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Archive for the ‘Aleza’ Category

Las Vegas Rocks Cafe at Neonopolis in downtown Las Vegas.

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the best idea to venture downtown on a rainy day.

True the Fremont Street Experience is covered by a Viva Vision canopy, and said canopy towers 90 feet above Fremont Street spanning the length of five football fields with more than 12 million LED lights.

Also true, the Viva Vision canopy is by no means rain proof. It’s actually more of an open grid than a canopy. I guess I just never really looked at it very closely, apart from watching the Viva Vision light show.

Note to self: Next time don’t leave the umbrella in the car.

Despite the rain, downtown was still somewhat busy mid-day and the crowds appeared to be having a good time. Tourists of all ages filled the casinos, yet there were still plenty of yard-long margaritas, deep-fried Twinkies and shrimp cocktails to go around.

Gone fishing

The newest building in downtown Las Vegas is the Golden Nugget’s opulent 25-story Rush Tower. The centerpiece of the tower is a 75,000-gallon tropical aquarium, which sits behind the registration desk, inside the new Chart House restaurant. The Tower is just around the corner from the hotel’s Tank pool area, which features a 200,000-square-foot shark tank.

The 1,000 exotic fish in the Chart House aquarium and the Tank sharks are off limits, but you can still “go fishing,” so to speak, across the street in the Vegas Club’s The Lobster Zone, an unsavory cross between a live lobster tank and an arcade game (also spotted at Micky Finnz). I’m not suggesting you spend $2 to try and catch one of these morose-looking lobsters, but if you do succeed in catching one, please do me a personal favor and set the poor little guy free.

Prefer to meet your crustaceans after they’ve already been cooked and placed on a plate? You’re also in luck. (None for me, I’m allergic).

Downtown is still home to the city’s original Shrimp Cocktail at the Golden Gate Hotel. Served with cocktail sauce and a wedge of lemon, the shrimp cocktail is only $1.99.

On Friday nights at Flame Steakhouse in El Cortez, you can eat stone crab claws for only $28 per pound.

If fish (dead or alive) just isn’t your thing, no worries. Maybe you would be more at home at the Beef Jerky Store, located in downtown Las Vegas just to the north of Fremont Street, between the Fremont and Fitzgerald’s casinos.

Or you could go eat tapas in a dome overlooking Fremont Street at the Plaza’s Firefly. Rest assured, no actual  fireflies will be harmed while cooking your meal.

Mermaids is home to deep-fried twinkies, deep-fried oreos and deep-fried arteries. It is also home to a bar with free samples of multi-flavored frozen alcoholic beverages, including mudslide, watermelon and ice tea flavors. If you like what you taste, you can buy a football-shaped cup filled with the stuff, or a yard-long plastic cup.

No smoking

El Cortez is in the process of converting its Vintage and Tower rooms to non-smoking. All the rooms should be smoke free by mid-April. The only smoking rooms that will remain are the Pavilion rooms.

Neonopolis

It’s dead, Jim

With its empty storefronts, boarded up windows and lonely neon signage, Neonopolis looks like the Vegas version of a ghost (down)town.

Still, there are some signs of life.

While the parking garage beneath Neonopolis was eerily empty, my first indication that there was someone else out there was the Telemundo van I was parked next to. Telemundo has a television studio located in Neonopolis.

Also spotted, a Sinful Delights Sweet Shoppe and Las Vegas Rocks Cafe.

And if the rumors are true, Star Trek the Experience, formerly housed at the Las Vegas Hilton, will be opening at Neonopolis sometime this year.

My final reminder to anyone heading downtown. Parking isn’t free. So don’t forget to validate!

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Las Vegas is viewed by most as a city of excess. We seem to have and waste too much of everything: Food, lights, booze, Elvis impersonators. You may think our concept of “going green” is drinking tinted beer on St. Patrick’s Day.

But truth be told, when it comes to Las Vegas, image is everything. Behind the scenes, many of the city’s biggest hotel conglomerates — including Harrah’s Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Mirage — are working overtime to reduce their carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly.

“We get a bad rap in Vegas as Sin City, but the reality is that Las Vegas is an energy efficient city,” said Eric Dominguez, director of energy and environmental services for Harrah’s Entertainment. “For example, we lead the nation in terms of solar production per capita. And we’re constantly looking for ways to make things better.”

Just letting off steam

Like an underground city, the chiller and boiler rooms at the Paris Las Vegas are located among a series of plain, conservatively lit hallways, tucked below the casino level.

While there are certainly many sexier sights in Las Vegas, these often unseen facilities are actually the hotbed of energy savings at this Harrah’s property. The extra steam from the boilers’ blow down, for instance, is used to heat the facility’s water and run equipment in the emergency generator room. This recycling of heat is using energy that would have otherwise been lost.

Some of the energy saving equipment was already in place when Paris Las Vegas opened in 1999, but there are many instances at Paris and some of Harrah’s older properties where the equipment has been or soon will be upgraded.

