Friday, Jan. 3, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The only thing missing was Ms. Minnelli.
A live rendition of Liza's theme song would have been a fitting finale to the opening of New York-New York, the spectacular new addition to the Las Vegas skyline.
But the classic recording of Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra belting out "New York-New York" was a fine accompaniment to the five-minute fireworks display that kicked off the preview of what may become, in the words of the resort's president, William Sherlock, "the most photographed spot in the world."
The $460 million project that celebrates the spirit, energy and diverse architecture of America's greatest metropolis officially opened this morning to a huge crowd of enthusiastic tourists and local residents eager for their first glimpse of the new resort's interior.
Last night, though, New York-New York's creators -- a team of talented executives from MGM Grand Inc. and Primadonna Resorts Inc. -- unveiled the interior to more than 3,000 invited guests, including several rival casino executives and a handful of Hollywood celebrities, then waited to see if they'd succeeded in bringing the dynamic promise of the exterior architecture into the heart of the resort.
The reaction was virtually unanimous.
They did.
"Coming from New York, I was prepared to be disappointed," said Arthur Goldberg, the former Bally Entertainment Inc. chairman who now heads the worldwide gaming operations of Hilton Hotels Corp.
"But this is an absolutely beautiful facility. I haven't seen a single thing I haven't liked. They paid unbelievable attention to detail, with touches that are simply amazing."
Those touches included cobblestone streets complete with parking meters, fire hydrants and sidewalk dining in the "Little Italy" food court, gargoyles on some of the exterior facades, etched elevator doors emulating the design in New York's original skyscrapers, burnished mahogany woodworks, elaborately decorated "apartments" stretching the full height of the 35-foot casino ceiling and even "formally attired" table-game chairs (check the backs and you'll see what we mean).
The central casino area features a canopy of glass and ornamental ironwork, trees surrounding a pond that can be crossed by a footbridge in front of specialty restaurants such as Il Fornaio. Trees, balconies, fire escapes, and street lamps all add to the ambiance, creating virtual neighborhoods within the facility.
Asked if Paris, the new half-billion-dollar resort Hilton will build on the Strip south of Bally's, would have as much intricate detail, Goldberg looked around the New York-New York interior and said, "It will now."
Barry Shier, executive vice president of Mirage Resorts Inc., was equally enthusiastic.
"They've done a wonderful job in re-creating some of the most special areas of New York," he said. "They've created a whole little fantasy city here. This looks like it's going to be a fun place."
Added a British journalist who writes from Los Angeles, "This is better than Disneyland."
Even before they let in the first guests, New York-New York's executives believed they had a winner. Primadonna Chairman Gary Primm said that when he approached MGM majority owner Kirk Kerkorian with the plan for a resort themed after The Big Apple, the billionaire said simply, "This is a great idea; let's do it."
With that, MGM and Primadonna formed a six-member board that included MGM Chairman Terry Lanni, MGM President Alex Yemenidjian, MGM Grand Development Inc. President Kenneth Rosevear, Gary Primm, Primadonna Chief Financial Officer Craig Sullivan and Primadonna legal counsel Robert Armstrong.
They picked Hilton Hotels executive Sherlock to head the project, and the team began working with architects Gaskin & Bezanski on the exterior design and Yates-Silverman on the interior. The results speak for themselves.
But Las Vegas' newest resort is more than just the latest in a long line of high-concept entertainment offerings bidding to capitalize on current trends in popular tastes.
New York-New York exemplifies the souls of both its namesake and its new site, vibrant cities where flamboyance is a virtue, vision a necessity, renewal a constant and entertainment always evolving.
Like the city its newest resort pays homage to, Las Vegas rewards those able -- with courage, cash, instinct and luck -- to transform drab patches of desert into oases of excitement luring an ever-expanding audience eager for escape and adventure.
The new themed resorts coming on stream -- the Italianate Bellagio, Paris, the new Venetian resort where the old Sands once stood, the lush Project Paradise from Circus Circus -- promise to keep that tradition alive, in the process assuring Las Vegas retains its special place in the sun.
But it won't be easy. As Circus Circus President Glenn Schaeffer has often said, "They're constantly raising the bar."
New York-New York has made it clear the days of building a big box and filling it with slot machines and table games will no longer cut it on the Las Vegas Strip.
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