Never built: 22 Las Vegas Strip hotels *

* (restored)

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‘The Titanic resort, 885 feet long, 11 stories high, weighing over 46,000 tons, and containing 1,200 rooms, would have been one of the most heavily themed fantasy resorts in Las Vegas. Our guests could have enjoyed the experience of staying aboard one of the ship’s 800 state-rooms or at the adjoined Iceberg Hotel, which was to have included Ice Cave tunnels and an underwater glass people-mover to see the Iceberg’s underbelly and shops. The concept was rejected by the Las Vegas City Council. This was proposed for the big lot across the strip from the Sahara.’ — collaged

 

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‘There’s no skimping on details of how the luxurious $5-billion, 10,000-room, five-star, five-diamond, 250-acre Moon resort would have looked. The complex included the Moon Casino, replete with multiple levels of gaming floors that culminate in the all-night party that is the Metropolis Discotheque. At the center of the Resort complex there was the Crater Wave Pool, with its surrounding private pools and spas. The 500-foot pool was to have lapped gently to the rhythm of a true ocean tide. Guests could have frolicked in the Sea of Serenity Aquatic Center then pour themselves directly into the Crater Pool via waterslides. The Lunar Lander Lounge at the center of the Pool would have been accessible via glass underwater walkways beneath the Pool’s surface.’ — collaged

 

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‘Jethro’s Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino is envisioned in this artist’s rendering. Max Baer Jr., who played Jethro Bodine in the “Beverly Hillbillies” television series, proposed the casino/hotel complex in the 90s and wanted to build a 240-foot-high oil derrick with a 70-foot shooting flame to lure customers. After years of being in the works, the project never got off the ground and kind of sputtered out. On August 15, 2003, Max Baer Jr. was back. He announced that he and his partners had purchased a building to relaunch the project. The building they chose was formerly a Wal*Mart department store that had been abandoned.’ — collaged

 

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‘The 3000-room The Palace of the Sea Resort and Casino looked very intriguing. The yachts in the harbor were to be high-roller suites. The Sky Wheel, would have been over 600 feet tall (another world record for Vegas). The casino/lobby building resembled the Sydney Opera House. The hotel weighed in at 60-floors and had a sail-like shape.’ — collaged

 

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‘The London Eye has proved to be an iconic structure on the English capital city’s sky-line. If plans had gone through, Las Vegas may very well have had its own giant wheel. Voyager were behind two attempts to bring the design to the Strip. The first came in 2003 when the Rio proposed the $86 million plans to include the wheel with a nightclub in the hub. Not long after this first failed proposal, a second giant wheel idea was put forward by Voyager. This time it was on the site of the vacant 27-acre large Wet and Wild water park. It would have been part of a new Palace of the Sea Resort and Casino. Unfortunately, that project also failed to get off the ground.’ — casino.org

 

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‘Aimed directly at the baby-boomer demographic, The Addams Family Resort and Casino, a hotel that would look like the Addams family mansion and whose employees would be made up to look like Lurch the butler or Cousin It, never became a reality.’ — collaged

 

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‘Although Vegas is known for its surreal architecture and mega-resorts, this hotel would have brought a fresh new look to a thriving city. JDS/Julien de Smedt Architects in collaboration with artist Olafur Eliasson designed the Mondri and Elano Hotel in Las Vegas. They wanted to create a genuine experience while extracting the identity of the Mondrian and the Delano Hotels without producing copycat versions. Another goal was to balance the project’s large scale with the need for intimacy on a smaller scale. The project was cancelled in 2012.’ — collaged

 

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‘There have been two locations for the London Resort and Casino, and both of them have had a giant observation wheel (from the Giant Wheel Co.) The resort was to have included a Harrod’s department store, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, a Piccadilly Square shopping area and many other London themed attractions.’ — collaged

 

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‘ITT/Sheraton’s second plan for the Desert Inn land (now under the Wynn complex) struck a deal with the dudes from Planet Hollywood and came up with some crazy plans for a Planet Hollywood Resort on the property. The first (very conceptual) rendering was pretty wild, gravity defying, and ugly. This was later refined in to a more plausible plan with a 20-story sphere. Neither was built’ — Vegas Today and Tomorrow

 

