- Caesars Palace has announced the completion of the main entrance remodeling project at their iconic Las Vegas property.
- The entrance features a 15 foot tall statue of Augustus Caesar under a domed ceiling along with new lighting, flooring and other upgrades.
- They’ve also announced the opening of a new bar in the hotel lobby.
Caesars Entertainment has been busy over the past years upgrading many of their US properties. This not only includes a $400 million USD upgrade of their Atlantic City property, but also significant cosmetic upgrades to their iconic Las Vegas flagship, Caesars Palace. Earlier this year, they unveiled the first phase of a remodeled–I think the term in the press release was ‘re-imagined’–front entrance including a 15 foot tall statue of Augustus Caesar. They’ve now completed the entire main entrance upgrade and sent out a press release announcing it.
You might summarize what Caesars has done as ‘remodeling the front of the building’. If you did summarize it that way you’re obviously not a gaming industry PR rep. The latest press release announces that Caesars Palance has ‘enhanced the guest arrival experience with multimillion-dollar main entrance renovation’. At least they didn’t suggest that it improved ‘fan engagement’. There’s no way I can adequately describe what they’ve done at Caesars Palace so here’s how the press release explains it:
Following the completion of a multimillion-dollar renovation of its original main entrance, iconic casino dome and porte-cochère, Caesars Palace now offers a lavish arrival experience fit for a Caesar. The redesigned space includes a dramatic entryway with a coffered ceiling, refreshed gaming areas and the new Galleria Bar in the hotel lobby.
After raising the roof of the entryway to match the grandeur of the hotel lobby, guests arriving at Caesars Palace now enter a beautifully lit space, with a coffered ceiling and an intricate marble mosaic floor. A 15-foot-tall Carrara marble statue of Augustus Caesar welcomes visitors under the raised ceiling, which features hand-painted illustrations of Roman gods and a spectacular chandelier containing 70,000 crystals.
And in case you were wondering:
“Coffered ceilings are a very classic architectural detail consisting of a series of rectangular, square, or octagon grids in three-dimension sunken or recessed panels,” says (NYC based interior designer Meagan) Camp. “The word coffer literally means ‘indentation.’” Essentially coffered ceilings have a decorative 3D grid embedded into them. Now don’t get confused between a coffered and a tray ceiling: the former has multiple segments in its recession, while the latter is a single recessed form.
Since Caesars’ PR people are pros and don’t mess around I’ve got plenty of images to illustrate the story. Here’s a good look at the coffered ceiling:
Sean McBurney, Caesars Entertainment Regional President, makes the good move of name checking the casino’s founder–Jay Sarno:
“Since Caesars Palace opened its doors in 1966, we have been inspired by founder Jay Sarno’s promise to treat every guest like a Caesar. From the moment visitors arrive, we aim to deliver experiences that can only be found at our flagship resort. The extravagant entryway is the first of several new additions to Caesars Palace, with Peter Luger Steakhouse, Dominique Ansel Las Vegas, Stanton Social Prime and more to come soon.”
You may have seen Jay Sarno Way which intersects with Frank Sinatra Drive behind Caesars Palace. Sarno is arguably the most underrated influence on the Las Vegas gaming industry. I highly recommend David G. Schwartz’s biography of Sarno: Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas. You can get it for your Kindle over at the Amazon. Hard copy and audio versions are also available.
There’s also a new and improved casino dome and an always welcome lobby bar:
Beyond the entryway, guests will find two new state-of-the-art gaming pits. Additionally, Caesars Palace’s legendary, crystal-cloaked casino dome now boasts a new, larger crystal chandelier that weighs approximately 3,200 pounds and is comprised of 12,000 individual crystals. The linear rays that radiate from the chandelier contain approximately 120,000 additional crystals. With more than $1 million in crystals, brighter, energy-efficient LED lighting and reimagined carpet, wall and ceiling coverings, the domed gaming area is everything guests loved about the iconic original with a modern twist.
Another welcome addition, Galleria Bar in the hotel lobby allows guests to enjoy a cocktail as they await check-in, offering 24 seats and 22 multi-game slot machines. With a modern take on a palatial Italian study, the new bar features four life-size Venus sculptures and a backdrop of antique mirrors, cerused wood with antique gold accents and Italian inlaid wood murals.
Though a variety of owners, Caesars Palace has always been able to remain rooted in extravagance and luxury. That’s not easy to do in Las Vegas. Meanwhile next door, the new ownership of the Mirage is planning to remodel *that* iconic property into some gaudy monstrosity. Imploding the Mirage would be much more humane than making a mockery out of it.