“Through conservation we’ve been able to reduce the need for fossil fuels, which has made a huge environmental impact,” said Dominguez. “We conserve 130 kilowatt of energy a year, which is like taking a property like Paris off the grid.”

Harrah’s Entertainment established its commitment to conservation in 2003 and became the first casino to receive the EPA Quality Award in April 2008. Many of the properties have CodeGreen Teams made up of employees focused on reducing the use of natural resources, conserving energy and promoting reuse and recycling. There are more than 74 major conservation projects in place at individual Harrah’s properties, including:

• Lower water flow control in guest areas
• A five megawatt co-generation facility at the Rio hotel to create and use electricity on site and recapture waste heat for hot water
• Employee training on environmentally-friendly practices

Let there be light

Another major initiative of the Harrah’s properties is the substitution of traditional light bulbs with more energy efficient ones. The Paris, the Rio and Caesars hotels have replaced thousands upon thousands of light bulbs both inside and out. Bally’s replaced 4,000 bulbs in its sports book sign alone. In the back of the house at Paris, every other light was removed.

That certainly doesn’t mean the City of Lights has gotten any dimmer.

“Whenever we can, where the guest doesn’t realize, we’ll change to more energy efficient light,” said Jeff McGillivray, assistant director of facilities for Paris and Bally’s. “It uses five times less energy, still looks good and it lasts longer, so we don’t have to change it as often.”

Not only can no one can tell the difference, said Dominguez, but the energy savings are incredible. “We’ve cut energy consumption five-fold,” he said, adding, “Every bit of energy we save here, is energy that doesn’t have to be generated at the power plant.”

Overall, Harrah’s Entertainment has seen a more than $10 million savings per year from existing and completed conservation programs. Among this is the avoidance of more than 155.7 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which Dominguez equated with 81,170 round trip flights between Los Angeles and New York.

Bringing in more green

While energy and monetary savings are expected, Todd Moreau, vice president of food and beverage for Harrah’s and Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon, said there are also some unexpected advantages of going green — it helps the company make more money.

It started in May, when Moreau spearheaded a project to find a reusable solution for water bottles as part of a CodeGreen team. He found that in 2007, Harrah’s was disposing of close to 300,000 one-liter bottles of water in restaurants citywide.

Moreau decided that keeping these bottles out of landfills was a challenge worth tackling. The outcome was a one-liter glass reusable bottle produced by AquaHealth. The stylish bottle, which is available in some Harrah’s restaurants, can be filled with water from an on-site filtration system, then washed along with the restaurant’s other china, and reused.

“We ran a test for 30 days in Bally’s Steakhouse and what we found out was that when we featured something green, that brand name had a bigger impact than any other sparkling or still waters,” said Moreau.

And along with helping the environment, to Moreau’s surprise, the program’s profit margin increased.

“We thought, ‘Wow, first we went green and as now a company we are making better revenues off of it,’” said Moreau.

Born green

CityCenter is one of the world's largest sustainable developments.

Until recently, The Palazzo was the largest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified property in the world. That distinction now goes to the urban development CityCenter, which opened earlier this month.

LEED certification is a premium certificate awarded to environmentally responsible properties by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Palazzo actually conserves enough water to provide each Nevada Citizen with 266 eight-ounce glasses of water a year and saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for 12,100 years.

“We are committed to developing sustainable properties,” said Nicholas Rumanes, vice president of corporate development for Las Vegas Sands Corp. “It’s a larger action as a good corporate citizen, and also to set an example for the rest of the industry to follow. It helps out our business plan, it helps out the environment, it helps out the health of our employees and also the health of our visitors.”

Key elements of the Palazzo’s earth-friendly initiatives include:

• Artificial turf, drip irrigation and moisture sensors in planted areas as well as water efficient shower heads, high efficiency toilets and low-flow faucets inside
• A solar heating system that heats the property’s swimming pools and directs extra solar heat into the hotel’s hot water system. There are also solar panels located on top of the facility’s parking garage.
• Air conditioning controls in the guest rooms, which automatically set back several degrees when guests are not in their rooms. Lighting occupancy sensors in team member services areas that shut off the lights when no one is in the area.

“The part of our green effort here that I really like is harnessing the solar energy,” said Rumanes. “Living in Vegas, it’s 87-and-a-half percent sunny a year. We get probably the most direct sunlight of anywhere else in the United States. And if you really thought of the long term effect if everyone went this green way, we would prevent the construction of these polluting, $5 billion coal power plants down the road.”

The building itself was constructed using eco-friendly materials and more than 70 percent of the property’s waste during construction was diverted, thanks to a waste recycling program. The steel used averaged more than 95 percent recyclable content, while the concrete was 26 percent. There is even a special air filtration system, and a majority of the property is non-smoking, making for an overall healthier facility.

“The air gets really dusty in Las Vegas,” said Rumanes. “You can argue that the indoor air quality at the Palazzo is actually better than outdoors.”

Meanwhile, as one of the largest sustainable developments in the world, MGM Mirage’s CityCenter has six Gold LEED certifications. 

