here were some blogged photos of it from back then and Obama himself even remarked on it: "I thought I had a pretty nice room" while campaigning, "but now that I'm president, they upgraded me. I got the upgrade, and it's a really nice room now."

Here's that floor plan: For a bigger view, click here.

Last night, though, Obama stayed in the presidential suite at the Bellagio Spa Tower. To answer my own question from my 5 Questions post, Secret Service had him stay at Bellagio and not Aria because they don't like to have him stay at the same place where he's appearing.

Here's the floor plan:

Here's what the Bellagio site says about it:

"Our Presidential Suite will have you marveling at the 4,075-square-feet of contemporary ambience. Upon crossing a walkway suspended above a tranquil reflecting pool, you'll enter this magnificent estate. Enjoy your own solarium, verdant indoor garden and fountain, fireplace, and L-shaped bar. Two master bedrooms, private bathrooms with whirlpool tubs, steam showers, and a conference room further sophisticate this dynamic Las Vegas Suite.

In addition, your stay in the Presidential Suite entitles you to customized complimentary services including 24-hour butler attention, VIP seating for Cirque du Soleil's “O™,” VIP check-in and lounge access, reservation handling and premium seating for any of the fabulous MGM MIRAGE® restaurants, clubs and shows. For your personal staff, three 1,000 square-foot Entourage Suites are available on the same floor."

Don't think O went to see O™.

A guy POTUS probably didn't satisfy

Just before the big Obama speech today -- covered here by yours truly for AOLNews.Com -- I caught MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren in the Aria Conference Center hallway and asked what he expected to hear from the president. Obama was about to address 650 business leaders and a couple dozen token Aria employees probably there to rainbow-colorize the audience a bit.

Murren told me he expected Obama to “celebrate in our accomplishment” of completing the $8.5 billion project and opening three new hotels and a 500,000-square-foot mall in December. “He’ll most likely respect the fact that we were the largest single job creator in the United States last year and that this is the only LEED-certified gold conference center in the nation.”

Or not. The words "Citycenter," "MGM Mirage," or "Aria" did not fall from Mr. Obama's lips. He was very funny and in great spirits, possibly due to his night at Bellagio, but there was no acknowledgement or endorsement of Murren's business efforts.

I'm not sure how that made them feel and I don't imagine anyone from MGM Mirage would tell me on the record that it bothered them. I do know that Murren didn't like my next question, which was about his reaction to Obama's "blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you're trying to save for college" remark. The minute I went there he said he didn't want to answer that and when I persisted because THAT was the news of the moment and all, he said, "I don't want to talk to you anymore."

I'm hurt. Or something.

Btw, the best line from POTUS was: "I love Vegas! Why, just last night I hit a flush on the river and cut the deficit in half." Even when he's joking, it's bad news for MGM Mirage!

Photo: Stephen Voss

#CityCenter Fails To Move Needle

The LVCVA just issued the monthly data for December, closing the books on 2009 with the asterisk-al note that they don't have the gaming totals yet. But the visitation figures are all in for the month and year, and if you're a data geek you can download the summaries as well as those dating all the way back to 2002.

If not, let me tell you what you need to know. You can click this image to see this month's report:


Unfortunately, even what looks like good news isn't so good. December was the fourth consecutive month of increased visitation over the same month in the prior year, but it also was a weaker increase -- 1.5 percent -- versus 4.3 percent in September, 3.7 percent in October and 2.7 percent in November. Also, the total number of room nights occupied actually fell 0.4 percent in December versus December 2008 after three straight months of increases.

Conclusion: The opening of CityCenter in December did little, if anything, to boost visitation. That may explain free-falling room rates at ARIA, too. Ut-oh. The January figures will tell the tale because if all that publicity and fanfare can't pique even short-term interest, MGM Mirage is in a massive vat of stinky trouble.

