CityCenter Las Vegas opens first hotel, Vdara, to the public today. The non-smoking, non-gaming 57 story tower tower contains 1,500 suites and is billed as an ultra modern, eco-friendly facility. Best of all, it employs more than a thousand workers. Unfortunately, with the completion of the project many thousands of construction workers will be laid off.
CityCenter represents MGM Mirage's great hope for future profitability and corporate longevity. The $9 billion dollar, 67 acre city-within-a-city was almost in bankruptcy earlier this year and the grim news had forced MGM Mirage stock down to around $2 per share. MGM Mirage's eternal optimist, CEO Jim Murren, claimed "CityCenter is going to be the symbol of the rebirth, resiliency and comeback of the Las Vegas market." Some of the talk in the street is saying the heavily mortgaged project could become the poster project for "The everything-in-excess bubble has burst, dude!"
The only hotel to have gambling of the six inside CityCenter, The Aria, will open to the public on December 16th. Crystals retail and entertainment district will open on Thursday and another hotel, Mandarin Oriental, is set for a Saturday opening.
