Tuesday, Feb. 2, 1999 | 11:07 a.m.
If you liked the Las Vegas rendition of New York, you're going to love its version of Paris.
The year's last big new resort opening doesn't occur until September. Yet when Paris-Las Vegas finally opens its doors, all but the most snobbish Francophiles will say it was well worth the wait.
The new Parisian-themed resort's distinctive facade, featuring a 540-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower and other famed French architectural icons, is generating the same anticipatory buzz that New York-New York did before it opened two years ago.
As with the Gotham-themed hotel-casino, many watching Paris-Las Vegas take shape wonder whether its interior will deliver on the promise implied by its exterior. Based on a sneak preview of the project eight months before opening, it will.
"When you walk in, we want to present you with an authentic version of Paris," says Paul Pusateri, president of Paris-Las Vegas and its sister resort, Bally's Las Vegas, as he takes reporters on a tour of the resort.
"Paris will set a new standard for theming," Pusateri says. "If you find yourself magically transported to France, we've done our job."
The effect begins with the exterior of the $760 million project, where replicas of such landmarks as the Paris Opera House, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre beckon invitingly.
The faux Eiffel Tower, less than two-thirds completed now, has already fired enthusiasm among many regular customers of the Bellagio, where diners at its lakefront restaurants can be overheard commenting on the spectacular views that will be available when Paris is completed. It's a sentiment not lost on Pusateri.
"Bellagio and Paris are so beautifully blended, with Bellagio's elegant villas and the downtown, urban-themed city of Paris environment we'll offer," he says.
"The two resorts complement each other perfectly."
The feeling continues with the exquisitely designed and detailed interior, which goes a step beyond the well-received inside of New York-New York, Pusateri says.
"The interior of Paris-Las Vegas is much more focused on authenticity of design," he says.
"We've incorporated some wonderful historical landmarks in a way that will set a new standard."
Among them is a replica of the Rue de la Paix shopping district, complete with its cobblestone streets and quaint cafes, restaurants and retail shops, one of which is La Boulangerie. This working French bakery will supply the resort's fresh-baked breadstuffs to other Paris restaurants, delivered throughout the day by a costumed bicycle rider fluent in French.
Nearby is Le Village Buffet, which offers recreations of a town village and homes from the five different provinces of France, each with classic cuisine from those regions made to customer order.
Other restaurants include Le Provence, offering Italian-style fare with a French flair; Brasserie, a restaurant-bar offering the only outdoor seating on the Strip; and La Rotisserie, a two-level restaurant featuring slow-roasted meat, fish and poultry. Two cafes, one by the pool three stories above the Strip, will offer lighter dining.
The elegant Eiffel Tower restaurant will be at the structure's 17th-story level and offer gourmet cuisine and panoramic views of the Strip.
"While these will be upscale restaurants offering truly fine gourmet food, none will be priced so high they're unreachable," Pusateri says.
The resort will also feature five lounges, include the richly appointed Napoleon's Retreat and the bistro-styled Le Cabaret, both offering live entertainment. The passage to Paris' convention facilities will feature a replica of the Versailles Hall of Mirrors, and the space under the base of the Eiffel Tower may feature a life-size chess board.
While Pusateri says no final decisions have been made for Paris-Las Vegas' 1,200-seat showroom, "We've narrowed it down to celebrity entertainment or a French-themed production show. We're looking at something that's all the rage in Paris right now."
The attention to detail that has struck analysts and executives from other resorts who've toured the property isn't all by design, Pusateri says. The licensing agreement that allows Paris-Las Vegas to replicate the Eiffel Tower is an example.
"We had to use the exact same paint and duplicate the lighting of the original," he says.
But Pusateri knows his job won't end with the official unveiling of a well-designed property. His 13 years with Four Seasons Resorts, including stints as general manager of the luxury hotel chain's San Francisco and Beverly Hills operations, gave him an appreciation for the benefits of customer service.
While that's difficult to deliver on a project the size and scope of Paris-Las Vegas, "The opportunity to do something a little bit different in this town is truly exciting," Pusateri says.
