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LAS VEGAS
- Mandalay Resort Group has signed leases with many of the 40
or so boutique retailers and restaurants set to open this fall
in the skyway mall linking the company's Mandalay
Bay and Luxor
casinos, a newspaper reported on July 25.
Over the
next month or so, the company expects to reveal the names of
the retailers, which will occupy an overhead walkway of about
100,000 square feet, Mandalay
Bay spokesman Gordon Absher told In Business Las Vegas,
a weekly newspaper that is a sister publication of the Las Vegas
Sun.
The mall
will be the second to open in Las Vegas this year. The Las Vegas
Premium Outlets, a 435,000-square-foot outlet mall, opens downtown
August 7.
Mandalay Resort Group has so far been tight-lipped
about upcoming retailers. The company is developing the project
itself rather than partnering with a retail developer. It is
expected to cost from $30 million to $40 million.
The retail
tenants will be boutique stores that are either unique or among
a handful of similar shops worldwide, Absher said, declining
to name them. "You are not going to find these retailers
in other malls," he told In Business. "This is a collection
of retailers different from anything in Las Vegas."
The company's
1,122-room second tower at Mandalay
Bay is expected to open in November. The room tower and
the mall, though both slated to debut in fall, aren't expected
to open at the same time, Absher said.
The timing
of the mall indicates that the retail and economic
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The Mandalay
Bay is a deluxe, tropically themed luxury resort with mystical
architecture and lush surroundings. The resort is set on 60
acres south of Luxor on the Strip.
outlook
for Las Vegas is on the rise again, real estate executives told
In Business.
The retail
addition is a "natural progression" for Mandalay Resort
Group as well as for the evolving retail mix in Las Vegas, C.B.
Richard Ellis resort broker Carlton Geer said.
"Retail
and hotel revenues have been increasing at a rate greater than
gaming revenues for a number of years," Geer said. "Las
Vegas has been able to transform itself into a retail destination
as well as a gaming destination. Retail is very important to
the overall retail mix of what tourists are looking for in Las
Vegas."
The mall
will be called Mandalay Place. |
"Lights
of Freedom" Kicks Off in Skies Above
Atlantic City Boardwalk
| ATLANTIC
CITY, NJ - It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Trump
Taj Mahal Casino Resort kicked off the eight-day run
of "Lights of Freedom," its spectacular laser,
pyrotechnics and music show created and produced by world
renowned German light-artist Gert Hof on July 26. The
event is presented in the skies above Atlantic City's
famed boardwalk twice nightly -- at 9 and 11 p.m. -- through
August 2. Each show will feature brilliant light effects
and a rousing soundtrack of Bruce Springsteen hits.
The
stunning climax of "Lights of Freedom" is the
projection, into the seaside sky, of the world's largest
American flag. This monumental flag display is musically
accompanied by the classic Springsteen anthem Born in
the USA.
"It was absolutely incredible; the
sky above the city was actually transformed into a flashing,
moving work of art," explains Steve Gietka, vice
president for entertainment, Trump Casino Resorts. "Nothing
like this has ever been seen before anywhere in the United
States. With 'Lights of Freedom,' The Trump Taj Mahal
has made entertainment history."
Underscoring the significance of the production
-- which, by August 2, is expected to be seen by a total
of more than 2 million people -- a large stretch of the
Atlantic City boardwalk went dark while the initial show
was in progress. This was the first time since World War
II that the boardwalk's lights were extinguished.
"Lights of Freedom" is Hof's
American debut. He had previously dazzled audiences with
productions at locales including the Acropolis in Athens,
the banks of the Danube River in Budapest, and Beijing,
where with his millennium celebration event he became
the first foreigner ever to direct a Chinese ceremony
of state. The Reuters news agency described Hof's January
1, 2001 "Asian Millennium Event" in China --
which was viewed by a live audience exceeding 4 million
-- as an artistic "world experience."
The
ideal viewing angle for "Lights of Freedom"
is from along the south side of the boardwalk. Spectators
will be treated to a breathtaking palette of dancing,
swirling light, generated by a meticulously choreographed
battery of more than one hundred 7,000-watt spotlights
positioned atop the Trump
Taj Mahal.
One
of the world's largest casinos -- covering 17 full acres
along the Atlantic City boardwalk and rising more than
420 feet above the shore -- the Trump
Taj Mahal was opened by Donald Trump in 1990. Representing
a $1 billion investment, and featuring 1,250 guest rooms,
including 237 suites, 22 ballrooms and meeting rooms,
and an arena that can seat over 5,000, the Taj Mahal offers
opulence in the grand tradition of the world's most exquisite
palaces.
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