Caesers Palace new tower taking shape

from today's Las Vegas Sun (10/23):

Caesars empire goes modern with latest hotel expansion
By Liz Benston
Thu, Oct 23, 2008 (2 a.m.)
Steve Marcus

"The $1 billion, 665-room Octavius Tower at Caesars Palace was topped off this week. When it opens next summer, it will have 665 modern hotel rooms. After the expansion, Caesars Palace will have more than 4,000 hotel rooms and 300,000 square feet of convention space.

These days, Caesars Palace is looking a lot less Roman Empire and more Empire State.

At a time when casinos are forced to work harder to attract business, Caesars Palace is trying its best to bridge old and new Vegas by luring new, more discriminating tourists and younger hipsters as well as regulars who appreciate the property’s legacy.

The under-construction tower features the same white-walled Romanesque look of the adjacent Augustus tower and, like Augustus, sits apart from the casino and across the themed pool and garden complex known as the Garden of the Gods. Roman statues abound, and guests can grab snacks at a bar appropriately named Snackus Maximus.

Yet inside, the tower’s 665 rooms will feature a bold, modern look by Wilson Associates, which created the muted, urbane look of the Augustus rooms, with nary a Roman column or statue in sight." ...

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