"We want to scale things down and offer a personal approach to our customers. The challenge is to interpret that, to do in a 3,000-room hotel what we can do in a 300-room property," he says.
The personal approach for hotel guests will begin with check-in, he says.
"We've broken all front-desk tradition in Las Vegas by establishing separate check-in areas with just two stations each, separated by ornate wrought-iron gates. Employees will come out from behind the counters to escort customers and provide them with true personal service.
"We look at the operations from a customer's eyes," he says.
"For example, there won't be any ropes or stanchions, because if you have those, you're advertising you have waiting lines."
The goal is to build customer retention, Pusateri says. "They'll try every property, but they'll come back to the one offering the best price-value relationship.
"The biggest tool in our customer-satisfaction program is the technology that allows us to know instantaneously what's happening with individual customers," he says.
For instance, if a guest has to wait for a room on check-in, the Paris computer system will remember that inconvenience. When that guest makes dinner reservations, the restaurant manager will be directed to greet and apologize to the guest personally and offer a complimentary drink.
"You put all this together and you have one hell of an equation for success," Pusateri says.
However, such ambitious plans create new challenges, including hiring nearly 5,000 people to staff the resort.
"We have to develop a work force that accepts the culture we need to implement our vision -- to treat others the way you'd want to be treated. It begins with hiring and training the right employees and continues with execution and consistency," he says.
"The excitement of doing all that on a project of this size and scope is tremendous," Pusateri says.
The resort will target all segments of the visitor market but will really compete more with the Mirage than the Bellagio, he says.
"The news media has positioned us with Bellagio. But we've projected our average daily rate at $110 -- though we think we'll do better than that."
Pusateri's cautious approach continues when he talks about cash-flow projections for Paris, pegging them at $120 million for the first full year of operations. "But that's an incremental increase from Bally's Las Vegas, which should show a slight cash-flow decline," he says.
Bally's reported cash flow of $93 million in 1997, and analysts estimate the 1998 figure was about the same. Some expect this year's number to rise a bit because of the proximity of Bally's to Bellagio, which has bolstered the financial performance of several neighboring properties despite adding to the area's overall room inventory. Others predict that the cash flow of Bally's will slip to as low as $75 million.
Some analysts expect Paris-Las Vegas to exceed the $120 million incremental increase Pusateri projects, citing the first-year performance of New York-New York, which posted $130 million of cash flow in 1997 with 900 fewer rooms than Paris. New York-New York's number fell to an estimated $100 million in 1998.
With estimates for Paris' cash flow ranging from $120 million to as high as $160 million, the projections would translate to a return on the project's $760 million cost of 15.8 to 21.1 percent. While a bit lower than historical returns on Las Vegas resort investments, the numbers would be considered superior in the current environment for casino operators.
Paris and Bally's are part of Park Place Entertainment, the Hilton Hotels Corp. gaming division spinoff that's expected to generate nearly $700 million of cash flow this year. Even the most conservative estimates put the total cash-flow contribution from the company's four Las Vegas casinos (including the Flamingo Hilton and the Las Vegas Hilton) at more than 46 percent of the Park Place total.
Pusateri, who oversees both Bally's and Paris, notes that the two hotel-casinos share reservation and switchboard services and other operations, helping to control costs. The properties also give parent company Park Place Entertainment 5,700 rooms at the southeast corner of Flamingo Avenue and the Strip, a "critical mass" that analysts expect will benefit the operation.
"We can capitalize on the Bally's brand name, which is very well known, and combine it with Paris, which will be a 'must-see' resort," Pusateri says.
Attracting conventionsAnd it's not just tourists expressing interest in the resort.
"The earliest business you book for a new property is the convention business, and we've already seen a tremendous demand to be in Paris. We'll be able to funnel the overflow into Bally's."
Paris-Las Vegas' ballrooms and salons, coupled with those of Bally's, give the complex 315,000 square feet of meeting space, any or all of which can be booked through a single sales department.
The new resort will follow the 1999 openings of the Resort at Summerlin, Mandalay Bay, the Venetian and an expansion of the Hard Rock hotel-casino that will add 7,500 rooms to the market before Paris' 2,916 rooms and suites open.
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