Meanwhile, the 2009 figures show Vegas saw 3 percent fewer visitors, finishing up at 36.5 million. That the lowest since 2003, when the city greeted 35.5 million. The big difference, however, is that today's Vegas has 148,941 hotel rooms, about 8,000 of which were added in 2009, whereas back in 2003 the city offered 130,482 rooms. So the 2003 figure represented an occupancy rate of 85 percent and the 2009 figures mean occupancy was at 81.5 percent. The average room rate on 2003 was $82.48; last year, it was $92.93.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority tried to put a happy spin on all this by noting that the 81.5 percent occupancy was "the highest of any major destination in the U.S." and 26.4 percentage points above the overall U.S. average. Which is like Florida getting excited that they grew more oranges than North Dakota this year.

I won't even get into the convention data. Much too depressing. Look at it for yourself if you like, preferably somewhere far away from a sharp knife.

BREAKING: NFL spanks CBS over Kia-Vegas ad

[NOTE: Boy am I embarrassed. I somehow misread the R-J thing on the prostidude. Several times. And, evidently, so did some of you. Mea culpa. I'll leave this post intact so you can see what a dope I am. Apologies to Mr. Brean. Still not pleased with Weatherford, though. And looking forward to seeing how the R-J handles the NFL-CBS-Kia topic in tomorrow's paper, if at all. -sf]



I promised I'd get to the bottom of this and, sure enough, I did. Portfolio.Com just posted my piece on how the Vegas content got in and stayed in the Kia Sorrento ad that appeared during yesterday's Super Bowl. Much more than that, however, I landed this money quote from the NFL's Brian McCarthy:

“CBS sells the ads that appear in the game. We did not see this ad before it aired. The shots of the casinos did violate our policy and we have since addressed the matter with CBS.”

Ouch. Still waiting for CBS reaction and will update my story when I do.

Also waiting for the Vegas press to rip off my work or ignore it altogether as they've been doing a LOT lately. For instance, imagine my surprise to see this in Sunday's Review-Journal:


How odd that (a) Mandy Stadtmiller provided the first name of America's first legal manwhore while I provided the entire name and more biographical detail a week sooner but (b) Henry Brean apparently feels the New York Post is in general a more credible or worthy source than me. Mike Weatherford pulled this crap, too, last month, when he interviewed Bette Midler and asked her about possibly moving to the Wynn while pretending that my discussion with Steve Wynn about Bette in which the seed of this very idea was planted had never happened.

The only way I'll be getting any credit for this NFL thing is if Norm Clarke covers it again tomorrow. The rest of these folks are too insecure to acknowledge that they're not the only ones who matter in this media cesspool. By contrast, take a listen to my interview with Cirque CEO Daniel Lamarre or read my Cirque cover story, both of which include mentions of competing journalists and their Cirque-related scoops. That's just good journalism and it boosts credibility.

But let's end on a happy note, shall we? Thanks so, so much to MikeCH for answering me so quickly about this:


I could not recall what film this formation was from. Turns out, many, but the one on my mind was The Right Stuff, of course.

Did Kia End-Run #NFL With #Vegas Ad?

The NFL's Super Bowl advertising policy, revised last month, is crystal clear regarding Vegas and Vegasy imagery:

In all instances the ads should be for tourism destinations only. So TV/radio/internet/print ads for Las Vegas tourism or Vegas.com will be allowed. Ads for specific hotels or resorts are NOT permitted if they house any type of gambling.

Ads may NOT contain any gambling references - audio or video - or any gambling imagery. So by way of example, an ad for Las Vegas tourism with pictures of slot machines, dice, cards, or a wide shot of Vegas strip and casinos would NOT be ok. However an ad for Las Vegas tourism with pictures of golf, swimming pools, and performers WOULD be ok.

The content of the ads (audio and/or visual) must be “family friendly”. Any suggestive ads or those showing or suggesting inappropriate activity (e.g., alcoholic excess, sexual adventures), or those that imply general misbehavior (e.g., “What happened in Vegas Stays in Vegas”) will not be approved.

