Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

Thanks to Mike for another installment of 'Strip Walk', or semi-regular feature that focuses on Las Vegas Strip construction progress.

Lots of great new info here and of course, we've got photos: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/stripwalk

MGM Grand: Construction near the garage continues. More piping in more trenches, more machinery, and some hills of dirt. Whatever is going up here, it's not going to be too big from what I can gather here. I think the guesses that this is more conference space is right on.

Mandalay Bay: Eyecandy, the former walled off area, has appeared. The northern HOB-facing side of this facility is your typical walk-up bar, the rest is a large lounge with colored lighting and projections on strangely-shaped curtains around the area, etc. The ads on the marquee TVs show an iPod plugged into something, so there may be some sort of iPod support for one of the features. I found the tech room door ajar, and peeked in to see a bunch of racks and the telltale aluminum of a Mac Pro tower. Overall I would say the construction doesn't look as elaborate as what it replaced, and I kind of miss the plants and water and overall grotto look of the last facility, but this is rather fancy looking without being some eye-gouging explosion of color and intensity like, say, Revolution.

NY-NY: Pour24 construction is pretty darn easy to see for all. A light fixture on the ceiling has been installed and turned on, and lights being added to the adjacent columns are being installed and turned on column by column. Looking behind the curtain revealed some makeshift tables and a worker taking care of something at floor level. There isn't much of anything in there yet, but what isn't there is certainly well-lit. The modern look of the fixtures doesn't entirely fit in with the train station motif of the upstairs area, but hey, the marketing guys told us themes are dead. And it's only one of the few successful themes in Las Vegas and one which draws just about every tourist in town to come look at what is otherwise a middle of the road hotel. So who cares?

Luxor: Curtains are up for Company next to LAX. Peeking inside I found materials, equipment, an angled rear wall (backside of the escalator) and I think the space seems pretty small and out of the way but with the club and bar nearby it'll probably do alright. Also, the former VIP lounge just north of the main entrance is now a sundries shop. It's not well equipped, basically has a cooler and some goodies, but I guess it's worth stepping into if you want to gawk at the theming of the light fixtures or something. A wall continues around the corner out into the casino, so expect to see some sort of marketing near the entrance so that people coming in know this place is here.

Bellagio: On the note of sundries, the redesigned Tutto shop has reopened. It's basically the same layout as before with some redesigned walls and a more neutral color scheme. Some lighting along the ceiling as well as the horizontal striping along the walls gives it a classy look that comes closer to Essentials in the Spa Tower than the previous store. A floor to ceiling column is lined with ceramic mugs in an upwardly spiraling pattern.

The Mirage: Detroit1051 asked about the fish tank behind the registration desk here. Yes, it's covered up, but it's covered with a temporary-looking black curtain and not a new wall or something that would believably last for the long-term.

Wynn Las Vegas: A store between Wynn Limited and the Dior store (Gaultier, I think) is walled up. A sign out front pardons for the dust, but unlike signs for past renovations doesn't say when anything is coming back. Some of the lake out front was emptied for renovations (see pictures.) They seemed to be doing work underneath the bridge to the esplanade.

Palazzo: They're slowly bringing down the big cranes, installing palm trees around the roof lines and the driveway of the main entrance, finishing things up on the northwest corner, and installing awnings over the strip-facing entrances. Barney's lettering has gone up on the glassy building by the driveway.

Planet Hollywood (Miracle Mile): In case you haven't heard, and how could you not, a large clothing chain store opened up here. If you have friends in far-away lands, you have may have heard about it more than I had because I guess they're only just beginning to make a presence in the US after taking over the rest of the world. I won't mention them by name here because with Deuce wrappings, bus ads, and local internet advertising the last thing thing I want to do is give them a free plug. Regardless, I went over to go take a look at the store. They might have opened too early without enough time to install their security control system or something, because there was a nightclub-esque line of hipsters outside the store waiting to get in, and a bouncer letting people in one at a time. Not worth it. In the meantime, artwork outside the store of camels and sand dunes and so on have been painted over a plain white, awaiting whatever they plan to do that part of the mall eventually.

Cranes & Things: This is a new section I'm making to briefly point out construction that I can't really give any kind of detailed information about, or information that isn't really that new. Maybe you might just see a random opinion in here as well. As always, if you want to see for yourself, go look at the photos. CityCenter has more dramatically pointy pieces of steel sticking up the air for the roofline of their retail complex. Fontainebleau appears to be a roundish building by the sidewalk and a parking garage in back, right where the Turnberry residents hate it. Trump is down to one crane and putting the giant letters on the roof on the northern side. Treasure Island brought it's wall down and apparently they were just doing regular casino renovations back there. Red Rock is increasing the height of their west garage by a couple of floors and opened up a Japanese establishment called Hachi. Santa Fe Station completed a renovation that had been in progress for some time, recently opening the 4747 Lounge and a Tides Oyster Bar. Earlier this spring brought a buffet, new garage, and second casino expansion to that property. And in news that will thrill everyone, Fiesta Henderson opened a movie theater.