This gaming capital serves up a taste of the Big Apple with New York-New York, a $460 million hotel-casino replicating Gotham's skyline.
The mega-resort opened to the public Friday.Featuring a 47-story knockoff of the Empire State Building, a 150-foot Statue of Liberty and a Coney Island-style roller coaster that zips around the skyline, the new resort is among the most innovative in a wave of new hotels.
Jason Ader, a gaming analyst for Bear Stearns Inc., predicted the 2,035-room resort will be a must-see attraction that will appeal to all facets of the gaming market.
"The exterior impression the property makes is like nothing else on the Las Vegas Strip," Ader said.
"This will be the most photographed spot in the world," William Sherlock, president and chief executive officer of the resort, said Thursday night at a VIP and media gala preceding Friday's pre-dawn opening to the public.
Among the celebrities attending the preview were David Has-sel-hoff; Wayne Newton; Phyllis Mc-Guire; Connie Stevens; Pat Morita; Jenny McCarthy; Renee Taylor; Joe Bologna; Matt Le-Blanc; Jim Belushi and David Schwimmer.
Prior to the VIP opening, executives gathered across the Strip to watch the lighting of a 154-foot Statue of Liberty.
Thousands of curious onlookers watched a five-minute flashy fireworks display while Tony Bennett's recording of "New York, New York" played in the back-ground.
The resort, built on 20 acres across from the MGM Grand Hotel, replicates a host of New York City icons, including a 47-story Empire State Building, 41-story Century Building, 40-story Chrysler Building, 38-story New Yorker Hotel, 36-story 55 Water Street building and 35-story Seagram Building.