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Desert Passage opens

MGM Grand Detroit Casino celebrates first anniversary

Harrah's Entertainment wins CIO-100 award for customer-service excellence

Aladdin Resort & Casino opened August 18

Hollywood Casino Aurora opens barge expansion

Midnight Gambler left Cape Cod

Greektown Casino sets Nov. 10 grand opening

Mississippi gaming industry drives significant tourism growth

The Addams Family® video slots debut in four U.S. gaming jurisdictions

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Desert Passage Opens

Thousands of rose petals showered more than 8,000 visitors as they wandered throughout the grand opening of Las Vegas's newest shopping experience Desert Passage, on August 14.

Amid glistening domes and towers reminiscent of the romantic cities of Tangier, Bombay, Fez, and Casablanca, guests were fully immersed in the sights, sounds, scents and scenes of the ancient spice routes as they roamed through the 500,000 square foot marketplace under hand-painted desert sky motif and to the sounds of Moroccan rhythms.

The Desert Passage surrounds the new Aladdin Resort & Casino, which opened August 17. It features over 130 retail stores as well as 16 restaurants and nightclubs. It also houses a 7,000-seat Theater of Performing Arts where top entertainers will perform. And it and is located just across the street from Bellagio and next door to Paris on the Las Vegas Strip.

"The turnout was staggering and the energy was sensational,'' says Lee H. Wagman, president of TrizecHahn Development Corporation, creators of Desert Passage. ``We couldn't have hoped for a more spectacular event.''

In addition to exotic artists and performers such as henna body painters, Gnawa musicians, and dancers directly from their homelands of Morocco and India, festivities included an opportunity for guests to be the

first to shop and dine in some of the destination's world-class stores and restaurants.

Retailers not only presented an uncommon collection of wares but also provided a rare glimpse of the captivating marketplaces and street scenes of this fascinating world in their meticulous and unusual store design.

Offering a grand presentation of what guests will enjoy every day of the year, Desert Passage's unveiling was filled with exotic dance, music, artistry, and colorful spectacle of the world's most provocative and picturesque market cities. Festivities included the christening of a 155' trans-steamer ship anchored in the destination's Merchants Harbor and actual rain-showers occurring intermittently off its bow.

Desert Passage is a development of TrizecHahn Development Corporation headquartered in Los Angeles and San Diego, the retail/entertainment development division of TrizecHahn Corporation.