Luxor Las Vegas

Luxor Hotel
File:Luxor Hotel Logo.svg
Address	3900 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas, NV 89119
Opening date	October 15, 1993
Theme	Ancient Egypt
No. of rooms	4,407
Total gaming space	120,000 ft² (11,148 m²)
Permanent shows	Carrot Top Fantasy Criss Angel Believe
Signature attractions	LAX Nightclub Cathouse Night Club
Casino type	Land-Resort
Owner	MGM Mirage
Previous names	None
Renovated in	West & East Towers (1,948 rooms) in 2006
Website	luxor.com

The Luxor is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It was one of the city's first fully-themed megaresorts. It replaced the Pyramid House. Ground was broken for the Luxor in 1991, that same year construction began on the Treasure Island and the current MGM Grand. It has an Ancient Egyptian motif and contains a total of 4,407 rooms lining the interior walls of a hollow pyramid and contained within twin ziggurat towers that were built as later additions. The hotel is named after the city of Luxor (ancient Thebes) in Egypt, the site of the Valley of the Kings, Karnak and Luxor Temples, and scores of other pharaonic monuments — but no pyramids.

In July 2007, owner MGM Mirage announced plans to thoroughly renovate the Luxor, spending $300 million to remodel 80 percent of Luxor's public areas, removing much of the ancient Egyptian theme and replacing it with more adult-oriented and modern lounges, restaurants and clubs. Among the distinctive changes to the exterior occurred in mid-2007, when management covered one of the pyramid's massive black faces with a 15-story sign that advertises Absolut Vodka. On June 16, 2008 the sign was taken down.

Location and history

The Luxor is located on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, opposite the McCarran International Airport. The resort is flanked by the Mandalay Bay to the south and by the Excalibur to the north; all three are connected by free express and local trams. All three properties were built by Circus Circus Enterprises, which later became Mandalay Resort Group.

File:N512878541 168207 9244.jpg

The view from Floor 19, Northwestern corner.

When it opened on October 15, 1993, the pyramid was the tallest building on the strip; it cost $375 million to build. A theater and two additional hotel towers totaling 2,000 rooms were added in 1998 for $675 million. In June 2004, the Mandalay Resort Group was purchased by MGM Mirage, adding this hotel to its vast array of properties on the "Strip".

When the resort opened, it featured a more heavily Egyptian-themed interior, including a river that encircled the casino with a ferry that would carry guests to their inclinator core at the corners of the pyramid. The ride was then turned into a river ride that passed by many pieces of ancient artwork after people complained that the ferry service took too long. Most of the ancient Egypt theme and the river ride were taken away as part of a campaign to tailor the property towards more upscale tastes in 1995. According to the unofficial, albeit popular, ghost story, the Nile River attraction was removed because guests kept seeing ghosts of the three workers killed during the Luxor's construction whenever the river passed through dark tunnels. {{citation}}: Empty citation (help)

The resort has been home to some popular entertainment attractions in the Las Vegas area. The main level featured the nightclub, RA, which closed indefinitely on July 22, 2006. From 2000 to 2005, the Luxor Theatre was the home of the enormously popular performance-art show Blue Man Group, which has since moved to The Venetian. On February 15, 2006, the main theatre became the home of the musical Hairspray which ran until 2006.

In 2006, MGM-Mirage began renovating Luxor. Rooms in the East and West Towers have been refurnished. Two upscale restaurants, Isis and Sacred Sea Room, closed. This space became CatHouse. The RA nightclub, which had previously been one of the most successful in the city but had been seeing reduced attendance in recent years, was shuttered. Replacing it is the Las Vegas branch of LAX, a Los Angeles nightclub, which opened on August 31, 2007, in an event hosted by Britney Spears. The Luxor Steakhouse was renovated and reopened as Tender Steak & Seafood. The former arcade space is now used to host a human bodies exhibition, and the IMAX theatre is being renovated to host an exhibition on the RMS Titanic.

Illusionist Criss Angel signed a deal in 2006 to tape episodes of his TV series Mindfreak at the hotel. Angel currently has a production office and store in the Luxor. In 2008, Criss Angel will star in a new magic-themed Cirque du Soleil production at Luxor.

