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PART 1
Original
Renderings
of Existing
Resorts
PART 3
Recently
Cancelled
Projects
(since
2005) |
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DREAMS - PART 2 (Old
Dreams)
Dream Projects from the
Past, that were Never Built
Some cool
- Some ridiculous |
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In
1982
architect
Martin
Stern Jr.
(the
designer of
the
International
and
Xanadu)
was
commissioned
to design a
huge
expansion
for the
Landmark.
However,
Landmark's
owner Ed
Wolfram was
convicted
of
embezzling
$47 million
from his
brokerage
firm, Bell
& Beckwith.
The Hotel
was seized
and put up
for sale
and we all
know the
rest (in
peace).
Let's
discuss
this on the
blog
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In 1993, the Desert Inn was purchased by ITT/Sheraton. The Desert Inn had a
large surface parking lot to the south of the resort (which now holds Wynn
Las Vegas). Their first plans were a Balinese Resort called Desert Kingdom.
This was to be an additional resort, complimenting the Desert Inn.
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Planet Hollywood (first site)
ITT/Sheraton's second plan for the Desert Inn land (now under
the Wynn
complex) struck a
deal with the dudes from
Planet Hollywood and came up with
some crazy plans for a Planet Hollywood resort on the property.
The first (very conceptual) rendering
(left) was pretty wild,
gravity
defying, and ugly. This was later refined (right) in to a
more plausible plan with a 20-story sphere.
images courtesy LVCVA |
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Beverly Hillbillies Resort
Max Bear (who played Jethro on
TV's Beverly Hillbillies) was planning a Beverly Hillbillies themed (yes
I said themed) resort, complete with flaming oil derrick,
Granny's kitchen etc. in North Las Vegas (at least it wasn't on the
strip). He's been planning to open one in Reno for some time now and
those plans are (allegedly) still in the works. The rendering (left) is an old
one from the Reno project. Gaming Control Board members approved the
licenses required for the project.
There's been no news on this for over three years, so it will live on
the Dreams page until it comes back to life.
See the location on
THE Area Map |
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London Resort and
Casino
There have been two locations
for the London Resort and
Casino, and both of them
have had a giant observation wheel (from the Giant Wheel Co.) The resort was to include a Harrod's department store,
Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, a Piccadilly Square shopping area and many other
London themed attractions.
This rendering shows the original location, on
the Strip directly across the street from the Luxor on a property now owned
by MGM Mirage adjacent to the airport.
See more about the wheel here |
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London Resort and
Casino (second try)
This is the other location
for the London Resort and
Casino, on the old El
Rancho site which is now the future home of the
Fontainebleau
Resort
on the north Strip. Notice the Turnberry Place tower in
the background. |
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Rio
The third failed location for a giant wheel (this time from the Voyager company) was at
the Rio. In 2003 Harrah's had promised an $86-million project that would have changed
Las Vegas' skyline. The 600 foot (worlds tallest) observation wheel had a
nightclub in the hub structure and an entertainment center in the base.
Voyager is still hell-bent on locating a wheel somewhere on or near the
strip and is still searching for the perfect site.
Voyager has a cool website.
Visit it here.
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The Palace of the Sea
The fourth proposal for the wheel (second for Voyager) was on the now vacant, 27-acre
Wet and Wild water park site. The 3000-room The Palace of the Sea
Resort and Casino
looked very intriguing. The yachts in the harbor were to be high-roller
suites. The Sky Wheel, would have been over 600 feet tall
(another world record for Vegas). The casino/lobby building resembled
the Sydney Opera House. The hotel weighed in at 60-floors and had a
sail-like shape. Gee, I guess all themes aren't bad.
This land is now owned by LVTI who had (now cancelled) plans for a major resort, the
Las Vegas Tower.
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Voyager
The rendering (left) used
the Westward Ho
property as the location for the giant wheel, but alas, that property is now in Boyd's domain
and being used for the second phase of
Echelon Place.
