Luxor Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Luxor features an ancient Egyptian theme, and includes a casino and over 4,000 hotel rooms. The resort's pyramid is 30 stories and contains the world's largest atrium by volume. The tip of the pyramid features a light beam, which shines into the night sky and is the most powerful man-made light in the world.
The property is owned by Vici Properties and operated under lease by MGM Resorts International, which had spun-off MGM Growth Properties in 2015, to divested its real estate holdings, before it was acquired by Vici in 2022. Luxor was first developed by Circus Circus Enterprises at a cost of $375 million. Construction began on April 21, 1992, and the resort opened on October 15, 1993, with 2,526 rooms. A renovation and expansion project, costing $300 million, took place from 1996 to 1997. The project included the addition of two 22-story hotel towers, as well as Nevada's first 3D IMAX theater. The Egyptian theme was scaled back as well, including the removal of an indoor Nile River ride.
MGM acquired Luxor in 2005. The company launched a $300 million renovation two years later, further scaling back on the Egyptian theme while adding new restaurants and clubs. An esports arena was added in 2018, the first to open on the Strip. Luxor has hosted various entertainers, including comedian Carrot Top, the Blue Man Group, and magician Criss Angel.
History Construction and opening
The resort was announced by Circus Circus Enterprises on November 14, 1991. Known temporarily as "Project X", the pyramid-shaped resort would be built on the Las Vegas Strip. Groundbreaking took place on April 21, 1992, with the project by then known as "Luxor", after the Egyptian city of the same name.
Veldon Simpson was the architect, while Yates-Silverman, Inc served as interior designer. President and owner Charles L. Silverman traveled to Egypt three times to study the country's atmosphere. Of all the casino resorts that his firm had designed, Silverman called Luxor "the most interesting and difficult". Before the ancient Egyptian theme was chosen, Yates-Silverman had suggested developing the land with a moat and a real riverboat casino to traverse it. Egyptologists were hired to create and oversee Luxor's theme, which was prevalent throughout the resort. The interior included replicas of various Egyptian artifacts, made of fiberglass and plaster.
Perini Building Company served as general contractor. The project employed more than 150 contractors and 3,500 construction workers, several of whom died while building the resort,Retrieved September 21, 2023: leading in turn to rumours that the building is cursed or haunted. Waltek, a Cincinnati-based company, provided the metal-and-glass exterior for the pyramid. Standing 30 stories high, it was one of the largest metal-and-glass projects ever. The pyramid was topped off on July 9, 1993.
Luxor cost $375 million to build. The resort was financed using internal cash flow from other Circus Circus properties and did not include any outside financial investors. Circus Circus chairman William Bennett said the most challenging aspect of construction was dealing with Clark County officials, who he felt were overly critical of the resort due to its pyramid shape. He claimed county regulations, including improved fire precautions, added unnecessary costs to construction.
Luxor hosted a pre-opening event for hundreds of invited guests on the night of October 14, 1993. It opened to the public the following day at 4 a.m., welcoming thousands of people. It would compete against two other upcoming resorts, MGM Grand and Treasure Island. All three resorts had a family-oriented focus. Luxor employed 4,500 workers.
Tupac Shakur, who was fatally shot in Las Vegas in 1996, had been staying at Luxor during his visit to the city, although his injuries sustained from the drive-by shooting occurred four miles from the resort.
Renovations and ownership changes
Within a few years of the Luxor's opening, resort executives concluded that it needed to be improved and enlarged. A $300 million renovation and expansion was launched in January 1996, and was mostly finished a year later. The changes included two additional hotel towers. The casino interior, which was redesigned, had initially included sections dedicated to space travel and the skyline of New York City, both of which were removed. The Egyptian theme was also scaled back. The changes improved revenue, and Luxor was a consistently profitable resort as of 2003. It was reported four years later that more people visited the resort than the actual city of Luxor.
Circus Circus Enterprises was renamed Mandalay Resort Group in 1999, and was acquired by MGM Mirage (later MGM Resorts International) in 2005. Two years after the acquisition, MGM announced plans for a $300 million renovation of Luxor that would remove much of the Egyptian theme. Luxor president and chief operating officer Felix Rappaport said, "We're not a British museum with ancient artifacts, we're a casino-resort. This was a brilliantly conceived building from the outside. The pyramid always created a sense of wow and wonder, but the inside never delivered on that promise." He further said: "We are trying to be approachable. We want to be a cooler and hipper middle-market property. We want to be less themed but still a middle-market property." Despite the interior changes, the exterior Egypt theme remained in place. The resort added more adult-oriented and modern lounges, restaurants and clubs.
The hotel rooms were renovated in 2021. Vici Properties — a 2017 REIT spin-off from Caesars Entertainment Corporation — purchased the 2015 MGM REIT spin-off, MGM Growth Properties, a year later, acquiring its numerous Strip properties, including Luxor, while MGM leases and continues to operate the resort.
