Luxe Life Blog
Strip changes this fall for clubs, restaurants, Manilow, Lion King
Chef Gordon Ramsay at Serendipity 3 at Caesars Palace on Aug. 24, 2010.
Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/ErikKabik.com
We’ve seen the closing of Jet at the Mirage and the end of Blush at the Wynn this month. Jet is scheduled to reopen as 1OAK on New Year’s Eve in a joint venture between The Light Group and Butter out of New York.
Now as fall gets underway, executives at casino resorts are giving a vote of confidence to the Las Vegas economy, with plans a-popping for new entertainment and restaurant attractions.
Wicked Whispers & Racy Rumors
These are unconfirmed racy rumors, and they’d probably be denied for now. But I have to be the first with exclusives, even if they are only wicked whispers.
The biggest rumble is that the trademark Lion Habitat at MGM Grand will be retired after all these years and that in January, after a renovation, it will be turned into a close-up performance theater for music acts. The Hollywood Theater at MGM Grand also is get a makeover.
I’m hearing that one saucy show on The Strip will close and be reformulated into a Pink Elephant nightlife venue. Which legendary nightspot will be converted into a spectacular four-level nightclub complete with an indoor pool? One name lounge will be made over into a burger bar, and its same-property sister lounge will close and undergo a complete rebranding.
Angel Management Group, operators of Pure at Caesars Palace, Wet Republic at MGM Grand and LAX at the Luxor, is reopening Rumjungle at Mandalay Bay hopefully in time for New Year’s. Editor’s note: Shortly after 1 p.m., AMG emailed a press release announcing that its partnership with the Hard Rock Hotel -- and therefore Hard Rock Beach Club, Rehab and Vanity -- was ending Nov. 1. But it is continuing with Tiesto in Concert at The Joint.
One major Strip property is reshuffling its restaurant lineup, and we know at Caesars Palace that Bradley Ogden’s restaurant is becoming a steakhouse as the Nobu restaurant and tower continue construction there. Caesars also is moving ahead with the Octavius Tower.
Chef Gordon Ramsay is in final negotiations to open dining spots at the Paris and Caesars. Paris superstar headliner Barry Manilow is expected to announce his jump from the Paris to sister hotel Harrah’s in the next week after his Oct. 8-Dec. 11 run.
We can’t forget that Sir Elton John returns to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace for two years starting Sept. 28, alternating with Celine Dion and Rod Stewart’s residency contracts.
The biggest changes of all are coming at Mandalay Bay as Disney’s The Lion King ends its run, and the theater is shut for a year’s transformation readying for the $100-million-plus Michael Jackson show opening there in 2013. Meantime, Cirque du Soleil’s world tour-traveling M.J. show Immortal arrives at Mandalay Bay Events Center for two shows nightly Dec. 3-27.
Yesterday for the 17th consecutive month, visitor counts were up, and gaming revenues for July were the best numbers this year. It all coincides with today’s happy revelation that for the second time in seven weeks, a dolphin at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat has given birth to a healthy male offspring.
The calf was born to Huf-n-Puf, the daughter of Duchess, the matriarch of the Mirage dolphin family who herself gave birth to K2 in July. Both calves are playing with each other in the Birthing and Research pool there, which is open to the public for viewing. Proud father Lightning is watching over from an adjacent pool, and the newest calf will be named at a later date.
Also announced this morning is news that MUS.I.C. by Jabbawockeez has been extended at the Monte Carlo through next spring thanks to sell-out audiences on their feet applauding the 2008 America’s Best Dance Crew winners.
It all proves that The Strip is not only bouncing back beautifully but also is very much alive and well and getting a whole new look as 2012 approaches.
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.
Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.
Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
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