Like the Palazzo, the 18-million-square-foot, seven-building property (which includes ARIA Resort & Casino, The Harmon Hotel, Spa and Residences, Vdara Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, Veer Towers and Crystals retail and entertainment district) integrated the concept of sustainability and earth-friendly initiatives even before it was built. 

CityCenter was constructed with preference to materials made with recycled content, reclaimed materials or those that could be manufactured locally, as well as paints, sealants, adhesives, carpet and composite wood products that do not contain toxic substances. Even the positioning of the buildings to ensure the penetration of natural light was taken into consideration. Read more about CityCenter’s green friendly initiatives.

“While we weren’t the first project on the Strip to be LEED certified, we were the first project to really add in the element of sustainability into our design,” said Cindy Ortega, MGM Mirage’s senior vice president of energy and environmental services. “I think what surprised everyone, is that the idea of the environment and earth actually shows in everything. I had no idea four years ago that I would walk into Aria and I’d be looking at natural stones and natural daylighting and certified wood, but there it all is. We were able on City Center to really breathe the idea and respect of nature into the largest sustainable project in the United States.”

The property includes:

• A co-generation plant providing about 10 percent of the property’s electricity. The throw-off heat from the plant will be used to heat the property’s water.
• Specially-coated windows on Vdara that help reduce heat transfer into the building by reflecting light.
• Settings on the rooms’ remote system in ARIA and Mandarin Oriental allowing guests to green their stay by indicating their preferred light level, room temperature and frequency of linen and towel changes. Systems can also be programmed to turn these settings down or off when the guest is not in their room. Read more about ARIA’s room technology.

CityCenter is expected to save 50 million gallons of water each year as a result of water conservation efforts, such as efficient irrigation systems, low-flow faucets and showers and low-flush toilets throughout the development. The property offers preferred parking for hybrid vehicles, a bike valet and even has a fleet of limos powered by natural gas.

Getting wasted

Another environmental effort by MGMMirage is a program implemented by Mandalay Bay Convention Center to recycle trade show waste. The program enabled Mandalay Bay to recycle upwards of 74 percent of the trade show’s garbage.

In a four month period, with 29 trade shows, more than 6,000 cubic yards of recyclables were collected, while only 2,000 cubic yards went into a landfill. Like most of the eco-friendly initiatives at Las Vegas hotels, these recycling efforts happen behind the scenes and are unseen by the public.

Las Vegas is still a city of entertainment and earth-friendly initiatives will never reduce the guest’s experience, explained Dominguez. “We don’t turn the lights out on the Strip. It’s all about maintaining the image but doing it in a conscious environmental manner,” he explained. “We’ve got energy efficiency projects that are implemented to be seamless.”

Romanes agreed. “If we do our job properly the average customer will not notice that this is a green facility,” he said. “I call it environmental luxury. We’ve proven that you can be luxurious and you can be environmentally sensitive.”

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Las Vegas is viewed by most as a city of excess. We seem to have and waste too much of everything: Food, lights, booze, Elvis impersonators. You may think our concept of “going green” is drinking tinted beer on St. Patrick’s Day.

But truth be told, when it comes to Las Vegas, image is everything. Behind the scenes, many of the city’s biggest hotel conglomerates — including Harrah’s Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Mirage — are working overtime to reduce their carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly.

“We get a bad rap in Vegas as Sin City, but the reality is that Las Vegas is an energy efficient city,” said Eric Dominguez, director of energy and environmental services for Harrah’s Entertainment. “For example, we lead the nation in terms of solar production per capita. And we’re constantly looking for ways to make things better.”

Just letting off steam

Like an underground city, the chiller and boiler rooms at the Paris Las Vegas are located among a series of plain, conservatively lit hallways, tucked below the casino level.

While there are certainly many sexier sights in Las Vegas, these often unseen facilities are actually the hotbed of energy savings at this Harrah’s property. The extra steam from the boilers’ blow down, for instance, is used to heat the facility’s water and run equipment in the emergency generator room. This recycling of heat is using energy that would have otherwise been lost.

Some of the energy saving equipment was already in place when Paris Las Vegas opened in 1999, but there are many instances at Paris and some of Harrah’s older properties where the equipment has been or soon will be upgraded.

“Through conservation we’ve been able to reduce the need for fossil fuels, which has made a huge environmental impact,” said Dominguez. “We conserve 130 kilowatt of energy a year, which is like taking a property like Paris off the grid.”

Harrah’s Entertainment established its commitment to conservation in 2003 and became the first casino to receive the EPA Quality Award in April 2008. Many of the properties have CodeGreen Teams made up of employees focused on reducing the use of natural resources, conserving energy and promoting reuse and recycling. There are more than 74 major conservation projects in place at individual Harrah’s properties, including:

• Lower water flow control in guest areas
• A five megawatt co-generation facility at the Rio hotel to create and use electricity on site and recapture waste heat for hot water
• Employee training on environmentally-friendly practices

Let there be light

Another major initiative of the Harrah’s properties is the substitution of traditional light bulbs with more energy efficient ones. The Paris, the Rio and Caesars hotels have replaced thousands upon thousands of light bulbs both inside and out. Bally’s replaced 4,000 bulbs in its sports book sign alone. In the back of the house at Paris, every other light was removed.

