Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 16

14 A Reno Gazette-Journal Friday, October 15, 1993 'It's unlike anything I've ever seen' HNf By Don Cox GAZETTE-JOURNAL s-k Luxor, named after Upper Egypt's most exotic tourist destination, is a 50-story, bronze pyramid resort housing the world's largest atrium, 100,000 scjuare feet of casino space, three levels of cutting-edge attractions and seven themed restaurants. Here's a loolc inside: pa Arv- Room configuration: ft Sahara Ave. Luxor's unique structure desiqn provides avfiry-rdoVn with art excellent view of the Las Vegas skUimN; Luxor is something to sec. "The registration desk is a Pharaoh's ship," says Greg Dickson, who has seen. "It's 190 feet long with a full mast and sail." That's where you check into the hotel.

It's just the beginning. There's a lot more. Dickson has seen it all. He's the job coordinator for Powell Cabinet and Fixture, the Sparks company that did a lot of Luxor's interior work. "It's unlike anything I've ever seen," Dickson says.

Just getting from registration to your room is an adventure. Guests will board 12-person boats that float around the casino on Luxor's River Nile. The journey will take them through four eras from ancient Egypt to the future. "It's the history of the world, plus three pages," Dickson says. First stop is the temple of the Egyptian god, Isis.

Next comes an Aztec temple, then present-day New York City. Last is a space-age city. Each world is huge, according to Dickson, with buildings scaled to two-thirds of actual size. "These are 18-story buildings," says Don Carano, chairman of Reno's Eldorado Hotel Casino. If all that's not enough, there's a laser beam that will shoot up through the top of the Pyramid.

On clear nights, you're supposed to be able to see it in Los Angeles. "Wow. It's a total experience," says Carano. "People are just going to Hock to it." Luxor provided some of the inspiration for Carano, who plans to build an casino resort in downtown Reno. Carano's partner in the project is Circus Circus casinos, which operates Luxor.

Las Vegas Country Club me surrounding mountains, eaui uvBisiieu iuum offers approximately 465 square feet. All room entries are situated on the perimeter of the pyramid; overlooking their door, the atrium view showcases the attraction level, with three distinct and exciting periods of time depicted by cities from the past, present and future. 12 mile 3' if Desert Inn Desert. Spjing Size: The pyramid's 2.45 million square feet house 2,526 rooms, including 14 5j rtn suites, 236 Jacuzzi suites and a presidential Vi Twain Ave suite. Flamingo Ave lNLH -I X- Jy' 7 Roomsuite rate structure: Vs; v-V -i i Midweek WVLV if i Weekend lit HnliHau anH rnnvpntinn nerind 'J Dunes Country Club ft 1 "fi rates are subject to increases.

V'St One and two bedroom suite -iJr room Pricin9 ranges 5 1 jjr from $150 to $350. MGM Theme Park Tropicana Ave. kitu tlil'f'vi be announced. Tropicana HoteJ, Tropicana International -WKCT- Poker Pa 9 Time period themes: The Nile River loop travels through three different time period themes. Oldworld depicts ancient Egypt and Aztec cultures; Modernworld Is a replica of New York City and Futureworld displays a sci-fi setting.

OldWOrld book pyramid MVX --Hotel 11 River loop: I vV reaistration Hotel-casino guests ride an Escalators lr a ancient Egyptian boat replica ModernWOrld i Jr to the registration desk, and Ca9e IllUUCllinuilU can stay on and visit the other 2 1 attractions on the main floor. Obelisk i I Bar Sacred Eight elevators I Sea Room (two on each CjlinO corner) run WdIHU diagonally, like 's VTlV a tram Nefertiti's Valet parking Lounge Rosetta 1 Historic LPi-RamsIs ffecj fiLM The original Luxor was one of the temple areas along the southern Glza I rC OSTteet tall. 80 feet Ul MinesT gaming tables, saqqara Dahshur i r- WWe-iand 262 feet long. 7 state-ot-the-art race Meidum Ff and service and public Jkjj bars with adjacent Reno vs. Vegas From page 1 A marketing director for the Fitzger-alds casino group.

"They're saying, 'Let's build The thing is, they don't look at it as a huge feat. If they start swinging, we're in big trouble here," say Ferenc Szony, president of the Reno Flamingo Hilton. According to those three gambling and tourism experts, northern Nevada is in for a rough time during the next 18 months. That's how long it will be before downtown Reno-Sparks is scheduled to get off the ground with its own projects, the National Bowling Stadium and a resort. "We have to scramble and retain our business through 1994," Houghton says.

In 1995 the bowling stadium and Project Reno's version of the mega-casino, open. Until then, Houghton figures Reno-Sparks is going to lose some business to Las Vegas, which is advertising in northern California where most of northern Nevada's gamblers come from. According to Houghton's arithmetic, a tourist who visits Reno-Sparks three times a year might take one of those trips to Las Vegas, just to see what all the excitement is about. "Part of the (Las Vegas) expanded thrust has been into the (San Francisco) Bay area in a bigger way than they have before," says Houghton, who expects the Reno-Sparks visitor total in 1994 to remain at its recent annual average of about 4'2 million. But northern Nevada, according to experts, isn't dead.