So, then, how did THIS happen?




Granted, this was a car ad, not a tourism ad. But it made Monte Carlo look pretty darn cool, which is a bit of a triumph, and MGM Mirage had to have signed off on that. So did a Vegas casino SNEAK an ad on to the Super Bowl broadcast via Kia? Is this some brilliant end run?

Fascinating. I will get to the bottom of this.

This Week's LVW Col: The Art of Provoking

My columns are frequently inspired by readers and listeners. You'll write, "Hey, check this out," and I do. This time around, though, my reaction was the exact opposite of the reader who wanted me to take notice. Hopefully that's OK, too. Keep the thoughts coming, anyhow. Here's this week's piece. -Steve

The art of provoking
The LED installation at Aria is the best evidence that CityCenter dares to be different

By STEVE FRIESS

"It's important to stay clean on all levels."
"Overeating should be criminal."
"If you live simply, there is nothing to worry about."

Quite a set of adages, no? The sort of thing a priest might use for the basis of his Sunday sermon or that attendees at a recovery meeting might utter.

But no. These and 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. On purpose. Paid for by ... Las Vegas' newest, most expensive hotel-casino, Aria at CityCenter!

That's a long, long way from "What Happens Here, Stays Here," huh?

Oh, and I love it. I just can't figure out for the life of me where MGM Mirage got the guts to do it.

Read the rest at LasVegasWeekly.Com

Photo by Steve Marcus

The Show is UP: The Vegas Juniors

Here's this week's episode of "The Strip," a sorta double episode pairing up a Louis Prima Jr chat I did but never aired in September with a completely fascinating conversation with Sandy Hackett. No, really. The folks in the live chat on Saturday barely talked, they were so intrigued by the interview. You know it's going well when the source, in this case Hackett, exclaims, "My GOD you've done your research." Click on the date below to make the show play or right-click to save it and listen at your leisure. You can subscribe, too, (it's free!) in iTunes or in Zune.

Dec. 29: The Vegas Juniors...

...with Louis Prima Jr and Sandy Hackett

Nowadays if you’re the offspring of an iconic celebrity, you can get work regardless of your talent as the subject of a reality TV show or by providing vacuous interviews on red carpets. But some of those who were born famous actually spend their lives trying to both make their own mark on the world and protect the legacies of their parents. In this episode, we’ll hear from two men who have done just that, Louis Prima Jr and Sandy Hackett. Prima continues to try to rescue the dying Vegas lounge act that his father made so great and Hackett is a comic and musician in his own right whose Rat Pack production at the Sahara bounces off of his own family history with Frank, Dino, Sammy and Joey. Both have struggled with and enjoyed perks from their famous names and both speak openly about that mixed blessing as well as their fascinating Vegas histories.

In Banter: The Aria buffet, Phil Ruffin’s Bellagio play, the Build It Bigger on CityCenter, Forbes on Adelson and Ruffin, the MGM Mirage Xmas Day outage and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Get tickets for Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show at the Sahara
Louis Prima Jr’s website
Sandy Hackett’s website
The site for Casino de Quebec
Wikipedia on Mary Healy and Peter Lind Hayes
HowStuffWorks on Discovery Channel’s Build It Bigger shows on Veer and Aria
Doug Elfman’s baffling Viva Elvis piece claiming there aren’t Elvis impersonators in the show
Forbes Magazine’s pieces on Sheldon Adelson and Phil Ruffin
VegasHappensHere.Com’s coverage of the Christmas Day outage at the main IT center of MGM Mirage
John L Smith’s column about Jim Murren’s baseball lie
Norm Clarke’s reporting on the legal tussle between the Rat Pack shows

Another holiday snafu for MGM Mirage

[UPDATE #2: The snafu ended around 5:30 p.m. Friday, according to MGM Mirage spokesman Gordon Absher. Poster GoVegas33 at VegasTripping.Com, though, wrote at 5:20 p.m. that New York-New York continued experiencing problems.]