That certainly doesn’t mean the City of Lights has gotten any dimmer.

“Whenever we can, where the guest doesn’t realize, we’ll change to more energy efficient light,” said Jeff McGillivray, assistant director of facilities for Paris and Bally’s. “It uses five times less energy, still looks good and it lasts longer, so we don’t have to change it as often.”

Not only can no one can tell the difference, said Dominguez, but the energy savings are incredible. “We’ve cut energy consumption five-fold,” he said, adding, “Every bit of energy we save here, is energy that doesn’t have to be generated at the power plant.”

Overall, Harrah’s Entertainment has seen a more than $10 million savings per year from existing and completed conservation programs. Among this is the avoidance of more than 155.7 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which Dominguez equated with 81,170 round trip flights between Los Angeles and New York.

Bringing in more green

While energy and monetary savings are expected, Todd Moreau, vice president of food and beverage for Harrah’s and Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon, said there are also some unexpected advantages of going green — it helps the company make more money.

It started in May, when Moreau spearheaded a project to find a reusable solution for water bottles as part of a CodeGreen team. He found that in 2007, Harrah’s was disposing of close to 300,000 one-liter bottles of water in restaurants citywide.

Moreau decided that keeping these bottles out of landfills was a challenge worth tackling. The outcome was a one-liter glass reusable bottle produced by AquaHealth. The stylish bottle, which is available in some Harrah’s restaurants, can be filled with water from an on-site filtration system, then washed along with the restaurant’s other china, and reused.

“We ran a test for 30 days in Bally’s Steakhouse and what we found out was that when we featured something green, that brand name had a bigger impact than any other sparkling or still waters,” said Moreau.

And along with helping the environment, to Moreau’s surprise, the program’s profit margin increased.

“We thought, ‘Wow, first we went green and as now a company we are making better revenues off of it,’” said Moreau.

Born green

CityCenter is one of the world's largest sustainable developments.

Until recently, The Palazzo was the largest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified property in the world. That distinction now goes to the urban development CityCenter, which opened earlier this month.

LEED certification is a premium certificate awarded to environmentally responsible properties by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Palazzo actually conserves enough water to provide each Nevada Citizen with 266 eight-ounce glasses of water a year and saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for 12,100 years.

“We are committed to developing sustainable properties,” said Nicholas Rumanes, vice president of corporate development for Las Vegas Sands Corp. “It’s a larger action as a good corporate citizen, and also to set an example for the rest of the industry to follow. It helps out our business plan, it helps out the environment, it helps out the health of our employees and also the health of our visitors.”

Key elements of the Palazzo’s earth-friendly initiatives include:

• Artificial turf, drip irrigation and moisture sensors in planted areas as well as water efficient shower heads, high efficiency toilets and low-flow faucets inside
• A solar heating system that heats the property’s swimming pools and directs extra solar heat into the hotel’s hot water system. There are also solar panels located on top of the facility’s parking garage.
• Air conditioning controls in the guest rooms, which automatically set back several degrees when guests are not in their rooms. Lighting occupancy sensors in team member services areas that shut off the lights when no one is in the area.

“The part of our green effort here that I really like is harnessing the solar energy,” said Rumanes. “Living in Vegas, it’s 87-and-a-half percent sunny a year. We get probably the most direct sunlight of anywhere else in the United States. And if you really thought of the long term effect if everyone went this green way, we would prevent the construction of these polluting, $5 billion coal power plants down the road.”

The building itself was constructed using eco-friendly materials and more than 70 percent of the property’s waste during construction was diverted, thanks to a waste recycling program. The steel used averaged more than 95 percent recyclable content, while the concrete was 26 percent. There is even a special air filtration system, and a majority of the property is non-smoking, making for an overall healthier facility.

“The air gets really dusty in Las Vegas,” said Rumanes. “You can argue that the indoor air quality at the Palazzo is actually better than outdoors.”

Meanwhile, as one of the largest sustainable developments in the world, MGM Mirage’s CityCenter has six Gold LEED certifications. 

Like the Palazzo, the 18-million-square-foot, seven-building property (which includes ARIA Resort & Casino, The Harmon Hotel, Spa and Residences, Vdara Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, Veer Towers and Crystals retail and entertainment district) integrated the concept of sustainability and earth-friendly initiatives even before it was built. 

CityCenter was constructed with preference to materials made with recycled content, reclaimed materials or those that could be manufactured locally, as well as paints, sealants, adhesives, carpet and composite wood products that do not contain toxic substances. Even the positioning of the buildings to ensure the penetration of natural light was taken into consideration. Read more about CityCenter’s green friendly initiatives.

