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No matter how you look at it the MGM Mirage, CityCenter is a big deal.
CityCenter
The $8.5 billion construction (18 million sq-ft) is the largest privately funded project in our country's history. Situated between the Monte Carlo and Bellagio it's directly across the street from the MGM Grand on the World famous Las Vegas Strip.
Experts are even speculating that the entire city's economic comeback is dependent on CityCenter dubbed, "The Capital of the New World". The 67 acre collection includes Aria Resort & Casino (the only casino in the complex), Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Vdara Hotel & Spa, Veer Towers, Harmon (scheduled to open later this year) and Crystals retail center.
Most of us will never see the innovations that have earned CityCenter, 6 LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Gold certifications. We won't witness its commitment to conserving natural resources or sustainability. We probably won't notice that the air we are breathing is cleaner because of the award winning a/c that is uniquely designed to push the warm smoke filled air up and away from us.
But everywhere you look there is some form of art or architectural detail that will have artists, architects, builders, planners and students analyzing for years to come.
Aria Lobby
There's the 84 foot "Colorado River," sculpture made from reclaimed silver by
Maya Lin that spans the Aria's check-in desk.
It's difficult to see in the image below but there is a 270 foot long waterfall called "Focus" that flows into a reflecting pool and the water is programmed to fall, creating patterns in its wake.
Aria Waterfall
There's even the 500,000-square-foot Crystals retail center that's uniquely designed to be the epicenter of luxury shopping in the west. Home of the Louis Vuitton & Cartier flagship stores it even features a modern day indoor tree-house.
Aria Lobby
Only in Vegas... when the eight architectural firms were designing CityCenter their concepts were never refused because it cost too much... in fact they were often encouraged to make it a bigger deal because that's how it's done in Vegas.
Shabu
Nowadays a large part of the hotel experience is dinning and CityCenter excels with plenty of celebrity Chef's and their lesser known brethren whose menus are second to none. There's no Oxtail soup here but the coffee shop, Café Vettro offers Portuguese sausage or try the market priced surf-n-turf at Union that features a 2 pound lobster and 44 oz Porterhouse and if you're really looking to put a dent in your Amex try the $500 per person pre-fix menu at Shabu.
Like Hawaii, Las Vegas has become a melting pot of ethnicities and the 12,000 employees reflect this cultural diversity. The concierge staff can help you in 16 languages including Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Armenian and Serbian. The totality of the art and architecture can feel intimidating but this is contrast to the genuinely warm vibe (it's almost like the Aloha Spirit) created by the citizens (employees) of CityCenter.
But what really says you've arrived on the scene are the stories, the talk, the tales that make your reputation larger than life. Aria's casino was less than a month old and folks were talking like crazy about the guy from Hawaii who lost $89 million in the casino's High Limit Salon. If true that kind of monumental play would make even the most expensive joint's quarterly financials. As folklore goes we may never know who or exactly how much was lost but there's always a little truth in these stories.
CityCenter
Many are wondering if CityCenter is the future of Las Vegas. Only time will answer that question but CityCenter is certainly a unique Vegas experience that's not trying to be Paris, New York, Italy or anywhere else and it's filled from floor to ceiling with wonderful things to see and do. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Get the latest Vegas news, text OCEANIC VEGAS to 32862, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or online at www.KimosVegas.com, www.AroundHawaii.com and every week in MidWeek. Send me your Vegas questions, manao, photos and reunions to Kimo@KimosVegas.com.
