MGM Mirage to renovate Luxor Casino in Las Vegas

19.07.2007, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «MGM Mirage to renovate Luxor Casino in Las Vegas».

The pyramid-shaped Luxor hotel-casino is getting a multimillion dollar makeover that will include the addition of lounges, restaurants and a nightclub. The name and distinctive shape of the resort will remain the same, but the interior and most hotel rooms will be renovated, said Jenn Michaels, executive spokeswoman for resort owner, MGM Mirage.

"The outside of the Luxor is one of the most famous icons of Las Vegas. We're not going to change that," Michaels said. "What MGM Mirage and Luxor are looking to do is deliver on the promise of the dramatic exterior with a series of contemporary dynamic amenities within the resort."

The phased renovation calls for MGM Mirage and its joint venture partners to spend about USD 300 million remodeling about 80 percent of the hotel and casino. The project is part of an MGM Mirage effort to refresh several properties it acquired in 2005 when it purchased the Mandalay Resort Group for USD 4.8 billion in cash, USD 2.5 billion in debt and USD 600 million in convertible debentures.

Company executives said the Luxor, which opened in 1993 and is named for a historic Egyptian city, needed a renovation to compete with newer and bigger developments on the Strip.

"We're not a British museum with ancient artifacts, we're a casino-resort," Luxor President and COO Felix Rappaport told the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a Thursday report. "The pyramid always created a sense of wow and wonder, but the inside never delivered on that promise."

The projected renovation cost approaches the USD 375 million that Mandalay predecessor Circus Circus spent to build the 2,500-room pyramid in 1993. A theater and two additional hotel towers totaling 2,000 rooms were added in 1998 for USD 675 million.

Rappaport said MGM Mirage invested more than USD 25 million in improvements soon after taking over the Luxor, including reconfiguring and changing the carpet in the 11,148 sqm and replacing the property's 1,600 slot machines with newer games.

Next year, Luxor's atrium will be changed from a family friendly arcade to more adult- themed amenities with restaurants, lounges and entertainment venues. Many Egyptian theme amenities have been removed, and hieroglyphics and other symbols on interior casino walls also are being eliminated.

The Aurora Lounge near the hotel lobby has replaced Nefertiti's bar. CatHouse, a restaurant and European-style lounge, is replacing Isis and Sacred Sea in an upstairs area above the casino.

Plans also call for opening LAX Nightclub, operated by the Pure Management Group, by Labor Day, and adding other bars and lounges later in the fall. The Luxor Steakhouse is scheduled for to be remodeled early next year, while the pool area also is being upgraded.

Über Luxor Hotel and Casino:

Aussergewöhnliches und eindrucksvolles Resort mit ägyptischem Ambiente am südlichen Las Vegas Boulevard (Strip). Die Anlage umfasst eine 30-stöckige Pyramide, zwei Türme mit jeweils 22 Etagen und zudem eine riesige Sphinx. Von der Spitze der Pyramide erstrahlt der mit einer Helligkeit von 40 Mrd. Kerzen stärkste Lichtstrahl der Welt. Durch einen Gang ist das Luxor mit dem benachbarten Hotel Excalibur verbunden.

Einrichtungen: 9 Restaurants, unter anderem Isis mit erlesenen Spezialitäten in eleganter Atmosphäre und Hamada of Japan. Nachtclub RA - The Nightclub. Swimmingpools mit Cabanas. Casino, Theater, IMAX-Kino, Museum, Geschäfte.

Das Luxor gehört zur Gruppe MGM Mirage.

Fakten: • Grand opening: October 13, 1993 • A wholly owned subsidiary of MGM MIRAGE (NYSE:MGM) • Original Cost: $375 million • Additional twin 22-story towers: Completed 1998 • 4,408 guest rooms including 447 suites • More than 120,000 square feet of gaming area Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Let-It-Ride, 3-Card Poker, Caribbean Stud, Poker Room, Megabucks, more than 2,000 slot, video poker and video keno machines and a Race & Sports Book • MGM MIRAGE Players Club offers slot and table game players opportunities to earn valuable points redeemable for cash, complimentary rooms and show tickets • High-speed Internet access available in all guest rooms • Five-acre pool area with four pools, four whirlpools and 12 private cabanas • Two wedding chapels, designed in exquisite French country décor. Smaller chapel seats 60 guests, the larger seats 100. • 20,000 square feet of meeting and convention facilities • Nurture, The Spa at Luxor: Massage, body treatments, facials, herbal wraps, tanning sauna, steam room, whirlpool, fitness center with Paramount circuit training equipment, Life Fitness cardiovascular equipment and free weights; • Kristina’s Beauty and Hair Salon: Full service salon for men and women • Approximately 4,000 employees

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