“While we weren’t the first project on the Strip to be LEED certified, we were the first project to really add in the element of sustainability into our design,” said Cindy Ortega, MGM Mirage’s senior vice president of energy and environmental services. “I think what surprised everyone, is that the idea of the environment and earth actually shows in everything. I had no idea four years ago that I would walk into Aria and I’d be looking at natural stones and natural daylighting and certified wood, but there it all is. We were able on City Center to really breathe the idea and respect of nature into the largest sustainable project in the United States.”

The property includes:

• A co-generation plant providing about 10 percent of the property’s electricity. The throw-off heat from the plant will be used to heat the property’s water.
• Specially-coated windows on Vdara that help reduce heat transfer into the building by reflecting light.
• Settings on the rooms’ remote system in ARIA and Mandarin Oriental allowing guests to green their stay by indicating their preferred light level, room temperature and frequency of linen and towel changes. Systems can also be programmed to turn these settings down or off when the guest is not in their room. Read more about ARIA’s room technology.

CityCenter is expected to save 50 million gallons of water each year as a result of water conservation efforts, such as efficient irrigation systems, low-flow faucets and showers and low-flush toilets throughout the development. The property offers preferred parking for hybrid vehicles, a bike valet and even has a fleet of limos powered by natural gas.

Getting wasted

Another environmental effort by MGMMirage is a program implemented by Mandalay Bay Convention Center to recycle trade show waste. The program enabled Mandalay Bay to recycle upwards of 74 percent of the trade show’s garbage.

In a four month period, with 29 trade shows, more than 6,000 cubic yards of recyclables were collected, while only 2,000 cubic yards went into a landfill. Like most of the eco-friendly initiatives at Las Vegas hotels, these recycling efforts happen behind the scenes and are unseen by the public.

Las Vegas is still a city of entertainment and earth-friendly initiatives will never reduce the guest’s experience, explained Dominguez. “We don’t turn the lights out on the Strip. It’s all about maintaining the image but doing it in a conscious environmental manner,” he explained. “We’ve got energy efficiency projects that are implemented to be seamless.”

Romanes agreed. “If we do our job properly the average customer will not notice that this is a green facility,” he said. “I call it environmental luxury. We’ve proven that you can be luxurious and you can be environmentally sensitive.”

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You and your “significant other” are taking advantage of some alone time in your hotel room. You are scantily, if at all, clad when it occurs to you that the maid may come busting in at any moment. But you don’t want to ruin the mood by throwing on clothes and running out into the hallway to put up the “Do Not Disturb” sign. What are you to do?

At CityCenter’s Aria Resort & Casino and Mandarin Oriental, the answer is as simple as pressing a button. Thanks to technology by Control4, you can post a “Do Not Disturb” message, dim the lights, play some mood music and order a bottle of champagne, all with the touch of a remote.

The home screen for the Control4 Suite System.

While you’re at it, you can check to see if your flight home is on time, adjust the room temperature and open the drapes to take in the view. You can check the outside temperature, so you know if you need to take a coat when you leave for dinner, or you could simply order dinner to be delivered to your door.

Both Aria and Mandarin Oriental have integrated Control4’s technology into their rooms and suites, providing guests with hands on (or off, as the case may be) control over the room’s environment, in-room entertainment and concierge-type services.

“We are all about the guest experience,” said Glenn Mella, president and COO of Control4, adding, “I heard someone saying, if the room were an ‘8,’ the technology makes it a ‘10.’”

The personalized service starts from the moment you open your door. The first time a guest swipes his or her key, the room essentially wakes up to greet them. The lights turn on, the drapes open and the television turns on.

The guest will see his or her name displayed in the top left hand corner of the television, which is tuned to a home  screen with options for lighting, thermostat, services, curtains or entertainment. The temperature inside the room and outside the hotel is presented in the bottom right corner. Guests will also see useful messages on their home screen, (i.e. “The room door is ajar,” “The deadbolt is locked,” “I am watching you,” — Ok, I may have made that last one up). The same home screen is found on a 7-inch touch screen sitting on the bedside table.

Guests may use provided scenes for lighting, temperature, etc., or program their own scenes to fit their needs at different times throughout the day. So if you like to wake up to a slow fade of lights as your blackout drapes open, the temperature rises and the smooth sounds of Burt Bacharach fill the air — you’re in luck. If you prefer to have every single light in the room turn on suddenly as Def Leppard screeches in your ears, you’re also in luck.

The guest room at Aria.

Best of all, everything is controlled with one simple remote.

Of course, if you’re old fashioned, non tech-savvy or have some sort of lifelong debilitating fear of remote controls, there are also manual controls for everything in the room, from lights to temperature.

The Control4 Suite System is compatible with CityCenter’s overall mission of sustainability by making guests’ stays more energy efficient. For instance, there’s no reason to leave the bathroom light on all night long, when all you have to do to turn it off or on is press a button on a remote. If you left the remote in the bathroom, however, that’s another story.

Sixty minutes after a guest checks out of the room or suite the Control4 system goes into “Unoccupied Mode.” The lights turn off, the drapes close and the temperature adjusts.

