No 1 in Gambling

Facts and statistics
Address: 3570 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Opening date: August 5, 1966
Theme: Roman Empire
No. of rooms: 3,348
Total gaming space: 166,000ft² (15,442 m²)
Permanent shows: Cher: Cher at the Colosseum, Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On, Elton John: The Red Piano
Signature attractions: Forum Shops
Notable restaurants: Joe's Stone Crab, Restaurant Guy Savoy, Snackus Maximus, Bradley Ogden, Empress Court, Hyakumi, Mesa Grill, Raos, Payard
Casino type: Land-Based
Owner: Harrah's Entertainment
Years renovated: 1974, 1979, 1992, 2001, 2005
Website: www.caesarspalace.com

Caesars Palace, sometimes referred to colloquially as simply Caesars, is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Harrah's Entertainment. Caesars is located on the west side of the Strip, between the Bellagio and the Mirage.

Caesars has 3,348 rooms in five towers: Augustus, Centurion, Roman, Palace, and Forum. The Forum tower features guest suites with 1,000 square feet (93 m²) of space.

Caesars Magical Empire

In the summer of 1996, a new venue known as "Caesars Magical Empire" was created on the property, showcasing major magicians such as Jon Armstrong, Lee Asher, Whit Haydn, Jeff "Magnus" McBride and Alain Nu. This development coincided with the 1990s campaign to reinvent Las Vegas as a destination for family vacations, by creating attractions appropriate for children as well as adults. The "Empire" was an extravagantly-themed immersive dining and entertainment experience, housed in a 66,000 sq. ft. specially-built building constructed with 800 tons of steel. Guests with ticketed reservations entered through the “Celestial Court” to the ”Chamber of Destiny,” which, through elaborate effects, appeared to be a magical elevator which transported them underground to a “subterranean catacombs.” In reality the guests didn't descend at all; the walls of the room were raised by a large electric winch and the floor of the room shaken by pneumatic actuators. "Roman gladiators" led the guests through winding dimly-lighted passages, assuring them of their safety, and then humorously pretending to have taken a wrong and dangerous turn.

The guests then arrived at the circular, domed, and ornately appointed Sanctorum Secorum[1], a central, 70-ft. high rotunda, from which other areas of the "Empire," such as the mirrored "Infinity Hallway," could be accessed. An audio-visual welcome from a heroic statue of Caesar was enhanced by music, a light show, and a 20-ft. gas flame curling up from a fissure in the “rock.” A large vase seemingly floating in space near a statue poured a continuous stream of water into a pool. The guests were next divided and escorted to ten dining chambers, each seating 24 persons (for a total of 240 guests at each seating). In addition to a wait staff which interacted comically with the guests, magic was performed in each dining room by a sorcerer host. In one amusing trick, guests were given paper "menus" on which were images of a cow, chicken, fish and vegetable, and were instructed to tear one of the pictures as indication of their choice of a beef, chicken, fish or vegetable entre. The menus were then collected and seemingly all thrown haphazardly together, but nevertheless, each guest correctly received his or her chosen dinner.

The interior of the entire complex was decorated in a combination of pseudo cave-and-classic architecture, with faux rock-work and stone, real marble floors, triumphal arches, brass railings, painted mosaics, atmospheric sky domes, banners, torches, Roman “classical” furniture and lamp reproductions, statuary, caryatids and telemons, bas-relief faces of mythical personages, and intricately cast “carved” designs, all theatrically lighted.

After dining, the guests were free to visit one of two lounges, The “Spirit Bar” (flanked by two “Seance Rooms”) or the “Forbidden Crypt.” Additionally, they could see more magic performed in one or another of two incongruously-named-and-designed theatres: the 75-seat “Pagoda Theatre,” or the 150-seat “Great Sultan’s Palace.”

While the endeavor was popular and profitable, accommodation of several audiences of 240 diners each day at capacity was no match for the potential income from the enormous audiences which could be accommodated in a large concert space. Thus the six-year reign of the “Empire,” came to an end on November 30, 2002, after which the structure was razed to make room for a large concert hall created for singer Celine Dion.

