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Las-Vegas-Hotels, Las-Vegas-Golf-Courses,
Las-Vegas-Rooms
Without leaving the USA one can visit Egypt, Paris, Monte Carlo, or Treasure Island. Many of the largest hotels in the world
are in Las Vegas. These themed Hotel & Casino's can take you away to the canals of Venice Italy, walk along the shops of ancient greece or visit a remote oasis in the Sahara desert.
It was a scene
the Las Vegas Strip had seen just 15 months before -- the newest hotel-casino opening hours behind schedule as last-minute fire and safety tests held up its scheduled soft opening.
Though the Aladdin was far later in its opening than the Venetian -- 16 hours late, compared to the Venetian's
three -- Aladdin officials and Wall Street observers expect the Aladdin to overcome its opening night stumble as the Venetian has done over the last 18 months.
"The Venetian proved to us that a difficult start out of the gate doesn't necessarily affect the long-term
performance of a property," said Andrew Zarnett, gaming analyst with Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. "These glitches can be overcome.
"The hurdle the Aladdin faces is not necessarily a fire-testing delay, but the ability to compete on the Strip
against such heavyweights as MGM MIRAGE and Caesars Palace."
"Why would it have an impact?" said Eric Matejevich, who attended the Thursday night opening. "It
was a few hours' delay. I certainly understand a few people would be upset, but ultimately, given new visitation to Las Vegas and the number of folks who don't go to openings ... ultimately the (Aladdin)
will do great.
"Every property has some kinks in it when it first opens, and the Aladdin's no exception."
Though later in opening, the Aladdin is in some respects further ahead of the curve than the Venetian was in May
1999. When the Venetian opened, just 320 of its 3,000 rooms were available to the public. Construction and leasing of the Venetian's palatial Grand Canal Shoppes continued for months.
Despite that halting start -- and a subsequent torrent of bad press across the country as a result -- the Venetian
regained its footing, recording its first profitable quarter this year, and posting Las Vegas records for average daily room rates.
In contrast to the Venetian's early days, Aladdin officials say they've received approvals for all but 27 suites on
the top two floors of the new property. Demand was heavy for these rooms this weekend -- 1,600 of the resort's 2,567 rooms were booked on Friday night. By Saturday and Sunday, this rose to 2,200 booked
rooms, 200 more than Aladdin officials initially planned for.
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