Aria and Mandarin Oriental are the first hotels in Vegas to implement Control4’s technology, though the company will soon be installing their systems in other Vegas hotels, including the Rush Towers at Golden Nugget and the PH Towers at Planet Hollywood.

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Aria Resort & Casino. Photo courtesy of CityCenter.

Fireworks will kick off the public opening of Aria Resort & Casino tonight, marking the official grand opening of CityCenter. Aria brings 4,004 guestrooms, 150,000 square feet of gaming, 15 restaurants, a nightclub, a spa, a Cirque show and more to the Las Vegas Strip.

Aria is the fourth building on the CityCenter campus to open following Vdara Hotel & Spa on Dec. 1, Crystals retail and entertainment district on Dec. 3 and the Mandarin Oriental on Dec. 4.

Even so, Aria can flaunt its own illustrious list of firsts. It is not only the largest hotel in the world to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council but it will also feature the most technologically advanced guestrooms in the country. 

Sustainability

Here are a few highlights of Aria’s “green friendly” initiatives:

• Slot machine bases that serve as floor air-conditioning distribution units in order to cool public spaces from the ground up.
• An overall design that includes extensive natural light, said to dramatically reduce lighting power requirements.
•  Two recycling docks for collection and separation of glass, paper, cardboard, metals, plastic, food waste and grease.

CityCenter overall is considered one of the world’s largest sustainable developments.

Billed as a pedestrian friendly campus, CityCenter offers a free monorail providing easy transport between the Monte Carlo hotel next door, Crystals, Vdara and Bellagio next door. The campus also offers preferred parking for hybrid vehicles and a bicycle valet.

Many of the materials used in the construction of CityCenter were brought in from within 500 miles of Las Vegas, in order to minimalize required transportation. A majority of the wood products selected are FSC certified, meaning they come from sustainably managed forests.

Ninety-seven percent of the construction waste from the former Boardwalk hotel, imploded in 2006, was reused or recycled during the construction of CityCenter, thanks to a large-scale recycling and resue operation. Although the waste from the Boardwalk hotel wasn’t all necessarily used to actually build CityCenter, it did go to other construction projects. Overall, the CityCenter project utilized more than 260,000 tons of construction waste.

Read more about CityCenter’s green initiatives.

Technology

All 4,300 ARIA guestrooms, meanwhile, will feature technological advances that are unmatched within the United States. Control4, a company that specializes in residential and hospitality automation, has provided suite systems that allow guests to control their room enviroment with the touch of a remote. 

Don’t be caught off guard when your room “greets” you as you enter it for the first time. The room will fill with light, the curtains will part and the TV will turn on to display a list of automated controls to personalize.

Some other features from Control4 Suite Systems include:

• One-touch control of lighting, room temperature, television/video systems, music, wake-up calls, draperies and requests for services through a single remote control.
• One-button modification of room settings. “Good Night,” for example, turns off lights, TV and/or music; shuts curtains and turns on privacy notification.
• Keyless locks utilizing RFID technology reduce the failure of room keys.
• In-room devices which automatically “communicate” maintenance needs; remote control batteries will be replaced before guests notice a problem, and more.

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The Wonderground players include: Top row, left to right — Paul Draper, William Reymond as “FooDog,” Zamora. Middle row, left to right — George Millward, John Thompson, Scott Hitchcock, Jeff McBride, Erin Doleshall, Christian Doleshall, Tony Lizzio, Chris Randall. Bottom row, left to right — Buster Balloon, Jordan Wright, DJ Leo Diaz and Tommy Wind. Photo by Richard Faverty.

Growing up in Las Vegas, there isn’t much that surprises me. That ship pretty much sailed when I was 6 years old and I saw a man dressed like Cookie Monster chain smoking and playing video poker at 7-11.

But one evening about a year ago, I stood in awe as a man with silver streaks in his hair quietly dragged his personal bed of nails across a busy casino floor. Later in the evening, that same man plunged a sharp skewer through his bicep right before my eyes, while nearby a painter created live art, a magician twisted a spoon and go-go dancers … well, go-go danced.

This was far from the typical Las Vegas nightclub experience. This was Wonderground, a magical nightlife experience. And yes, it was full of surprises.

A stomping ground for sideshow acts, performance artists and close-up magicians, Wonderground is the brainchild of longtime Las Vegas magician Jeff McBride. McBride, who has dazzled audiences at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas Hilton and around the world, has been promising the return of Wonderground since his show “Magic at the Edge” ended its run at Palace Station in 2008. Now it is back and better than ever on the third Thursday of every month at Olive Mediterranean Grill, 3850 E. Sunset Road in Las Vegas.

“There are many, many magic shows in this town, but there is only one Wonderground,” says McBride. ”We’re going to have more magic per square inch than anywhere in Vegas. We’re going to have more magical celebrities per square inch than anywhere in Vegas. Were going to have more creativity per square inch than anywhere in Vegas.”

Magician Paul Draper entertains the crowd.

Wonderground has been described as an edgier version of the famous, invite-only magic club in Hollywood, the Magic Castle. Past Wondergrounds have attracted famous Vegas illusionists including Criss Angel and Lance Burton. This time around, McBride fully expects to see even more well known magicians mingling among the crowd including Teller, Mac King and the Amazing Johnathan. 