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‘In 1993, the Desert Inn was purchased by ITT/Sheraton. The Desert Inn had a large surface parking lot to the south of the resort (which now holds Wynn Las Vegas). Their first plans were a Balinese Resort called Desert Kingdom. The concept of Desert Kingdom was to mix African and Asian elements to make the perfect tropical resort. The concept design was a recreation of a resort in Bali, Indonesia. At night, guests would see a water and light show as they sat outdoors surrounded by tiki torches.’ — collaged

 

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‘Protests from nearby neighbors helped to block construction of the original 800-foot ride at the Stratosphere. This Dream was proposed back in 2002. If it had been built, I’m sure that the Ivana, Allure and Liberty Towers would have chosen a different neighborhood. The roller coaster would have dropped passengers from the hotel’s tower and across Las Vegas Boulevard at top speeds of 93 mph. Residents said the roller coaster would discourage new residents from moving in and contributing to the revitalization of the area.’ — collaged

 

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‘A knockoff of New York City’s East Village in Las Vegas — with its own version of the city’s Meatpacking District and Washington Square was planned for 44 acres at the northwest corner of Tropicana Avenue and Paradise Road, converting the conspicuously idle acreage into a 1-million sq. ft. hotel-office-and-retail project. The 27-building, 959,645-square-foot, entertainment complex was being developed by Mark Advent, a developer of the New York-New York hotel-casino. “I’ve been hand-picking our tenants. I don’t want it to look like a regional mall or life-style center that you’d see somewhere else”, said Advent in 2007. The project was cancelled in 2011.’ — collaged

 

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‘In 1982 architect Martin Stern Jr. (the designer of the International and Xanadu) was commissioned to design a huge expansion for the Landmark. However, Landmark’s owner Ed Wolfram was convicted of embezzling $47 million from his brokerage firm, Bell & Beckwith. The Hotel was seized and put up for sale and we all know the rest (in peace).’ — collaged

 

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‘A giant exhaust pipe shaped hotel. This rendering of the Harley Davidson Hotel and Casino uses the site directly east of The Palms on Flamingo Road.’ — collaged

 

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‘The Excalibur Hotel already exists in Las Vegas. It looks like a white medieval castle inspired by the Sword and the Stone, but there could be so much more. At one point in time, Gary Goddard planned to install a massive fire-breathing dragon in front of the hotel. The idea turned out to be far too expensive, and the attraction was never built.’ — collaged

 

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‘When Fontainebleau was purchased and The Drew was announced I immediately went to Vegas TAT for some information about the original plans for the big blue monstrosity. The website has renderings, videos, and specs about the failed casino project. The initial concept of Fontainebleau was exciting and unlike anything in Las Vegas at the time. The Drew plans piggybacked on this but work never started.’ — collaged

 

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‘Montreux Las Vegas was Phil Ruffin’s proposed replacement for the soon to be demolished New Frontier. The project was expected to open in early 2009. Montreux would have been a 2,750-room “Swiss-themed” hotel with a 104,000-square-foot casino and massive shopping mall linked directly to the Fashion Show Mall. It would have hosted an array of restaurants, bars and nightclubs, and a 465-foot-tall observation wheel (similar to the London Eye), that scooped riders from the floor above the casino.’ — collaged

 

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‘A massive, $5+ billion project—including what would be the largest casino on the Strip—bearing the Plaza‘s name was supposed to open in 2011, but there’s been no construction on the massive lot since the hotel was put on hold in 2008. The plans include: Seven towers containing 6,700 keys (4,100 hotel rooms and 2,600 resort condominium units), 175,900 square feet of casino area (making it the largest casino on the strip), 134,500 square feet of restaurant area, 347,887 square feet of retail area, 539,607 square feet of convention space, a 50,000-square foot health club, a 1,500-seat theater, and 227,038 square feet of open space on the roof top of the podium that includes gardens and pool areas. The grand total for the project includes 3,317,400 square feet of parking garages and a total area of 15,080,846 square feet.’ — collaged

 

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‘Entertainment designer Gary Goddard submitted an idea to the Las Vegas downtown redevelopment competition back in 1992 to build a full-scale USS Enterprise Resort. “My concept was to do something so large and so epic, it would fire the imaginations of people around the world,” Goddard wrote. If it had actually happened, the Enterprise would have been immense. Goddard claims the $150 million attraction would have been made at full scale, and would have included all the “rooms, chambers, decks and corridors that we knew from the movie.” People would have gotten to dine in Starfleet comfort in its dining area, and some ideas for “interesting ride elements” were kicked around including “a high speed travelator that would whisk you from deck to deck.” Goddard put about five months of effort into the project and had the backing of the Paramount licensing team and the Las Vegas mayor and redevelopment crew, but ultimately it was studio chairman Stanley Jaffe who shot it down. “I don’t want to be the guy that approved this and then it’s a flop and sitting out there in Vegas forever,” Jaffe allegedly said.’ — collaged

