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The Fuglification of the Las Vegas Strip

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by Funkhouser, Sep 18, 2014.

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  1. UTE

    UTE Plastics

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    Nailed it.

    Bill
     
  2. VegasGroove

    VegasGroove VIP Whale

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    Me too. I loved that fountain at Paris. And I chose not to patronize the replacement. Ever.
     
  3. LV_Bound

    LV_Bound VIP Whale

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    As long as there are plenty of slots and craps tables they can continue to build what ever they want.
     
  4. gilly from philly

    gilly from philly Low-Roller

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    I wonder what the reaction would have been on this board if it was around during the "Family Vegas" days?
     
  5. techie223

    techie223 High-Roller

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    It's a good point that you should vote with your feet. I also have never been to the Paris Sugar Factory because I miss the fountain :cry:

    I think what I dislike most about the shopping areas is that they insist on putting them right on the Strip, and it is starting to feel so crowded and closed in. I can't remember the last time I walked down the Strip because it's so chopped up. Wait, maybe it's the overpasses I hate so much, lol.
     
  6. woodsie

    woodsie VIP Whale

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    I would but they keep tearing them down! :(

    IP, old Osheas and Bill's were my main spots on the strip when I first started coming to Vegas.

    Casino Royale was my other spot but they've fallen off in a bad way. I never could figure out why they pulled two tables from one of the most popular craps games on the strip.
     
  7. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

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    Yeah, I think it's a mistake to go the shopping route too. TI and Tropicana, it seems like they are just taking the cheap and uncreative way out of their woes by slapping a shopping center on their property. They might be better off simply extinguish and then reinventing themselves the way Imperial Palace / the Quad did. Maybe they don't have the capital though. I don't really shop in Vegas. I did try to shop at Cosmo so I could get to Sterling status, but the one store I wanted to shop at, Kid Robot, had very little in stock and the staff was pretty unenthusiastic.

    In Vegas, if you want returning patrons, I think it's important for the patrons to know where they are and to have a distinct experience. Most of the big places on the strip, I first remember them visually, because of the architecture, be it gaudy or uber-contemporary. Cosmopolitan is a bit of an exception. They probably would have blurred away into the "new & modern casino" background, but I took advantage of their freeplay promotion, and then I got 2 free nights. In the time I spent there, the experience there set them apart from the other strip casinos. Yeah it's a bit precious, but they were good-hearted precious, and it's nice to be around the precious people every now and then :). Architecture isn't so important at the off strip casinos for me. It's such a haul that I usually remember them from that!

    I think strip hotels trying to get an edge that doesn't include gaming are better off going the unique nightclub route. I don't go to clubs, but many do and I'm sure my kids will go to Hakkasan and the other big clubs in Vegas some day, despite the bad reviews and the rude doormen, just to have the experience.

    Just don't change the weather! :cool:
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
  8. vegas3

    vegas3 Low-Roller

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    I shop on amazon, but as long as the malls supply an air conditioned walkway I'm cool with it.
     
  9. blackjacknut

    blackjacknut VIP Whale

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    I'm one of the ones who don't mind the shopping. It is nice that you don't have to go clear down to Fashion Mall now to shop. Crystals is right there, and the tram is very convenient. I will admit that traversing the strip is a little more difficult than it used to be. Again I find the tram from Monte Carlo to Bellagio very useful and making your way through the air conditioned shopping venues refreshing in hot weather.
     
  10. Terry Benedict

    Terry Benedict VIP Whale

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    I'm with you, mostly. I didn't go into the IP because it didn't have an easy flow to/from the sidewalk and it had an odor. O'Sheas seemed to be always full. Going with beer pong seemed to be an odd way to go, in my opinion, because it seemed to reduce revenue per floor space. College guys are not going to increase a casino's take. But O'Sheas had energy. Bill's was ALWAYS full. I haven't gambled there in years because I couldn't get on a table. I was amazed that Casino Royale took their hook off the floor. People go there to play craps. Now I won't go. Good luck with slot revenue, an upgraded food court, and a Best Western.
     
  11. shokhead

    shokhead No big spender unless eating drinking having fun!

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    Do you think they are doing it just because or doing it because it's what the people now do with their money in Vegas?
     
  12. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    Since non-gaming revenue now outpaces gaming revenue, it's no surprise they're moving in that direction.
     