The folks at Voyager insist that the
wheel will be built and have three other possible (undisclosed) locations.
Read more about Voyager here |
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Addams Family Resort and Casino
Aimed directly at the
baby-boomer demographic, The Addams Family Resort and Casino was another
(really bad, ok, laughable) idea.
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Xanadu
In 1975 Martin Stern Jr.
proposed the Xanadu,
an ultra luxury resort and casino, for the site now occupied by Excalibur.
Stern was the designer of the International (now the L V Hilton) and the
original MGM Grand (now Bally's).
Xanadu was to have a
soaring atrium (like the Luxor's), 1,730 rooms and many features which were
then revolutionary (today's standard fare). The project was
approved by the county. The construction plans were then halted when it was
discovered that the sewer lines in the area would not handle the output from
such a large project.
Read the whole story and
see many more renderings and site plans at the Xanadu's website.
Visit it here. |
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Stratosphere Ride
Protests from nearby
neighbors helped to block construction of the original 800-foot (left)
and the revised 510-foot ride at the Stratosphere.
This Dream was proposed back in 2002. If it had been built, I'm sure that
the Ivana, Allure and Liberty Towers would have chosen a different
neighborhood.
The roller coaster would
have dropped passengers from the hotel's tower and across Las Vegas
Boulevard at top speeds of 93 mph.
Residents said the
roller coaster would discourage new residents from moving in and
contributing to the revitalization of the area.
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Cascada
The Cascada
resort has been on the books for 9 years. This five-star property was
originally planed for the large parcel of land directly across the Strip
from the Sahara. It appears that Steve Wynn must have seen this and liked
what he saw as this model looks suspiciously similar to
Wynn Las Vegas.
The Hilton Grand Vacation
Timeshares already uses a piece of this land and MGM MIRAGE own the rest
(and have future plans for the site).
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WWF Resort and Casino
One of the concepts for the
large property directly across I-15 from the
Mandalay Bay was the WWF,
which
would probably draw a rather rough crowd. The
chances that this will be built are slim indeed. There was talk of a
"sports" themed resort for that location. The land is now owned by
Starwood.
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Playboy Hotel and Casino
Originally planned for the
site where the
Cosmopolitan is being built,
the Playboy Hotel and Casino was an interesting design concept, with its slender triad
of towers. Hugh Hefner opted for the top two floors of the new
Palms Fantasy Tower
complete with a Playboy Club.
Image courtesy Paul Steelman Group
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Asia Resort and Casino
This is a weird (and rather
ugly) concept called the
Asia Resort and Casino.
The concept must have been presented to Sheldon Adelson as an idea for the
Palazzo site. Adelson seems to have made a
much better choice with the Palazzo.
Image courtesy Paul Steelman Group
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Harley Davidson Hotel and Casino
A giant exhaust pipe shaped
hotel...hmmm...I hope not. This rendering of the Harley Davidson Hotel and Casino
uses the site directly
east of The Palms on Flamingo Road, which was also the home of the defunct
VEGAS 888
project.
Image courtesy Paul Steelman Group
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Titanic
The Titanic
resort, 400 feet long and containing 1,200 rooms, would have been one of the
most heavily themed fantasy resorts in Las Vegas. The concept was rejected by the Las Vegas City
Council.
This was proposed for the big lot across the strip from the Sahara.
(
More photos of the Titanic resort )
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City by the Bay
The San
Francisco themed City by the Bay Resort and Casino
was planned as a replacement for the New Frontier.
Later, the plans changed to the
Montreux (a Swiss and jazz themed resort).
Those plans were cancelled and now
The Plaza has big plans.
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Moon
Michael Henderson came to Las
Vegas with a dream, a scale model of his $5- billion casino resort called
Moon and a video-tape
pitching the idea. That's a big problem,
according to casino industry experts, who say the Vancouver, British
Columbia, resident doesn't stand a chance of getting the money to build his
10,000-room, 250-acre lunar-themed casino. Where the hell would he put
it.
(More
photos of Moon)
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