Monte Carlo Resort and Casino

This article is about the casino in Las Vegas. For the casino in Monaco, see Monte Carlo Casino.

Coordinates: 36°06′17″N 115°10′35″W / 36.104708°N 115.176255°W / 36.104708; -115.176255

Monte Carlo Resort and Casino
Address	3770 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Opening date	June 21, 1996
Theme	Monte Carlo
No. of rooms	2,992
Total gaming space	90,000 sq ft (8,400 m2)
Permanent shows	JabbaWockeeZ dance crew
Casino type	Land-Based
Owner	MGM Resorts International
Years renovated	2004,2009
Website	www.montecarlo.com www.hotel32lasvegas.com

The Monte Carlo Resort and Casino is a megaresort hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, USA. The hotel is 32 stories, featuring a 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m²) casino floor with over 2,200 slot and video poker machines and 95 table games. It is operated by MGM Resorts International. The hotel offers 2,992 guest rooms, including 259 luxury suites.^[1][2]

The hotel, named to invoke the Place du Casino in Monte Carlo, features chandelier domes, marble floors, neoclassical arches, ornate fountains and gas-lit promenades.^[3] As of 2010^[update], Monte Carlo has a AAA-Four-Diamond rating.^[4]

Facilities and attractions

The resort includes 22,000 sq ft (2,000 m²) of retail stores, plus convention facilities, a spa, fitness center, a hair salon, a 2,000-square-foot (190 m²) exercise room, a pool area, which includes a wave pool lazy river, a wedding chapel, and the Street of Dreams shopping area collection of retail stores which includes Optica, Marshall Rousso, Misura, Harley Davidson of Las Vegas and Art of Music.^[5][6][7] A 21,000 sq ft (2,000 m²) pool area includes a wave pool with constantly changing wave patterns, and a "Lazy River" feature. The CityCenter Tram offers access to the Bellagio and Crystals retail district in the CityCenter complex, with service every 5 minutes.^[8]

On October 7, 2010, the JabbaWockeeZ - described as a "modern dance/hip-hop crew" - began performance of their permanent headline show at Monte Carlo, entitled "MÜS.I.C".^[9] This show is performed five nights per week at the 1,224-seat Monte Carlo Theater,^[10] which under its previous name (Lance Burton Theater) hosted magician Lance Burton, who performed there between June 21, 1996 and September 4, 2010.^[11]

Theme

The hotel seeks to provide an "unpretentiously luxurious, yet affordable" experience. As of 2009, the Monte Carlo print advertising campaign features humorously misspelled French words ("tray sheek") coupled with glamorous images. The campaign's tagline is "Unpretentiously luxurious".^[12]

History

Construction and opening

Ground was broken for the hotel in March 1995. It was originally known as the "Grand Victoria". The palatial style was a reminiscent of the Belle Epoque, which is how the French refer to the architecture of the Victorian era in England. After much criticism by MGM Grand officials, it was shortened to "Victoria" and then changed to "Monte Carlo".^[13][14]

Monte Carlo was built as a joint venture between Mirage Resorts and Circus Circus Enterprises, and cost US$344 million to build.^[1] The resort sits on 44 acres (18 ha), occupied by the Dunes Hotel until its demolition in October 1993.^[15]

The Monte Carlo opened to the public on June 21, 1996 at 12:01 a.m., following invitation-only VIP pre-opening celebration the prior day, including a fireworks show.^[16]

2008 fire

On January 25, 2008 at 10:57 AM, a three-alarm fire was reported on the exterior of the top six floors and roof of the casino. Portions of the hotel facade's Exterior Insulation Finishing System burned with some debris falling off and starting smaller secondary fires on ledges three floors below. The fire was fully contained an hour after it began. It was an exterior fire, although there was water damage to parts of several floors.^[17][18][19] The Hotel & Casino reopened to guests on February 15, 2008. MGM Mirage officials put the total losses due to fire damage and loss of business at just under $100 million.^[20]

Hotel 32

Hotel32 is an ultra-luxury, boutique hotel located on Monte Carlo's top floor. The new extension opened on August 10, 2009.^[21] The hotel has 50 rooms ranging in size from 850-square-foot (79 m²) studios to 2,000-square-foot (190 m²) penthouse suites and can only be accessed via an express elevator. All Hotel32 guests have access to a dedicated Suite Assistant, who provides personal butler and concierge services and numerous high-tech touches, including a TV integrated into the bathroom mirror. Guests have access to Lounge32, which overlooks the Las Vegas skyline.^{[22][23][24][25]} Hotel32 offers its guests a branded iPhone at check-in to promote the use of hotel amenities. The system, running Hotel Evolution software, enables the hotel to make changes to services easily, because updates are made automatically.^[26][27]

In popular culture

Monte Carlo Resort and Casino has figured in several feature films and television series. Major release films partially filmed at Monte Carlo include the 2000 film Get Carter^[28] and 2008's What Happens in Vegas.^[29] In the 2004 film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, the Average Joes stay at Monte Carlo during the dodgeball championships in Las Vegas. In the Amazing Race 15, teams had to count out $1,000,000 worth of poker chips here in the season finale, to receive their next clue.^[30] It was also featured in the season six episode "Three of a Kind" of The X Files.