2007 bombing On May 7, 2007, a homemade pipe bomb exploded in a vehicle in the Luxor parking garage, killing one man in his 20s. The victim, an employee at Nathan's Famous hot dog restaurant in the Luxor food court, was the intended target. The resort was not evacuated, operations continued uninterrupted, and the parking structure as well as the casino were undamaged.
Two men were found guilty of the bombing, with the motive being the victim's relationship with an ex-girlfriend of one of the perpetrators. In 2010, each was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Property overview
Luxor is at the southern end of the Strip, and is located between two other resorts developed by Circus Circus Enterprises: Excalibur to the north (opened in 1990) and Mandalay Bay to the south (opened in 1999). The Mandalay Bay Tram travels between the three properties.
Luxor's pyramid is 30 stories, standing . Its exterior sides are sometimes used for advertising.Retrieved September 21, 2023: The pyramid includes the largest atrium in the world by volume, measuring . The resort's exterior features a recreation of the Great Sphinx of Giza, located in front of the pyramid and facing the Strip. The recreation is 106 feet high, 80 feet wide, and 262 feet long (). Within the body of the sphinx is the resort's porte-cochère. An obelisk stands in front of the sphinx.
The hotel includes 4,407 rooms. It originally opened with 2,526 rooms, all of them located in the pyramid. The rooms line the pyramid's interior walls, and walkways outside the rooms overlook the atrium. The interior of the pyramid uses inclined elevators, traveling at a 39-degree angle, to bring guests to their rooms. The structure features eight elevators, with two at each corner of the pyramid. The two additional hotel towers added in 1996 are located just north of the pyramid. The ziggurat-shaped towers, designed by Klai Juba Architects, are 22 stories and added nearly 2,000 additional rooms. The exterior of the hotel structures, including the pyramid, is made up of black glass panels.
Luxor includes a casino. Upon opening, it featured 2,500 slot machines, many of them Egyptian-themed. The casino also included 82 table games, a poker room, and race and sports books. A high-end gaming pit was added in the 1996–97 renovation. Giza Galleria, a small retail mall with 18 tenants, was also opened. In addition, the Mandalay Place mall is located on a skybridge that connects Mandalay Bay with Luxor.
Luxor Sky Beam
The tip of the pyramid is three stories, and features a beam of light known as the Luxor Sky Beam. It is the most powerful man-made light in the world, using curved mirrors to collect the light from 39 xenon lamps and focus them into one intense, narrow beam. G-Force International Entertainment Corporation was hired to design, build and install the lighting system. Each lamp is 7,000 watts and cost approximately $1,200 as of 2001; at full power, the system costs $51 an hour to operate, with $20 of that going toward electricity.
The beam was activated on the night of October 14, 1993, and has operated reliably since then. On a clear night, it is visible up to away by aircraft at cruising altitude, such as over Los Angeles. Moths are also attracted to the light, which in turn attracts bats and owls.
The lamp room, located about below the top of the building, can reach temperatures of while the lights are operating. Because of the heat, the room is serviced by two staff members during the day. Temperatures of have been recorded above the pyramid tip. The beam originally measured 42.3 billion candela, and shone high. Since 2008, only half the lamps have been lit as a cost- and energy-saving measure. The resort later surveyed tourists about the possibility of turning off the beam completely, an idea that was largely rejected.
Other lighting Aside from the sky beam, the pyramid would blend in with the darkness of nightfall, as it initially lacked any other exterior lighting. In 1997, Bee Construction fitted the four outer edges of the pyramid with computer-guided strobe lighting. Four years had been spent researching and developing the $1 million project, and another two months were spent installing it. The project was accompanied by an outdoor sound system, allowing for synchronized light-and-sound shows.
Luxor sued Bee in 2003, alleging that the lighting system contained design and construction flaws which resulted in frequent power shutdowns. The suit further alleged that Bee had failed to honor contracts to repair or replace the system components. New LED lighting was added along the pyramid's exterior edges in 2019. The lights are programmable and feature a variety of colors.
Attractions
Upon its opening, Luxor included the Karnak Lake, located between the sphinx and obelisk. More than 100 computer-controlled fountains would spray water up from the lake by day, and as part of a free nightly show in which lasers shot out from the eyes of the sphinx. The lasers would project Egyptian imagery onto a high water screen formed by the fountains. The show was meant, but ultimately failed, to rival a popular Strip attraction, the volcano at the Mirage resort. At the end of 1995, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a shutdown of all laser light shows within of McCarran International Airport, putting an end to the Karnak Lake attraction.
At its opening, the resort also featured the indoor Nile River Tour, a paid 15-minute ride that took guests to different parts of the pyramid and past pieces of ancient artwork along a river encircling the casino. The river was long, and was removed after three years.