Oct. 30, 2008

No ado about something

By STEVE FRIESS

As momentous occasions go, this one should have been a really big deal. And yet, until a friend who works at there mentioned it last week, I had completely forgotten all about it. Bet you did, too.

In mid-October, the Bellagio turned 10. That’s a pretty significant milestone, represents the fact that we’re a dizzying decade on from one of those pivotal turning points in Las Vegas history. The opening of a genuine luxury resort with great food, shopping and amenities was the most important step towards shouting to the world: Vegas isn’t tacky anymore.

And yet in this city of celebrations, of parties for parties’ sake, of promotions surrounding everything from20the opening of terrible movies to the launch of new brands of cigars to the 1,000th production of Cirque du Whatever, what MGM Mirage opted to do to commemorate this milestone was rather, shall we say, anti-Vegas. Lame, too.

They did almost nothing. They threw a party in the employee dining service that involved a gourmet buffet of signature dishes from the property’s high-end restaurants and a deejay spinning live music. They also handed out a brochure with some fun facts about Bellagio, they showed the names of the 3,181 original employees (that’s one of those fun facts!) still working there on an internal monitor and gave everyone a 10th anniversary T-shirt. (I want one!)

That’s it. No star-studded party. No special hotel deals for favorite guests. No souvenir poker chips. Not even a press release.

To understand how odd that is, consider the fuss the company made last week over the fifth anniversary of the free, hourly Sirens of TI show. They even renamed the street that leads into the Treasure Island from Buccaneer Boulevard to Sirens Cove Boulevard, so excited were they by this moment.

MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said each property operates separately and makes its own publicity decisions. He surmised that the TI, being a mid-range brand, relies more on promotions and perhaps needs the pick-me-up a bit more in these miserable economic times than did the venerable Bellagio, weathering the financial downtur n well. Bellagio brass evidently decided that they didn’t need to do anything.

Still, how about just acknowledging the importance of history and of what a transformative decade this has been for this city. All it would have taken was an email to reporters noting this mark and they would’ve gotten thousands of dollars in free publicity from travel journalists eager for a new, timely Vegas angle.

My confusion may have been resolved by Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese. The Venetian, too, is coming up on its 10th anniversary early next year and I wondered if they had any particular plans. Reese said he didn’t know but suggested they, too, may go the quiet route.

“We operate the brand-new Palazzo, Wynn's getting ready to open Encore, and maybe in Vegas, older isn't necessarily better,” Reese said. “You look at the Venetian for an example. Yeah, it's 10 years old. But we’ve added Phantom and Wayne Brady in last couple of years, our room product was redone. Instead of celebrating 10 years of history, do you look to stay and remain competitive? If it's me, would I rather stay at the brand-new, hip, happening place or the place that's celebrating its 10th anniversary?”

So that’s it, huh? Like a great but aging actress, the fear is that celebrating – nay, acknowledging! – age is a detraction? Don’t they know there are hobbyists, websites and entire ind ustries devoted to Vegas history?

Feldman, who said he personally doesn’t believe this philosophy, nonetheless acknowledged it: “I have heard that before. It’s very real for some people because Las Vegas tends to get so caught up in the new and the now, as a result, we’ve come to believe you don’t want to speak of the age of the property that will suggest it is old.”

There is a point, though, when age in a hotel becomes an asset because it reflects tradition and its historic relevance becomes charming. That clearly was the case for Caesars Palace, which did make a big to-do about its 40th anniversary in 2006 and used the moment not just to reflect on the history but to show off how well the place has aged.

MGM Mirage may go that route for The Mirage, which turns 20 in 2009. Having in recent years added a new show, new restaurants, a new nightclub and, next month, a new $25 million volcano, the place is trying to both honor its place in Vegas lore and keep up with the times.

“It’s under discussion as we speak,” Feldman said of Mirage anniversary plans. “They haven’t even made a final decision that they’re going to do anything.”

Here’s one vote for them to do something public. I doubt they will, though. By November 2009, we’ll all be at the heart of the unveiling of CityCenter and all its20various parts. That’ll be the new and the now, for a year or two, anyhow.

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