Fashion Show 3 Art

The Wynn Las Vegas is the flagship casino resort owned and operated by Wynn Resorts Limited. Bearing the name of the resort group’s founder, Steve Wynn, The Wynn Las Vegas is setting new standards for the development of mega-resorts.

The towering 60 floor resort is one of the tallest structures on the Las Vegas strip. Sprawling across more than 200 acres of land, the main body of the resort is situated on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and Sands Avenue. The location is near the famous Fashion Show Mall, and provides easy access to any attraction on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Wynn Las Vegas was constructed on the site of the old Desert Inn Hotel and Casino. After 3 years of construction, the Wynn Las Vegas opened it’s doors on April 28, 2005. This is a significant date, not only because it is the birthday of Wynn’s wife, but because it is the 55th anniversary of the day the Desert Inn had first opened it’s doors to the public.

The opening day is not all that the Wynn Las Vegas shares with the Desert Inn that use to occupy the space. One of the most notable features of the Desert Inn was it’s famous golf course, which Wynn has reconstructed the name Wynn Golf and Country Club.

In addition to keeping some connections to the past, the Wynn Las Vegas also took a progressive approach and set new benchmarks for casino resorts in Las Vegas. For example, the Wynn Las Vegas was the first casino to include an auto dealership, allowing those with the financial means to go from the blackjack table to shopping for million dollar Ferrari and Maserati automobiles.

The Wynn Las Vegas was also the first resort to combine the room key with a players club account, and represented the world’s largest implementation of VOIP telephone service in a hotel. Although not technically progressive, another record held by the Wynn Las Vegas is the price tag. At a cost of $2.7 Billion, the main hotel resort is the largest privately funded construction project in the history of the United States.

The Wynn Las Vegas had taken a different approach to it’s development. In previous resorts built by Steve Wynn, such as the Bellagio, Mirage and Treasure Island, Wynn’s approach was to build elaborate sidewalk attractions that were free to the public. The attractions would grab the attention of those on the Las Vegas strip, and draw them into the casino. With the Wynn Las Vegas, Wynn took the opposite approach, using what he called the “inside out” approach, meaning that customers have to actually enter the casino in order to see the attractions, which are obscured from view from those on the strip.

Once inside the casino, splendid attractions await patrons to the Wynn Las Vegas. Among the most talked about is the Lake of Dreams. A cascading waterfall flows from a Wynn-created mountain and into a 3 acre lake. Every hour the lake and waterfall both have images projected onto them, accompanies by music, in a production titled the “Lake of Dreams”.

The success of the Wynn Las Vegas is undisputed. It quickly resulted in the ground breaking of a sister resort called “Encore at the Wynn Las Vegas” next door. The new tower is set to look identical to the original, but will operate as a resort all it’s own. As of March 2007, construction on the Encore was at the 18th floor of the 60 story building.

While Las Vegas might be known for the gambling and casinos, you can’t look past all of the shopping choices available to the traveler in Vegas. There are plenty of places to go shopping in Las Vegas, and though you might lose some money in the shops – at least you’ll have something to take home with you – something the blackjack table might forget to do.

The Strip has a ton of shopping options for you. Most of the mega-resort casinos have some sort of shopping mall connected to their casinos.

Caesar’s Palace has the Forum Shops connected to the casino. It’s a popular place for tourists and locals alike to hang out, grab a bite to eat or shop. Store include everything from GapKids and Guess? to Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Burberry among it’s 150 shops. Restaurants include the popular Planet Hollywood and the Cheesecake Factory. Or if you’re looking for something a little different you can get sushi at Sushi Roku or try Wolfgang Puck’s Spago. There are shops for everyone here, or you it’s a good place to people watch or check out the fountain shows.

Across the street from the Forum Shops are the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian. This gigantic mall has canals with gondolas just like the city of Venice. you can stroll the cobblestone streets or hitch a ride in one of the gondolas. Either way, there are a ton of shops and restaurants to enjoy as well as numerous street performers throughout the mall. One of the neat things about the Grand Canal Shoppes is that the ceiling is painted like and lit like the sky – so along with the canals it almost feels like you are strolling the streets of Venice.

If you’re playing Paris Hilton for a day and feel as though the Gap, Anthropologie, and similar stores are below you, head over to the Wynn or the Bellagio. The stores in these spots are definately for the shopper who doesn’t care. At these spots you’ll find Chanel, Christian Dior, Manolo Blahnik as well as a bunch of other stores named after French guys with names that are hard to pronounce. And don’t stop at clothing, in the Wynn be sure to stop at the Ferrari Maserati dealership located in the casino.

Fashion Show Mall is located on the corner of Spring Mountain and Las Vegas Blvd. (the Strip). This mall located in the middle of the strip is like any other mall with hundreds of stores to choose from. The only difference is that, well, there’s a fashion show at various times throughout the day. You’ve seen them on t.v., the models strutting down walkways – well now you can see it live. Not only that, but the Fashion Show Mall is a great place to stop and rest and take a break from the heat if you’re hiking the strip.

Not too far from the strip are two outlet malls – both of which you can catch shuttles to from numerous casinos and hotels. The Las Vegas Premium Outlets are located north of the strip, close to downtown. This outlet mall contains your standard outlet mall fare – Polo, Calvin Klein, Ann Taylor. This is an outdoor mall – so it’s a little tough in the hottest months, but extremely pleasant during the winter, spring, and fall months. The other outlet center, called Las Vegas Outlet Center is located south on Las Vegas Blvd. and is completely indoors. Again – standard outlet mall fare includes Coach, Addidas, and Tommy Hilfiger. There is also a giant carousel that the kiddies might enjoy.

Come to Las Vegas and get your gamble on – but don’t forget to save a few chips, time, and energy for the many shopping experiences that Sin City has to offer.

The three great places on the Vegas Strip are (listed in random order):

Stripburger (Fashion Show Mall, 3200 Las Vegas Blvd South). Here you will enjoy simple ingredients and simple combinations, but the quality is good. You will enjoy selected, fresh cut and, if meat does not appeal to you, you can also choose between a great range of fish, seafood, chicken breast and even a specialty hot-dog. Great fries allegedly cooked in healthier oil (though not olive oil, unfortunately). Burger average 10 – 15 dollars which is probably on the cheaper end among the top choices (except for the Bellagio deal, described below). Always check prices with the establishments directly; the phone number for Stripburger is 702 – 737-8747.

The Burgers at the Bellagio Buffet. We sometimes go to this fabulous Vegas buffet just for fantastic sliders (mini-burgers), though of course this delicious buffet offers fabulous burgers all the way through. Considering that you are in a buffet and that you can eat as many as you like, these delicious little things will fill you up and make you want to go back over and over. The meat is soft and delicious, very tasty through and through. The toppings are not too varied but they are all delicious. By far our favourite on the Vegas Strip, especially considering the great deal.

Burger Bar (Mandalay Place, 3920 Las Vegas Blvd South – the shopping area between Mandalay Bay and Luxor). Here you can enjoy their specialty burgers as well as create your own amongst a large variety of ingredients and toppings, from fancy to simple. Many love their Kobe Beef burger (simple but very juicy). Not the cheapest.

BLT Burger (Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd South). Owned by celebrity chef Laurent Tourondel, burgers here are not ‘fancy’ but they are of a decent size, greatly presented and satisfying, all cooked in an open grill for the public to view. Average price range (15 to 25 dollars, but always check by phone [702] 792-7888)