Ownership

Over the years, the hotel has been owned by various companies, including Sheraton and The Hilton International Corporation. Caesars Entertainment (originally known as Park Place Entertainment) bought the property in 1999 before it merged with Harrah's in 2005. That year, Caesars Palace was affected by a large flood.

Future

Caesars Palace playing cards feature Julius Caesar as the King of Hearts and Cleopatra as the Queen of Spades.

With the success of the Augustus Tower, Harrah's Entertainment is planning a $1 billion expansion and upgrade to the famed resort. The expansion will include another hotel tower and a sports complex replacing the events center. The timeline for construction was undisclosed.

New features include:

• A new 29-story, 1,017-room hotel tower adjacent to the Palace Tower, which will frame the pool area at the back of the property along with an extension of the existing Convention Center.

• An additional 37,000 sq ft (3,400 m²) of casino space and about 110,000 sq ft (10,000 m²) of added retail and restaurants will cover the area closest to the Strip replacing the new outdoor Roman Plaza.

• A "pedestrian promenade", with several decorative fountains surrounded by landscaping which will guide strip-walkers into Caesar's domain. Underneath the promenade, Caesars will excavate a parking garage, with 389 valet-parking spaces.

Film history

• Hells Angels on Wheels 1967
• Where It's At 1969
• The Electric Horseman 1979
• Pleasure Palace
• History of the World, Part I 1981
• Oh God, You Devil 1984
• You Ruined My Life 1987
• Rain Man 1988
• Hearts are Wild 1992
• Caesars Challenge 1993, a game show
• Fools Rush In 1997
• Friends 1999
• The Strip 1999
• Ocean's Eleven 2001
• Rush Hour 2 2001
• Intolerable Cruelty 2003
• Dreamgirls 2006
• Category 6: Day of Destruction
• Iron Man 2008
• In the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Caesars Palace appears in the fictional city of Las Venturas, but with the name Caligula's Palace. The Casino is a major part of the game's plot, in which the main character must pull off a robbery heist on the casino, which is run by the mafia.
• In the second novel, Vengeance, of the Vegas book series, Ceasar's Palace is the main location of the novel where it is attempted to be token over by the Italian Mafia

Television

• A&E had a reality show called Caesars 24/7 showing behind the scenes at Caesars. The jobs highlighted by the show ranged from security and concierge to "The Grape Goddess" and "Shadow Dancers." Many visitors were documented as well. The show ran for two seasons.

• During The Simpsons episode "Viva Ned Flanders", Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders stay at Nero's Palace in Las Vegas, an obvious spoof of Caesars.

• In The Sopranos Season Six Part II, Tony stays at Caesars Palace following the murder of Christopher Moltesanti.

Amenities and entertainment

The Caesar's Palace main fountain. The statue is a copy of the ancient Winged Victory of Samothrace.

Caesars offers additional attractions including:

• Exotic cars showroom
• Fall of Atlantis — free show
• Festival Fountain — free show
• Pure Nightclub a 36,000 sq ft (3,300 m²) nightclub
• Free shuttle to sister property Rio Hotel and Casino approximately every thirty minutes.
• The Pussycat Dolls Lounge, an adjunct of Pure nightclub.

In February 2006, a section of the casino was themed to match the Pussycat Dolls Nightclub and is called the Pussycat Dolls Casino. It features pole-dancing Pussycat Dolls and female dealers, but the blackjack and other table games featured there have modified rules favoring the casino.

References

1. Las Vegas Review-Journal
2. Vegas.com
3. "Cher agrees to 3-year deal in Vegas", Yahoo! News (2008-02-07). Retrieved on 8 February 2008. 
4. http://www.magictimes.com/archives/2002/2002-12_02-08.htm Magictimes.com Retrieved on 05-09-07
5. Las Vegas Review-Journal, March 6, 2007, Page E1

Links

• Caesars Palace Web Site
• History of Caesars Palace

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Video: Ellen's arrival at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas (The Ellen DeGeneres Show - Ellen's Show in Las Vegas )

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