But Wonderground is also a place to see the underground heroes of magic and some of the best sleight-of-hand magicians from around the world.

Magician Jordan Wright (right) performs an illusion for a Wonderground attendee as Wonderground Player Erin Doleshall (left) looks on.

“We want to give people something they can see, magic in their hands,” says McBride. “Usually you sit 20 rows back in a big theater staring at a magician that’s way down there.”

Just whatever you do, don’t tell the guy doing card tricks that you’re going to “bust him” unless you want to be the butt of a cleavage joke – these guys aren’t only quick with their hands … they’re also quick with their tongues. (Wait, that didn’t sound right).

This week’s Wonderground lineup includes Rudy Coby, Joshua Levin and Deborah Nervig, Scott Hitchcock , Jordan Wright, Bizarro, Sophie Evans and Buster Balloon. There will also be belly dancers, go-go dancers, a DJ, a psychic sideshow, live painting and more. Installations, magic shows and performances will take place throughout multiple rooms in Olive’s club space. Food and drink is available for purchase, and admission is free. The entire evening will be broadcast live on the internet on StreetofCards.tv.

“The experience changes every month,” says McBride. “Either you’re there, or you miss something extraordinary.”

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Hard Rock Hotel & Casino personnel are predicting an on-time opening of Dec. 28 for the all-suite HRH Tower, even as construction crews scamper to put finishing touches on the interior.

Described as a sophisticated, more mature rock ‘n’ roll experience, the HRH Tower will add 359 standard suites, eight spa villas (opening directly into the pool area) and seven penthouse suites as well as a spa and nightclub. The HRH Tower will also double the size of Hard Rock’s casino.

HRH Tower standard room.

Our little Hard Rock Hotel is all grown up.

The casino itself has an open and airy design, encompassing slots, blackjack tables, a high limit lounge and the center Lux Bar. A brand new parking garage offers VIP entrance to the HRH Tower, complete with silver HRH door handles.

The standard suites will introduce guests to an innovative Sound Matters Sound Bar, a touch panel music system with iPod dock, where guests have access to more than 2,000 songs. Guests without iPods can stream music through a soundbar in the suite’s 40-inch flat screen TV.

Vanity Nightclub in the HRH Tower.

Upstairs, guests will find the property’s new nightclub, Vanity, and a 25,000- square-foot spa, Reliquary. The centerpiece of Vanity is a cyclone chandelier with more than 20,000 LED lights. There is also an outdoor terrace and direct access to an outdoor Sky Bar that will open in April 2010.

But ladies may just spend all their time in the Vanity restroom  — it offers full-length, three-way mirrors as well as nail and makeup technicians.

As Vanity opens its doors to ring in 2010 on Dec. 31, the Hard Rock’s nightclub, Body English, will close its doors for good. Vanity’s grand opening party with host Diddy will take place on Jan. 2.

The HRH Tower is part of the hotel’s $750 million expansion. The Paradise Tower opened in August 2009, adding a new 17-story guest wing to the north end of the property.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is also in the process of expanding its famous pool area. One special feature will be a cool water plunge pool to help cool guests off on those particularly hot summer days. The temperature in the plunge pool will be 15 degrees cooler than the other pools.

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Anywhere else, a coaster is just a coaster. Not on the 23rd floor of CityCenter’s Mandarin Oriental.

Individually the small black squares may seem like nothing special — just your typical drink coaster, sitting dutifully underneath your beverage, protecting the table from condensation and leakage.

But put the four unique coasters at Mandarin Bar together and you’ll discover the Mandarin Oriental promise, an impeccable attention to coasters … I mean, details. The coasters were actually designed to fit together like a puzzle forming the image of a dragon.

After four drinks, you may think you’re seeing things. But this is more than just a dragon’s tale!

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When it came to CityCenter, MGMMirage didn’t want to build “just another resort.” Instead, they wanted to take their game to a different level and create “an environment,” said MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren at a ribbon cutting ceremony today for Vdara, the first of the CityCenter properties to open on the Las Vegas Strip.

“Some things are so great they need to be experienced, not explained,” added Murren.

A joint venture between MGM Mirage and Infinity World Development Corp, CityCenter sits on 67 acres on the Las Vegas Strip between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts. In addition to the non-gaming, smoke-free Vdara, the multi-use urban development will include Mandarin Oriental (opening Dec. 4), Aria (opening Dec. 16) and Crystals, a retail and entertainment district (opening Dec. 3). The Harmon will open in 2010.

While some skeptics have questioned the timing of CityCenter’s opening amidst a looming economic recession, Murren expressed positivity that the development will help bring the community to a different level.

“The economy is getting back on its feet,” he said, noting that CityCenter has created 12,000 new jobs in Las Vegas.

Today’s ribbon cutting ceremony also featured hotel manager Angela Lester, CityCenter president and CEO Bobby Baldwin, Infinity World Development Corp. President Bill Grounds and Aria Chief Bill McBeath.

