Despite the recession and ongoing financial problems in the town, Las Vegas has just seen the opening of its biggest development. The Aria casino is central to the vast CityCenter development which also features four separate hotels.
MGM chief executive, Jim Murren, somewhat questionably labels it ‘a landmark of taste and style’. No matter what your opinion of that statement, it’s impossible to argue with the scale of a project that will see two 37-storey glass towers when finished.
This is in spite of unemployment of 12 per cent and freefalling property prices in the desert city and many believe the project is poorly timed. The new casino was opened by Eva Longoria and Priscilla Presley.