[UPDATE: @VegasRex reporting people at Monte Carlo are not able to cash out at slot machines. That goes beyond how Absher described the impact. He says he just lost the dollar he put in. But he was able to cash out OK at Aria. See VegasRex's pic of the "call attendant" readout at a slot machine at Monte Carlo.]

Poor MGM Mirage. They just don't get a break, not even on Christmas.

Today, an electrical outage at the main IT center for the company -- it's at an "undisclosed location," according to MGM Mirage spokesman Gordon Absher -- has led to widespread problems "at multiple properties." "The power outage knocked some systems offline. The generators kicked in and the systems are reloading and rebooting. It's a minor inconvenience for us at the operations level."

Absher said he's not sure what caused the outage, when it happened, which other resorts were affected or precisely what the impact has been. His understanding is that players are unable to cash out at kiosks and have to go to cages to do so. He said he's unlikely to be able to provide a fuller explanation until tomorrow.

I asked Absher if people sitting at the slots would have noticed anything had occurred until they went to the cash-out kiosks. He didn't know.

A source at Bellagio told me he was informed there was a car crash that precipitated the outage. Visitor Michael Howie, who Tweets at @mchl87, wrote at about 12:45 p.m. PT: "The slot ticketing system is down for Aria and Bellagio, maybe all MGM properties?" He followed that shortly thereafter with: "That means every slot play is a hand pay (slow and annoying) or if you do get a ticket out, you have to go to cashier."

In addition, blogger VegasRex Tweeted around the same time: "@Doh! The Aria Poker Room List Screen http://post.ly/GCRy." This was his image:


Absher didn't know if Aria's poker-screen problem was related.

I asked VegasRex via DM on Twitter to let me know what he's seeing at Aria. He wrote back just now that the slots are working fine and he's going to check on the cashing-out process.

MGM Mirage seems to be particularly prone to these sorts of snafus. On Easter Sunday 2004, Bellagio suffered a massive blackout that lasted for four days. In October 2007, a problem with the Opera reservation system caused such huge problems for the internal room-booking system for five days that guests were being given keys to occupied or unclean rooms. And just this past January, another computer problem brought down the online reservations systems for all of their resorts for hours.

It's kind of amazing, really, that such a huge, sophisticated corporation would be so vulnerable. I don't recall ever hearing of such problems at any Harrah's resorts, for instance. It might be worth a closer look.

Opening Aria I: The Overview

That, above, is a collectible summary of the CityCenter/Aria opening activity on Dec. 16. There's so much that went on, so much to show. But to kick off this series of posts, here's the special 5-minute edition of "The Strip" that provides an overview with video of Jim Murren ringing the NYSE closing bell, the fireworks over Aria, an interview with a woman who waited four hours to get in and much more. Watch this YouTube version or download it by right-clicking here.

So. I've also got dozens of images in my unannotated Flickr set and strongly recommend browsing the copious amount of photos posted on Flickr here by RateVegas.Com's Hunter Hillegas.

Wednesday began with a bunch of pomp and circumstance. The ceremony in front of Aria was the only of the ribbon-cuttings I attended over the past month and then there was no ribbon-cutting. Still, it really felt like a momentous occasion, what with Priscilla Presley in the front row...

...and the Aria star-chef lineup...

...seated a row behind the architectural dream team. (That's Aria designer Cesar Pelli in the pink tie.)

Of course, MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren was all smiles. He thanked God for the sunny day and then pretty much took credit for everything else.


I raced back to Vdara after that to file the first version of my AFP report on the opening, which would be updated three more times in the subsequent 12 hours. On my way, though, I caught this angle showing the dwarfed Bellagio.


That makes my heart sink. So did hearing Andrea Bocelli's "Time To Say Goodbye" as the Bellagio Fountains danced as I drove by en route to the Aria opening party at about 7:30 p.m.