2007 explosion incident

On May 7, 2007, the Luxor Hotel parking garage was the site of a vehicle explosion which killed one of its employees. Local authorities believe the victim, who worked in a business inside the hotel, was the target for this killing. The hotel was not evacuated, and the parking structure where the explosion occurred suffered no damage. Investigations into this incident are ongoing. The explosion is believed to be caused by a homemade bomb. GO OBAMA

Design

Sphinx guarding the hotel entrance

The Luxor is among the most recognizable hotels on the strip because of its striking design. Designed by renowned hotel architect Veldon Simpson, the main portion of the hotel is a 350-foot (110 m)-high (106 m), 30-story pyramid of black glass (in comparison, the Great Pyramid of Giza with original capstone topped out at 481 ft). The hotel is marked by a large obelisk with the name of the property in lighted letters, while the porte-cochere travels underneath a massive recreation of the Great Sphinx of Giza.

The light of the Luxor

The tip of the pyramid contains a fixed-position spotlight that points directly upward – it is the brightest beam in the world, and is visible from anywhere in the Las Vegas valley at night, and can be seen at flight level from above Los Angeles, California, over 275 miles (440 km) away. At ground level, on clear nights, the beam could also be seen as far south as Laughlin and even as far north as Mesquite or Beatty. It is directly straight ahead on US-93 in Arizona, north of Kingman, before reaching the Hoover Dam. In the spring, the bright light attracts huge numbers of moths into the light beam, creating a phenomenon that has been likened to snow. Light is generated using 39 Xenon lamps of 7 kilowatts each. The hourly cost, including lamps, electricity, and repairs, is US$51. The total light output is rated at 41.5 gigacandela, or 30.2 billion lumens. Hotel engineers, as well as the hotel's own website also claim that the light can be observed from space.

Guest rooms and attractions

The view inside the Luxor. The large black shape is the IMAX theater.

The guest rooms are situated on the outer walls of the pyramid and are reached by riding in so-called "inclinators" that travel along the inner surface of the pyramid at a 39-degree angle. Open hallways leading to the rooms overlook the atrium, which is the largest in the world at 29 million cubic feet (820,000 m³).

An IMAX theatre (the third such theatre in Las Vegas, although in 1979, Caesars Palace opened an Omnimax Theater, the precursor to IMAX) was closed in 2008; but there is also an IMAX motion simulator ride hosting a variety of rides, including "In Search of the Obelisk," which takes participants into a virtual archeological dig and ReBoot, based on the animated series. The newest attraction on the Atrium level is BODIES... The Exhibition which opened on August 2, 2008. The "Atrium Showroom" is home to multiple shows: "Fantasy" (a topless revue), comedian Carrot Top, and the movie/attraction "Pirates 4D". The attractions level also featured the "King Tut Museum", an authentic replica of the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The reproduction was based directly on the descriptions of the tomb recorded by Howard Carter, who discovered it in 1922.

Luxor's most recent live show is "Criss Angel: Believe", a collaboration between magician Criss Angel and Cirque du Soleil that began in late 2008 and is set to run for 10 years.

On August 31 2007, LAX Nightclub officially opened for labor day weekend. Britney Spears was the host, who starred alongside Nicky Hilton and other stars. Around 4000 people attended, some who never even entered the nightclub. Christina Aguilera also hosted an event on September 8, 2007.

Usage in popular culture

This destination hotel is commonly viewed as one of the finest examples of 1990s Postmodern architecture, and appeared on the cover of renowned architecture scholar James Steele's book Architecture Today.

A copy of the Luxor, named "The Camel's Toe", appeared in the Las Venturas area of the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas but the hotel it was copied from did not open until 1993, the game is set in 1992.

A portion of the 1998 music video "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" by Will Smith was shot in the foyer of the hotel.

Criss Angel Mindfreak Seasons Three & Four were taped at the Luxor, and Criss Angel once lived in a penthouse suite directly beneath the famous light. He also has his own Official Mindfreak merchandise store and production studio. In one episode, he levitated 500 feet (150 m) above the light.

Some stunts on Fear Factor were held at the Luxor, including sliding down the exterior.

The hotel also appeared prominently in the 1996 film Mars Attacks!.

This hotel was featured in the popular series, Great Hotels.

In the cult horror-comedy novel John Dies at the End by David Wong, a supernatural battle between good and evil takes place in the Luxor.

External links

• Luxor Knol on Google
• Luxor Hotel website
• Aerial image
• Google Earth 36°05′43.62″N 115°10′25.86″W