  13. shokhead

    shokhead No big spender unless eating drinking having fun!

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    Yep. Give them what they want. Vegas does that pretty good most the time.
     
  14. Funkhouser

    Funkhouser In Charge of the Big Door

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    I think the topic diverted a little bit. My original post was not to condemn the shopping and retail growth in Vegas, I get that. My wife comes to Vegas solely for the gaudy themed hotels and the shopping. Its just the design phase we are in, its like all the people coming up with the architecture graduated from the same school. What they are producing the past two years is not original in any form, and I don't know what the F' they are thinking at the TI. I know run down shopping malls in middle america that look more visually appealing. If you look at Wynn's design, he had a way in his hotel to combind the retail, dinning and gaming in a way that made it feel connected. CET has a great example and a bad example sitting in front of Paris Las Vegas, Mon Ami fits in perfect, while Sugar factory is an eyesore. I think the LINQ fits in well, and how they re-did PHo and Harmon corner. Ballys front orifice looks like a nightmare.

    I really wish the planning commission gave a shit about the appearance of the strip, when they approve these venues.
     
  15. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

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    Regarding TI, I think you underestimate how many Vegas visitors are interested in having someone look at that mole on their shoulder or getting a quick teeth cleaning.
     
  16. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

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    Not much of an impact on me either way...I pretty-much gave up on the strip when the Stardust, Westward Ho, Frontier, Desert Inn & Barbary Coast all gave way to something worse.
    Even the properties that are still there, that used to be fun (O'Shea's, Caesars, Flamingo, Harrah's) aren't anymore.
    You can thank 6:5 and a general CET disdain for any "less-than-$25-a-hand" players.
    Toss in resort fees (even on comped rooms!), and you seal-the-deal as far as driving somebody like me away.
    Downtown is now my home ... and has been for almost 10 years now.
    Sure, it has its flaws as well, but it still holds a certain "old-school" charm that the strip lost many years ago.
     
    Annual Spring Trip!
  17. heatherlovesvegas

    heatherlovesvegas VIP Whale

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    Agreed. If they are making money, great! I like to see the strip doing well. I haven't noticed anything to be THAT bad.
     
  18. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    100% agreed. I'd like to start by apologizing to the OP and those who've agreed with him, as my differing opinion often comes off confrontational and I respect these folks too much to mean it that way... but I just spent 7 of the last 14 days in Las Vegas on 2 different trips. I actually made it a point to drive the strip a several times and had far more "walking around time" than I usually do. There's just so many fun things to do and see, I just don't spend time thinking much about what I don't like, which seems to get way too much play here on this board for a group of people who purport to love the town. I guess when I see something being built, I'm appreciative of the investment and the jobs more than being a critic of the design. Sure there're things I really like and things I'm just "meh about", but I don't see anything in town that I'm disgusted by or thought should be torn down. I remember the big furor many had here about Crystals... or Aria... jesus... don't go in, but some were to the point of not wanting to have anything to do with the whole area. That's just silly IMHO.

    Having actually spent time as a member of a Planning Commission, I can tell you they don't have quite the all encompassing authority many folks think they do... not unless you want to end up in court. They spend most of their time ensuring zoning requirements and applicable city or county codes are met than in aesthetics. That's not to say that comments about aesthetic. aren't made and sometimes do influence decisions, but it's rarely "ordered" and as always, beauty is in the "eye of the beholder". I don't know... I don't want to get too into it... I just don't see anything that makes me think Las Vegas is going Fugly.
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2014
  19. ncfatcat

    ncfatcat Low-Roller

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    If it's not changing it's dying.
     
  20. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Here here and might I just add, here here!!

    Having been on all three sides of the equation -- regulator, regulated and media covering land use -- it's not that simplistic or altruistic, and we have to be careful as to what we are asking. Plus, every jurisdiction is unique. Vegas, for instance, is an immensely strong "corporate town."

    I personally don't want an appointed body like a PC making legislative decisions, which is what pronouncements on aesthetics, absent clear development standards in code, become. Make sure you are General Plan compatible, meet the zoning requirements, follow the development standards, hopefully abide by building and safety standards (hello, Strat), build.

    It is somewhat ironic that the family era that is so roundly derided here is the era that spawned what many say is the best Vegas aesthetic.
     
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