Earlier, Murren rang the closing bell for the New York Stock Exchange via satellite from out front of Mandarin Oriental with Aria in the background.


That was pretty cool, even if it was weird how they all grinned and waved and Murren banged away at the bell for about a minute so they would be seen doing the deed whenever CNBC cut to them for a few seconds. He looked like he was pounding on one of these:


Of course, what he was smacking was more prestigious than that, see?


That's the bell they use for the big Vegas boxing matches. Well, the hammer came from the local hardware store earlier that day, an MGM spokesdude divulged. But still. Nifty.

On the pedestrian bridge nearby that connects Mandarin to Crystals, smokefree casino activists (yes, they exist) were permitted to wave their signs questioning why the US Green Building Council would grant LEED certification to Aria given the existence of smoking:


I write "permitted" because I have this instinct that the next big free-speech battle coming our way from the folks who brought us Constitutionally protected union picketing outside the Venetian and smut-peddling up and down the Boulevard (the ACLU, that is) will be whether that bridge is a public or private space. People are able to walk past CityCenter at ground level, but I can see a shade of gray over this...


...and expect a legal battle to ensue sooner or later unless Murren was serious about CityCenter being a genuine place for the public to gather in the sense of the way such places are in New York City. Nahhhh.

Anyhow, in the media room, these renderings were on display to show what CityCenter, nee 55 West, was conceived as in its earliest concepts back in 2004:


The live music started in the afternoon. There was lots of strings, drums and guitar...


...but no opera. Given the name of the place, youda thought they'd bring in the world's greatest opera diva, right? Of course, I have no idea who that would be. But something tells me Murren does.

Before the nighttime affair, I had to rush over to the Panorama Tower unit that my dad and I have as a rental. We're between tenants and I was having the place repainted. So I went out on the pied-a-terre and shot this:


For some reason it still came out grainy with my proper digicam. I may see if a professional photog I know wants to come over and get some stock images before we rent out the place and can't get in anymore. But I did think this shot from the breakfast nook tells the tale of what a neat apartment this would be.


And yes, Miles and I would move right in if we weren't so far underwater on our current abode especially now that there's auto access over the highway directly into CityCenter. Sigh.

So there was a party. It was really light on celebrities. I didn't even see Holly Madison or Oscar Goodman and what do those two ever miss these days? I asked several people who they'd seen and the best several could conjure up was Monte Rock III. The Twitter feeds of Norm Clarke and Robin Leach both fell oddly silent all evening; Norm later Tweeted that he had trouble with cell service inside Aria which made me feel modestly better because I thought Aria was simply an I-HATE-IPHONE zone. Turns out, other carriers were troublesome, too. I just find it so strange and incomprehensible that every new Vegas resort has this problem, but Wynn, Encore and Palazzo were similarly challenged.

I did huddle with Norm in person to compare notes because AFP wanted some BOLD FACED NAMES and the list we had was kind of pathetic: David Brenner and Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. John Katsilometes had the scoop that some obscure ex-baseball player was around, too, and Wynn Resorts president Andrew Pascal informed me his aunt, Elaine Wynn, was present as well. Oh, and this...


...is Estefania Serrano, daughter of Picasso chef Julian Serrano. I shot her because I thought the dress -- a Betsey Johnson -- was cute and unusually colorful for the event, then learned she was "somebody." The invite urged "city chic" attire, which seemed to translate into a lot of black. (Oh, and I did ask her what Julian Serrano's guilty food pleasure is. Answer: McDonald's french fries. Predictable, but at least it wasn't In N Out, the typical star-chef response.)


There were fireworks but I was shooting that video so this, above, was the best I got of that. But then there was a 40-minute period during which all the slot machines, which had looked like this...


...then looked like this, signalling the moment was neigh:

Also, crews raced to remove the party-related decor...


...as crowds gathered. There were certainly lots of people, but early estimates of 20,000 were simply ridiculous. I spoke to people right at the barricades at 11:15 p.m. who had been there for about 10 minutes.


