I stopped by Palazzo today and thought I’d share my impressions. Here are a few disorganized thoughts, without even the dignity of ellipses….
It’s a VERY soft opening, with incomplete finishes in the casino area and very little open. It’s neat seeing the casino as a work in progress, but if I was a paying customer I’d probably want to check in to the finished product.
Walking through the empty valet area and into the porte cochere felt strangely like walking on a dry river bed. You can tell that the driveway is meant to be filled with cars, and without them you feel a strange emptiness.
Inside the porte, and WOW. The atrium is majestic without being pompous. I wasn’t sure that they could pull off a Venetian theme in the post-literal theme era, but they’ve done it. I really like what they did here. Neat central statue thing that looks like three women ascending to heaven on a Tron light beam.
The marble floors have that cubical Venetian pattern that unfortunately reminds me of Q-Bert. I just want to hop around and avoid nasty bouncy things. Actually, it’s wait by an elevator disc and lure the nasty bouncy things to their death. If you don’t get that, you never played the game. And that’s probably not a huge loss.
Four paragraphs in, and I’ve abandoned casino design for a rambling commentary on an obscure Pacman knockoff. Maybe I’m getting a little burned out with the casino pundit thing. And for more 80s geek stuff.
The pay phones have complementary pads of paper and pens nearby. Pay phones? In 2008? Seriously, those can’t get much use.
Took a few quick pictures of the carpet–neat, but nothing breathtaking. Look for an update this week once I format them.
I can’t say anything about the rest of the property, because I didn’t see much, but the casino itself doesn’t seem that interesting. It’s supposed to be 105,000 square feet, but looks much smaller for some reason. You’ve got clear sight lines from one side to another, and a raised lounge that you can see everything from. I guess they didn’t talk to Bill Friedman, or they just don’t want to dominate the competition. The ceilings aren’t particularly high, but you definitely think “slot barn” on walking in.
Speaking of slots, slot bases still have areas for drop boxes, with locks on them. Is Las Vegas still that far behind the Borgata’s box-less slot bases? Or is a return to coin-based slot gaming in the cards?
Zebra-skinned, unnamed bar/lounge area in the back looks pretty retro. I like it.
Some kind of upscale wallet kiosk on the casino floor itself. Look for more integration like this is the future.
Still no Harry’s Bar here, or in the Venetian. Why not?
All in all, it’s taken the core elements of the Venetian theme, upped the level of finish, and produced something that is contemporary but clearly related to the more Old World-style Venetian. As the property is finished over the next few months it might not be the best place to stay, but once they stop construction it should be one of the Strip’s leading properties. I’d give it an A for execution, B- for imagination. Remember, this is without having seen the interiors of any of the restaurants, theaters, or guest rooms–just the casino and the public spaces that were open as of 12/31/07.