Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 15, 1990 TAG: 9004150306
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JAYNE CLARK LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS LENGTH: Long
If there were ever a ludicrous request, this is it.
Just yards ahead, the gawkers are lined six deep along a narrow ribbon of sidewalk. Kids are hoisted on their parents' shoulders, old ladies are elbowing their way to a better vantage point, cameras are poised to capture the event.
Then it begins. It rumbles. Smoke billows. Flames leap out, wildly slapping at the night air, then tumble down the rocky peak and spread over the lagoon surrounding Las Vegas' only active volcano.
The eruption is brought to you every 15 minutes from 6 p.m. until 1 a.m., free, courtesy of the Mirage hotel.
The Mirage is one of several new Las Vegas mega-hotels in various stages of completion that are going to new extremes - even by Glitter Gulch standards - to turn heads.
It is all shrapnel in what is being called the Las Vegas room boom.
Actually, the boom is more like an explosion.
As 1990 began, this gamblers' haven had 67,000 hotel rooms. In June, when the new 4,032-room Excalibur opens, the city will be home to nine of the world's 10 largest hotels.
And by 1992, the grand total of hotel rooms will have increased by another 25 percent to between 85,000 and 90,000 rooms.
"I have never seen a boom like what is going on - and I've seen a lot of booms," said Don Payne, manager of the Las Vegas News Bureau and a 50-year resident of the city.
Given the flurry of additions, expansions and renovations, you cannot help but wonder who will fill all those rooms. Are there really that many people in the entire world dying to "viva Las Vegas?"
You bet, says everyone from hotel managers to media types to city promoters.
More than 18 million visitors came to town last year, up 50 percent since 1982. Hotel occupancy rates were between 85 and 90 percent in 1989.
Clark County gaming revenues hit a record $3.18 billion last year.
A major reason behind the boom is changing attitudes regarding gambling. And, as attitudes change, so does Las Vegas' image as Sin City.
Observers agree state-run lotteries probably helped take the stigma off gambling and have whet the public appetite for more. (Lotteries offer the worst possible odds for players; they're not even legal in Nevada.)
"The sin is not in gambling anymore," Payne said. "New Jersey's got it. California's got it. Pennsylvania's got it. What it takes to entertain people is changing in this country. Fortunately for me, gambling is part of it."
To Anthony Curtis, publisher of the "Las Vegas Advisor" newsletter, the reason for the boom is simple.
"People love to gamble," he said. "They love the idea of getting something for nothing. Gambling is all of a sudden legitimate," he said.
Things are changing
Take a walk along the Strip and you will find a few sights this year that were not there before. Here's just a sampling, on a stroll north from the Tropicana:
\ TROPICANA This hotel has beautiful grounds. There are huge waterfalls, floating black swans and tropical birds. It calls itself "The Island of Las Vegas."
\ MARINA Right across the street from the Tropicana, but it won't stay this way long. MGM Hotel Inc. just bought the property plus the Tropicana golf course next to it to build a 5,000-room hotel and movieland theme park.
\ BALLY'S Formerly the MGM Grand and home of the biggest production show in town, "Jubilee!" (They sink the Titanic - twice every night.)
\ FLAMINGO HILTON Just completed a big expansion (which wiped out Bugsy Siegel's Rose Garden.)
\ IMPERIAL PALACE Also just completing a big expansion of its front. Home of the 200-car Auto Collection and the show "Legends in Concert."
\ HOLIDAY INN Another one doing an expansion of its front and an addition of rooms.
\ SANDS In the process of adding a big convention center.
\ DESERT INN Staying as it is with manicured grounds and an impressive golf course.
\ RIVIERA Owned by Pia Zadora's husband and in the midst of an expansion that will give it about 4,000 rooms. Also home of the show of the year, "Splash!"
\ SAHARA Just finished an expansion. Home of "Boy-Lesque" (where boys WILL be girls.)
The Sahara generally marks the northern end of the Strip, so we'll cross over here and head back.
\ CIRCUS CIRCUS The most successful property in town financially and the only hotel in Las Vegas that caters specifically to families with children. An atmosphere of fun.
\ STARDUST Recently completed an expansion of its shopping area. Home of "Lido de Paris," with Bobby Berosini and his Orangutans.
\ FRONTIER In the process of a major expansion, adding a new tower.
\ MIRAGE Explained above.
\ CAESARS PALACE Already opulent, it's adding a luxurious new shopping center. Excellent entertainment and boasting the Palace Court restaurant.
\ DUNES Major renovations under way.
\ HACIENDA Last hotel on the Strip and home of the ice show, "Fire and Ice."
Right across the Strip from the Tropicana is the new 4,000-room\ EXCALIBUR, under construction and owned by the Circus Circus people. Designed to look like a European castle, the Excalibur will be open in June.
by CNB