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Sunday, August 3, 2014

The Times....They Are a Changin'

Reprinted from the August, 2014 "Vegas Spotlights" column of The Vegas Voice monthly newspaper.

Saying Goodbye to the Old
and
Welcoming the New Faces of Las Vegas



As the years pass, no one could have expected a town to change its face as much as ours has in the past decade.

Having been here almost nine years, I've seen the prosperity of the early and mid-2000s go from feast to famine as that decade ended and the "teens" began. 

I've witnessed tourism drop like a rock and property values quickly plunge..only to see the vitality of this great city "rebuild" itself as the years marched on.

But now....could our city be resurrecting itself once again, this time from the ashes of recession to optimism  for a future even brighter than we experienced a decade ago?

I believe Las Vegas will soar to heights none of us every thought possible, because we have one element so few areas of the country can GUARANTEE each and every resident or tourist who pays us a visit ....

FUN !

...FUN...not just on a one mile street, but FUN in so many locations across the city as it grows...and grows...and grows ! 

What make me so optimistic about our future ?

The belief in American capitalism seeing corporations invest vast sums to "get into the action" of this, the "Entertainment Capital of the World".

And what better proof?

...watching the face of Las Vegas landscape "reinvent" itself as these investors pour their millions (and billions) into our economy. 

And it may have started with the commitment of a former mayor, Oscar Goodman, who, along with his amusing and smiling photos with a martini in one hand and a showgirl in the other, brought a sense of "It's gonna to be OK "...

...if you remember that the one aspect of life no one ever gets tired of....is HAVING FUN !

We capitalized on our past with the opening of the Mob Museum in the downtown area !

(and if you haven't visited it yet...you've missed a wonderful and fascinating day looking at this city in the desert through the dreams of those who built it !)


Mob Museum
What followed?

CULTURAL ENLIGHTMENT through the vision of further downtown redevelopment in the tantalizing....


Smith Center for the Performing Arts


Reynolds Hall
(in the Smith Center)
(where Broadway productions and major stars across the country and world now long to appear)

and...

the intimate....


Cabaret Jazz
(also a part of the Smith Center)

Need further proof?  Just examine the massive changes in our hotels and casino properties !

..and in doing so, we've combined...

... looking at the future while respecting the past.

We built City Center which included the new Cosmopolitan and Aria Hotels in 2010....


The Cosmopolitan Hotel


The Aria Hotel

Yet...though certain landmarks of the past were preserved as well.....

The "Cromwell", at Flamingo on the Strip....


The Cromwell

 used to be...


Bill's Gambling Hall
and

Before that...


The Barbary Coast

And...in Downtown...

The "D Las Vegas Casino Hotel"....


D Las Vegas Casino Hotel

used to be...


Fitzgerald's

The "Downtown Grand"....

Downtown Grand Hotel and Casino

used to be...


The Lady Luck

In late June, 2014,  the LVH Hotel and Casino was acquired by Westgate Resorts, and already the LVH sign has been dismantled and renamed....


The Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino


LVH Hotel and Casino

Before that....

it used to be...


Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and Casino

Before that...

it used to be...


International Hotel and Casino

At the end of August, 2014....there's the SLS...


SLS Hotel and Casino
(which some have said stands for "Sahara's Last Stand")
used to be....


Sahara Hotel

On October 30, 2014....there will be the Linq Hotel...


The Linq

which used to be....


The Quad

...next to our newest and exciting Las Vegas attraction, The Linq Project, a new shopping and dining area...including...


The High Roller

...with this view of the Las Vegas Strip and valley.


which used to be...


The Imperial Palace

And you sports fans haven't been forgotten in all of this !

In May, 2014 the first shovel broke ground for the...

MGM/AEG Arena....a 20,000 seat $375 million complex...expected to open in 2016....


MGM / AEG Arena

(behind with New York New York Hotel with plans to attract both a National Hockey League and National Basketball Association team)

Yes...the face of Las Vegas is changing.

And all of us are so fortunate to be an exciting part of  watching all of this develop....day in and day out !

Dick Arendt


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