There is a future, no matter what's happening in Las Vegas. Here are some other things people are saying: Nelson Rose, gaming analyst and visiting professor at the University of Nevada, Reno: "Las Vegas has figured out a way to compete. Reno has figured it out. They will be the (special) event capital of the world." Frank of Fitzgeralds "We'll be O.K. The bowling stadium will draw 100,000 people the first year." Ken Adams, Reno gaming consultant: "I don't see this being quite that bad.

Slot machines in California pose a greater threat to us than down there." No matter how things turn out for Reno-Sparks, the action in Las Vegas during the next year is going to be something to see. If all the grand openings aren't enough, maybe this will tempt you: on the night Treasure Island opens, they're going to blow up the old Dunes casino, for a TV movie. "We don't have to have an event," Vegas gaming analyst Bill Thompson says. "We are an event." In Reno-Sparks, the hope seems to be that local gaming can survive all the Las Vegas fireworks and emerge as a business on a growth curve of its own. To accomplish that, according to Houghton, Reno-Sparks will emphasize its special events and its down-home image as opposed to the big city glitz of Las Vegas.

"It seems to me it's working." says Nelson, who arrived at UNR in time for Hot August Nights Reno's biggest special event. "Reno knows its market. The traffic jam going back to the (San Francisco) Bay area after Hot August made national news. I was in it." 5 ftT in -r Architect: iV3.7 v.trmiles rrt Veldon Simpson, A.I.A., Water features: One of Las Vegas' largest swimming pools; a 10-story sphinx at front entrance whose eyes shoot lasers that interact with the obelisk and lagoon; the water below boils and a water screen appears with projections of King Tut; lagoon-like pools at rear entrance; interior waterways similar to the Nile River. Intensive water conservation and recycling methods are utilized.

Restaurants: Seven including a fine dining restaurant patterned after dispalys in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo; Polynesian-theme restaurant; "high-energy" restaurant with ultra-modern decor; seafood eatery; kosher-style deli; 24-hour coffee shop and lavish buffet in a downtown metropolitan setting. Entertainment complex: Features a variety of attractions including a series of "participatory" high impact adventures involving cutting-edge movie technology; a prototype Sega USA high-tech arcade, "VirtuaLand;" exotic scenery and artifacts; a full-size replica of King Tut'stomb; 1,100 seat showroom; denizens of other dimensions. Abydpn rn i Valley of the Kings Cost. Approximately $375 million. Circus Circus Enterprises is funding construction from its free cash flow.

Staff: Approximately 3,000 JThebea i "TKarnak Interior designer: Yates-Silverman, Irvine, Calif. Attraction designer: Douglas Trumbell, Lenox, Mass. Valley of the Queens Source: Circus Circus Enterprises; Bill Powell, president, Powell Cabinet and Fixture Gazette-Journal research Dave Hardman, Paul Horn and Mark NowlinQazette-Journal I (I ins i A i jw.s rv LAS VEGAS' NEW PROPERTIES When they're all open, the three newest casino hotels in Las Vegas Luxor, Treasure Island and the MGM Grand Resort will total 1 0,435 guest rooms. Tourism officials count 1 2,500 first class hotel rooms in Reno-Sparks. The Las Vegas breakdown Luxor, Treasure Island, MGM Grand Resort, 5,009.

At one intersection Las Vegas Strip and Tropicana Avenue there will be 13,567 hotel rooms. The MGM Grand Resort 5,009 Excalibur Hotel Casino 4,032 Luxor 2,526 Tropicana Resort 2,000 Officials project Luxor will draw 1 1 million visitors in a year. The number of visitors projected for Reno-Sparks in 1994 is 412 million. Celebrities gather for sneak preview LAS VEGAS (AP) Celebrities and the city's elite gathered Thursday night for a sneak preview of the Las Vegas Strip's latest must-see attraction, the pyramid-shaped $375 million Luxor resort. Hundreds of invited guests watched as Circus Circus Chairman William Bennett threw a switch turning on laser lights in front of the hotel, then lit a giant beam skyward from the pyramid.

Thousands jammed the Las Vegas Strip behind temporary fences as Bennett unveiled the unique hotel. The crowd cheered as the intense beam which on a clear night can be seen from airplanes 250 miles away above Los Angeles pierced the early evening sky. "Thank you for bringing Egypt to the desert and creating this oasis of entertainment," Nevada Gov. Bob Miller said to Bennett. "The creative genius that designed this hotel can only be matched by the business genius that allowed it to happen." Associated Press PREVIEW: Dancers from 'Winds of God' line the sidewalk in front of the Luxor on Thursday night..