Then it was time and the folks -- as seen in the YouTube video -- were allowed to stream forth.


Lines formed immediately at this predictable location...


...but some very refined folks were much more anxious to check out all that artwork. Folks like this:

A CityCenter Tour Pictorial

I debated what image to use atop this post. I could have shown this cool one below, from the foot of Veer Tower...


...but as a Chinese friend of mine used to say when I lived in Beijing and took his photo with his camera, "Too much sky."

I could have picked this fun one, evidence that Cirque du Soleil is in da hood:


Or certainly, there's this view of the awesome Nancy Rubins suspended-canoes sculpture that is destined to become iconically identified with the $8.5 billion, 67-acre project:


But, alas, I kept coming back -- as I predict most will -- to the heart of it all, and the heart of CityCenter is the same as the heart of everything else in Vegas: The hotel-casino. And a pretty, gleaming, shimmery thing that is, huh?

Yes, I toured CityCenter more than 10 days ago. And I apologize for not posting all of this sooner except that I had a gazillion deadlines, 21 hours of poker to observe and a gag order about internal details of Aria and Vdara that was unofficially lifted when MGM Mirage let Norm Clarke go Tweeting every last detail he saw during a tour last Friday. Kinda silly that I can't talk about the poker-card-sculpture walls for Aria's poker room when Norm gets to describe the "over-sized Elvis belt buckles cover[ing] the exterior"of Viva Elvis and the showroom's "very high proscenium" and decor that "reflects the Elvis era at Kirk Kerkorian's The International rather than contemporary."

What I don't feel comfortable doing as yet, gag order or not, is judging the place. I have some first impressions -- CityCenter does not feel as crowded when you're in it as when you view it from afar, the artwork is really pretty terrific, Aria's casino is surprisingly dark and low-ceiling'd considering how much natural light pours in all over the rest of the place, the Crystals is so massive it runs the risk of feeling empty even when thousands of people are inside and I, unlike Hunter Hillegas of RateVegas.Com, find the poker-card sculpture thing cool -- but until the place is actually inhabited, it's hard to be fair. I did find it funny that Cirque waited so long to announce the name of Viva Elvis that the casino signage just says, "Elvis Theater."

Photography wasn't permitted on anyone's tours so far inside the buildings, but there was lots to look at from the outside, too. For instance, I'd seen the 23rd-floor (right?) sky lobby of the Mandarin Oriental from the Strip side, but there's a cut-out on the other side that I believe has some relevance to the electrical and a/c systems in the building.


The circuitous roads throughout the complex gave a bit of an airport terminal feel to the front of Aria:


...and I saw the train system that goes from Bellagio to Monte Carlo is getting tested:


Here's the side of the tram station, which is up there above, under the white canopy:


Some other random vistas are below, including a close-up of the side of Veer, a shot of where part of the swoopy roofing of the Crystals attaches, I think, to the northeastern part of Aria, the front of Aria from ground level and a view to the Strip from the same location:


That last one above looms over a "pocket park," a quiet sitting area where the Henry Moore reclining lady sculpture sits. I wasn't allowed to shoot that, but it was cute.

Clearly, there's still lots left to do before the Dec. 1-16 openings of the various components:


Check out the license plate on the scooter in the parking lot of the buildings along Frank Sinatra Drive where the CityCenter peeps are operating. Appropriate, given that half the place is owned by the UAE gang, right?


What I will say is that Steve Wynn routinely talks about his places having a series of moments that affect you emotionally. Even incomplete, CityCenter has that. And more than any other new project in Vegas probably since the Mirage, what they did here will be debated. And that debate should be fun to observe.

But before we go, just a little homage. See this?


See the orange thing peeking through? No matter how many times the MGM Mirage gang denies it, they succeed with CityCenter in part if they make Bellagio less relevant, less the center of gravity. And that's just a little sad, no?