Gallery

Monte Carlo at night, aerial view

Monte Carlo at night, front view

Monte Carlo, as seen from the Las Vegas Strip

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Mikohn to Install 'MoneyTime' (TM) slot Bonus Jackpot System at Monte Carlo in Las Vegas". 8 January 1998. 
2. ^ Kathleen Hennessey (25 January 2008). "Fire forces gamblers to flee Monte Carlo resort on Laz Vagas Strip". Associated Press. http://www.pantagraph.com/news/article_fcf96580-9136-5492-ba95-f351ac993d76.html. 
3. ^ Robert Macy (13 June 1996). "Newest Megaresort Set to Open June 21". Associated Press. 
4. ^ Mary Manning (25 January 2008). "More about the Monte Carlo". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jan/25/brief-history-monte-carlo/. 
5. ^ "Shopping". Monte Carlo Las Vegas Resort And Casino. 2010. http://www.montecarlo.com/shopping/. 
6. ^ Robert Macy (29 September 1996). "Lance Burton is a Happy Magician". Chattanooga Free Press. 
7. ^ John Kelso (29 September 1997). "Dialing for dinettes at Monte Carlo". Austin American-Statesman. 
8. ^ "CityCenter initiates job offers for 12,000 permanent positions" (Press release). CityCenter. http://www2.citycenter.com/press_room/press_room_items.aspx?ID=745. Retrieved 2010-07-09. 
9. ^ Leach, Robin (7 September 2010). "Jabbawockeez sign headline contract at Monte Carlo". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/sep/07/jabbawockeez-sign-headline-contract-monte-carlo/. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
10. ^ "Jabbawockeez Return to Las Vegas at The Monte Carlo 10/7". Broadway World. 7 September 2010. http://lasvegas.broadwayworld.com/article/Jabbawockeez_Return_to_Las_Vegas_At_The_Monte_Carlo_107_20100907. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
11. ^ Leach, Robin (3 September 2010). "Lance Burton: ‘I’ve Worked Nonstop For 31 Years. I'm a Free Man!’". Vegas Deluxe. http://www.vegasdeluxe.com/blogs/luxe-life/2010/sep/03/lance-burton-ive-worked-nonstop-31-years-im-free-m/. Retrieved 5 November 2010. 
12. ^ Lindsay Gordon (12 June 2009). "Monte Carlo Resort Pokes Fun at the Pretentious". BrandWeek. http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/esearch/e3idff59d66183db868a59ad5444251f02d. 
13. ^ "Desert Rose Motel". Las Vegas Strip History. 
14. ^ Michelle Dearmond (25 July 1995). "Elegant Resort to Join Others on Strip". The Associated Press. 
15. ^ "History of Las Vegas". http://www.lvol.com/lvoleg/hist/lvhist.html. Retrieved 24 June 2010. 
16. ^ "Monte Carlo Resort Opening Update". Las Vegas Leisure Guide. 21 June 1996. http://www.lasvegas-nv.com/monte-carlo-resort-opening.htm. 
17. ^ HENNESSEY, KATHLEEN. "Disaster Avoided in Vegas Casino Blaze". http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hnsM4qs-zsIbSVD4cVZpDQPAdi3wD8UDEK700. Retrieved 2008-02-03. . Associated Press. 2008-01-26. 
18. ^ "Vegas' Monte Carlo fire under control". Los Angeles Times. 2008-01-25. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20080129100459/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-montecarlo26jan26,1,5366271.story. Retrieved 2008-02-03. 
19. ^ "From the inside: How they coped". Las Vegas Sun. 2008-01-26. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jan/26/inside-how-they-coped/. Retrieved 2008-02-03. 
20. ^ STUTZ, HOWARD (2008-02-16). "MONTE CARLO REOPENS: MANY HAPPY RETURNS". http://www.lvrj.com/business/15698007.html. Retrieved 2008-02-16. 
21. ^ Sandy Zanella (9 July 2009). "Hotel32 at Monte Carlo - Life at the top Accommodations - Opening August 10". http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/HOTEL32-at-Monte-Carlo-Life-at-the-Top-Accommodations-Opening-August-10-NYSE-MGM-1015297.htm. 
22. ^ Anthony Curtis (16 August 2009). "Monte Carlo opens floor 32". The Honolulu Advertiser. 
23. ^ "From Blaze to Boutique". Hospitality Design. 18 August 2009. http://www.hospitalitydesign.com/hospitalitydesign/content_display/industry-news/e3i2ea12a163e397089686a6508aee37173. 
24. ^ "Hotel32 at Monte Carlo Las Vegas". Latest Las Vegas News and Information. 8 May 2009. http://www.lasvegasfocus.com/news/2009/05/hotel32-at-monte-carlo-las-vegas/. 
25. ^ "Hotel32 Monte Carlo Las Vegas". Monte Carlo Las Vegas Resort And Casino. 2009. http://www.montecarlo.com/offers/2009/04_hotel32/flash.html. 
26. ^ "Are You Ready?", Condé Nast Traveler (March, 2010) 
27. ^ "Hotels Run Cost Effectively, Run Green and Run Revenues with Mobile Apps via runtriz" (Press release). runtriz. 2009-11-11. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4044282.search?query=hotel32+runtriz. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 
28. ^ Sylvester Stallone, Stephen T. Kay (2000). Get Carter (Motion picture). Las Vegas: Morgan Creek Productions. 
29. ^ Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Tom Vaughan (2008). What Happens in Vegas (Motion picture). Las Vegas: Twentieth Century Fox. 
30. ^ Joyce Eng (7 December 2009). "Amazing Race Winners Meghan and Cheyne: It's "Cool" Fans Think We're the Best Team Ever". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/news/amazing-races-meghan-1012896.aspxhttp://www.tvguide.com/news/amazing-races-meghan-1012896.aspx. 

External links

• Monte Carlo Resort and Casino official website