 

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‘In 1975 Martin Stern Jr. proposed the Xanadu, an ultra luxury resort and casino, for the site now occupied by Excalibur. Stern was the designer of the International (now the L V Hilton) and the original MGM Grand (now Bally’s). Xanadu was to have a soaring atrium (like the Luxor’s), 1,730 rooms and many features which were then revolutionary (today’s standard fare). The project was approved by the county. The construction plans were then halted when it was discovered that the sewer lines in the area would not handle the output from such a large project.’ — Vegas Today and Tomorrow

 

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‘At a projected cost of $4 billion and covering an eventual 21 million square feet, China, the Chinese-themed Resorts World Las Vegas was originally scheduled for a 2016 debut. Set to be built in stages on the North Strip, and promising a panda exhibit as well as an indoor water-park, might also one day arrive in the far future. Stage one is now estimated to cover 10 million square feet. The “Great Wall Passageway” was to include a “24 hour Chicken N’ Dumplings” spot. Thirty restaurants and bars were ultimately promised. Las Vegas visitation and room demand weren’t exactly booming in those, so if Resorts World had brought its 3,000-plus rooms to fruition, it could have been disastrous.’

 

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‘Conceived in 1998, the idea was to make the WWF Hotel & Casino an immersive shrine to sports-entertainment: not just a place to gamble and sleep, but a full-fledged “Wrestling Disneyland” for adult fans. As WWF CEO (and Vince’s wife & currently heading the US Department of Education) Linda McMahon put it, they wanted to provide their brand of entertainment on the right scale – essentially bringing the action and attitude of Monday Night RAW into a Las Vegas resort.

‘The hotel tower itself was designed as a striking modern slab emblazoned with the WWF’s logo from top to bottom. Early renderings showed a silvery, faceted high-rise with the blocky letters “WWF” stretching stories high – essentially turning the entire building into a giant billboard for wrestling. Plans called for these letters to double as high-tech video screens projecting footage of WWF matches, so that even from afar onlookers could see Stone Cold Steve Austin stomping a mudhole or The Rock delivering a People’s Elbow. Massive branding was the order of the day.

‘The WWF Hotel would not only house static memorabilia (though certainly a Hall of Fame exhibit or wrestling museum was likely in mind), but also feature live entertainment integrated into the experience. In fact, a host of outrageous ideas were floated to make the casino a nonstop wrestling carnival. According to WWF insiders, some proposed attractions included: Live wrestling matches daily in a dedicated arena on the premises (so guests might catch a bout any day of the week). Retired wrestlers as greeters and dealers lending their larger-than-life personalities to the hospitality side – imagine being checked into your room by Captain Lou Albano or having your blackjack dealt by Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart! Even the casino chips and slot machines would carry WWF iconography. One idea was collectible chips featuring the faces of stars like Stone Cold, The Undertaker, etc., turning poker night into a mini wrestling memorabilia show.’