*For a glimpse inside Vdara and more photos of City Center, see our gallery.

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There’s a kitschy poster of Las Vegas framed outside Wayne Newton’s dressing room at the Tropicana. At the center of the poster, surrounded by Vegas landmarks, is a portrait of a smiling Newton.

It’s not the chubby-cheeked, boyish Newton who came to Vegas as a teen in 1959 to perform six shows a night, six days a week with his brother at the Fremont Hotel & Casino. And it’s not the charcoal-haired teddy bear of today. It’s the lean, mid-career, pencil moustache Newton, circa the late ’70s – early ’80s.

Wayne Newton performs at the Flamingo hotel in 1965. Photo courtesy the Las Vegas News Bureau.

As Newton this year celebrates 50 years of entertaining Vegas audiences, it’s really not all that surprising that some version of Newton’s face would grace a vintage poster of Vegas icons. He is as much a symbol of this city as neon signs and all-you-can-eat buffets. With tens of thousands of shows under his belt — and even a Wayne Newton Boulevard named after him — he has earned the nickname Mr. Las Vegas.

In his limited engagement production “Once Before I Go” at the Tropicana, Newton provides a glimpse at the highlights of his iconic career, from his arrival in town at 15 years old and his mastery of 13 instruments to his role as chairman of the USO Celebrity Circle and his recent stint on “Dancing with the Stars.”

While there’s speculation, based on his show title, that the entertainer is planning to retire, the word itself doesn’t seem to be in Newton’s vocabulary. He skillfully dodges a question about retirement in order to explain the thought behind his show’s title, which is based on a song by Peter Allen.

“I don’t want to look back with regrets,” says Newton, sitting comfortably on a leather couch in his dressing room before his show.

Wayne Newton performs at the Sands hotel in 1978. Photo courtesy Las Vegas News Bureau.

“I made mistakes, nothing too serious, but I made them, and I didn’t repeat them. So, I’d like to think maybe I’ve paid that back.”

Newton took two-and-a-half months to write the show, enlisting help in the form of think tank-like discussions with people he respects to determine what to include. “Trying to fit in everything was an impossibility,” he explains, “but sometimes I was too close to the trees to see the forest.”

A consummate performer, with a steadfast determination to entertain and tailor his show to his audience, he has yet to end his 90-minute show at the Tropicana on time.

Off stage, much like on stage, Newton exudes an air of familiarity and geniality. He has a commanding presence at 6 foot 2 inches tall, but his demeanor is welcoming and inviting. He greets guests with a kiss on the cheek and genuine concern for their well being. 

His daughter, 7, plays with her jump rope in an adjoining room backstage, while his wife sits nearby. Though Newton is close to his first daughter, 32, he said his less hectic schedule has afforded him a lot more time to spend with the second. He’s a breeder of championship Arabian horses, and his daughter has already been in two horse shows.

“She’s a mini me,” he says. “Luckily for her, she looks like her mother. But she got my legs.”

One of the toughest lessons Newton wants to instill in his daughter is that of the importance of hard work and discipline. While Newton had guidance from many mentors throughout his career, including legends like Lucille Ball, Jack Benny and Bobby Darin, he says many of the young entertainers he encounters these days thumb their nose at personal growth and expect to get what they want without putting in any work.

“There’s this condition that exists in the younger generation today of entitlement: ‘Iwant it now,’” he says. “Sometimes it’s best to have it next week, instead of now.”

Although Newton’s own teen and young adult years were consumed with hard work, he doesn’t feel like he missed out on his youth. He fondly remembers running the streets of Las Vegas with friends, partying hard in their hotel suites, sowing his oats (”and praying for a crop failure”).

“But the one thing that was consistent,” he says, “was the fact that I knew I had to get up the next day and go to work. It’s that kind of responsibility … that will make the difference whether you’ll survive [as a performer in Vegas] or not.”

Newton lives with his family on a 52-acre property on the southeast side of Las Vegas, Casa de Shenendoah. He originally owned only 5 acres of the land, but made deals with all the elderly homeowners on the contiguous properties. “I said, let me buy your homes now, and you can continue to live in them until you die,” he explains. “I didn’t want their homes, I wanted the property. Now we have 52 acres.”

His face lights up when he talks about Casa de Shenendoah. Newton, who is half Powhatan on his mother’s
side and half Cherokee on his father’s side, says the land is rich in Native American history. He has even found arrowheads on the property. “Evidently, at some point, this was a watering hole,” adds Newton, explaining that there is an underground river and three ponds on the property, one by the guest house, one near his house and one for his Arabian horses. (Read more about Wayne Newton’s residences in Vegas).

“There is a tranquility about the Shenendoah, a magic, that anytime I’m at my lowest or think
the world is coming to the end, I walk around and all the [worry] is gone,” he says.

And so it’s safe to say that Mr. Las Vegas has no plans to leave his home or the city that shaped his long career. “They may move me,” says Newton. “But I won’t move.”

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