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** _Black_Acrylic, Ka-ching! Yay, your season is starting. I can feel your excitement. Does that mean our season is starting? I would assume so? Maybe this year I’ll try to peek in more on the goings on. ** Adem Berbic, Big up. Well, the format of those posts necessitates a video extra, so you just better get more ‘you’ videos out there, I guess. I’m fairly good at spotting ‘you-isms’, so we’ll see. Well, the blog having that effect is what it wishes. Well, maybe not on days when I throw up a post like the one today. But everything is fuel, right? ** Steeqhen, Okay, will do. I’m kind of in a noise mood at the moment, but I’ll seek to curtail it. Interesting observations, natch. ** Arno, Arno! Hey, pal! So great to see you! I know Hugo Claus. I’m not sure if I’d know him if I hadn’t lived up there, sadly. Interesting. That short story book is excellent. I don’t know her poetry so well, but I’ve begun an investigation. All’s okay here, especially as of yesterday. You could feel the fall in the background yesterday. It was almost hard to believe. So nice that the poetry is flooding out. I reminder how that felt. Obviously, always chase where the excitement is situated and let the form catch it. Luck with getting the book readied. And take care, and do visit Paris one of these days. xo. ** James Bennett, Well, of course, my, you know, honor and pleasure. Everything that isn’t needed to type what I’m typing right now is crossed. And I type with one finger, so that leaves most of the possibilities. I don’t think I ever think about what a novel is about. Although I guess I must. But it feels like I just trust my impulse and try to stay attentive while I’m typing or something. I think starting to type it is definitely the way to go. Trust your nitpickiness when and if it’s needed. The rain was heavenly. And it’s been almost sort of vaguely heavenly since. Gulp. ** Sarah Palmer, Hi. Oh, okay you’re close by. I saw all of those exhibitions except the Lee Miller. Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature is my favorite thing in Paris, I think. Not sure I can get to Basel, but that’s tempting. As I’m sure you know, Paris is pretty dead art-wise at the moment. The best shows I can remember seeing before the city went on vacation were, let’s see, the Lutz Bacher retrospective in Brussels, Henry Taylor at Musee Picasso, the Fujiko Nakaya fog sculpture at Pinault, and, oh, the tour you can take of Serge Gainsbourg’s house is surprisingly great. I recommend that if that’s all at appealing. We should have a coffee next time you’re here (and I’m here) maybe? ** Tosh Berman, Thanks a bunch, Tosh. ** Bill, The Mansour story collection is pretty wild and terrific. Ah, Philadelphia. ‘Miasma’ still isn’t here yet. Enjoy! ** Thom, The blog gets weird sometimes about comments it’ll ingest. I don’t know if it’s a length thing. Maybe. Sorry. Enjoy being home, and what’s happening? ** Carsten, LA is the best at city + nature combining to my experience. Paris seems alright on that front, but I’m probably easier than you are. I rarely trust critics who use ‘oblique and elliptical’ as negatives. And ‘pretentious’. That’s another clue to a critic’s drawbacks. ** politekid, Well, well, of course, sir, and my nothing but pleasure. Compared to 85% of the fiction going around, it is stylistically precise, etc., and thank fucking god. That makes sense to me. Internal looseness is a value, or, wait, can be. I like Schoenbrun’s films, but I certainly wouldn’t expect that fiction by them would be up my alley. I do think or suspect that their film work is going to get more and more conventional, but I could be wrong. Anyway, I’ll skip the book for now. Thanks. Every director who wants to make a musical out of an interesting book or text or whatever should be tied to a chair and forced to listen to Brecht-Weill until their aesthetics are rewritten. Maybe. Oh, we’re going to show ‘RT’ in London on Halloween. You have to come (if you can/want)! ** laura w., I liked Alex G from ‘Winner’ -> ‘DSU’. That was kind of the endpoint for me. Built to Spill …. no strong feelings. I remember liking them okay but never passionately. Maybe I’ll try them again. In my experience playing ‘Animal Crossing’ kind of eats up everything else, so that seems like it could work. ** Regina, Hi! Your approach to film school sounds very right on. More Arthur J Bressan … interesting. Narrative can be kind of exciting to work with just so long as you don’t let it become your film’s dictator, which of course I know you would never do. Exciting! All the luck and cheerleading you might need. ** Diesel Clementine, Yeah, my life became weirdly full and rather uncontrollable, which it sometimes does. I’m happy you had a great time and lucked out on the weather. Safe trip back. ** HaRpEr //, The Halloween screening is pretty much locked down. We want to do a second screening the next day, but that’s still in question. Wave Books do rule, yep. In my experience, when interesting filmmakers decide to write fiction it’s almost always a huge let down. They surrender their ambitions, and you realise that their idea of what a novel is very conventional and usual. The only exceptions that spring to mind are Eric Rohmer’s novel, which is very interesting, and Korine’s ‘Crack Up at the Race Riots’. ** Steve, Figured. There are pretty good humane mice catching ‘traps’. We have to use them here, and they don’t harm the little fellas at all. Hm, I wonder if a Schoenbrun ‘Nightmare …’ reboot would be a good fit. Not sure. What do you think? ** Uday, There aren’t enough bookshelves in the world to house the books I keep accumulating. It’s kind of a disaster. Weekend? Catch up, work, see whatever stuff is around. We’re talking with a potential producer for our new film this evening, and that will effect my mood which will effect the weekend, no doubt. Dig deep into yours. ** Right. I don’t know exactly why I’ve decided to restore this very easy-peasy old post for you guys today, but I have. Sit back and poke around and relax, I guess? See you tomorrow.