Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

Anyone know anything about a rumor the Luxor is dropping the Egyptian theme? What marketing genius thought that up? After all, it's a friggin' pyramid with a massive sphinx out front. That's like Disneyland dropping Disney references.

Shame. I remember having a cool theme experience when I got a room down low in front. The view was entirely palm trees, the sphinx, and the obelisk with mountains behind. No other strip ticky-tack was visible. In the morning the sun came up between the sphinx and the obelisk.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

It's more than a rumor. They see having an all-encompassing theme is a little dated, and their family-friendly approach couldn't compete in terms of keeping their hotel guests on the property and continuing to spend money.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

The place has always had an incredibly crappy layout. However, it is a cool looking property from the outside.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

Basically they are stripping all the character out of the joint and trying to make it a new hip/young/cool place to hang out. The result will be yet another bland Vegas casino trying way too hard to be cool (see TI).

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

Here's a good site about the details.

http://www.vegastodayandtomorrow.com...rage.htm#luxor

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

"I remember having a cool theme experience when I got a room down low in front. The view was entirely palm trees, the sphinx, and the obelisk with mountains behind. No other strip ticky-tack was visible. In the morning the sun came up between the sphinx and the obelisk. "

dirty

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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They see having an all-encompassing theme is a little dated

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Is it? I like what Paris and Venetian do with their themes, and NYNY to some extent. What's wrong with a theme casino?

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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Quote:
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They see having an all-encompassing theme is a little dated


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Is it? I like what Paris and Venetian do with their themes, and NYNY to some extent. What's wrong with a theme casino?

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I think the themed casinos aren't bringing in the gambling dollars. I watched a show on the Travel Channel or maybe Discovery Channel that said the mega-resorts bring in the people but not a high percentage of gambling.

It was a really interesting show. They interveiwed the guy that wrote that a book about casino design and how mega-resorts suck at converting guests to gamblers so I assume the show is biased but it was still interesting.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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I like what Paris and Venetian do with their themes, and NYNY to some extent. What's wrong with a theme casino?

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It's how the theme brings in the crowd willing to spend money that counts. Namely, the non-family crowd willing to drop money on food, games, and drinks.

Your post is evidence - you like what Paris and Venetian do (that sense of a destination with elegant appeal, and the quality restaurants to back it up).

Jay Sarno really started the theme idea with Circus Circus and then Caesars. Circus Circus, with its family appeal and carnival games, gets slammed on its appeal to the party crowd. Caesars Roman decadence keeps rolling to an extent. Cleopatra's Barge still floats, but the Bacchanalia was replaced and Pure leads the way.

If you are the Luxor, you know you have that mezzanine level with a game room, a simulation ride, a couple of gift shops, and a food court. How can you not look at Pure and the long lines of people waiting to get in and do bottle service and not want to change direction?

It might be possible to do that with a theme (like the Palms Playboy tower) but not one that screams amusement park, like the Luxor does now.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

The only question left to answer is whether they keep the sphinx out front, and there's some rumblings it will go, too.

Luxor needed to update. It wasn't competing well with anyone. It's an older luxury resort without as much luxury. It wasn't really capturing any group except the discounters. From what I've been told, it never has really maximized itself from the beginning.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

The Luxor has pretty much struggled for most of its life. It was built hurridly without much effort/thought, underwent a multi million $$$ refurb shortly after opening, and has still continued to struggle.

I think the book Super Casino touches on this subject.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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The place has always had an incredibly crappy layout. However, it is a cool looking property from the outside.

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Hope the new place keeps the light on top.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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The only question left to answer is whether they keep the sphinx out front, and there's some rumblings it will go, too.

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The only thing with an Egyptian theme that will remain is the pyramid as per an article I read a few months ago, this is old news that keeps resurfacing.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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The Luxor has pretty much struggled for most of its life. It was built hurridly without much effort/thought, underwent a multi million $$$ refurb shortly after opening, and has still continued to struggle.

I think the book Super Casino touches on this subject.

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Super Casino has alot of material on the rise and early renovation of the Luxor.

It does point out that the Luxor was always profitable ($90M its first year, $86M the next) but that it underperformed and bosses believed repeat business would fall a lot once novelty wore off.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

I would love to see the Luxor re-position itself as an entry level luxury resort. I've stayed there a few times and enjoyed the experience. As a non-balla 24-year-old I'm usually in vegas with a lot of similarly aged people and nobody wants to spend a few hundred a night to stay at a nicer strip property.

I think luxor could be the TI of the south strip with some help from the remodel and removal of the more family friendly aspects of the hotel. The biggest problem I see with it is that it's right next to kid-town-usa at the Excalibur.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

I don't think the Egyptian theme is their problem - the fact that the place is kind of run down and dumpy is. If they were to do a remodel, having some nice decor with an Egyptian influence and hot coctail waitresses dressed in skimpy Egyptian costumes wouldn't hurt them.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
They see having an all-encompassing theme is a little dated

[/ QUOTE ]

Is it? I like what Paris and Venetian do with their themes, and NYNY to some extent. What's wrong with a theme casino?

[/ QUOTE ]

I suppose it still works to have a heavily-themed luxury resort if the theme itself is associated with luxury. People associate Paris and Venice with luxury. Ancient Egypt and pirate ships, not so much.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

One word:

Beige

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

One of the biggest problems the Luxor has it that many Asians won't stay there because they believe pyramids are bad luck for gambling. My girlfriend and all her friends have told me that they wouldn't even consider staying there. This means that the hotel loses out on a significant percentage of gamblers.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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Basically they are stripping all the character out of the joint and trying to make it a new hip/young/cool place to hang out. The result will be yet another bland Vegas casino trying way too hard to be cool (see TI).

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It worked, didn't it? Well, I prefer to spend time at TI than Luxor anyway...

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
They see having an all-encompassing theme is a little dated

[/ QUOTE ]

Is it? I like what Paris and Venetian do with their themes, and NYNY to some extent. What's wrong with a theme casino?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think theme has much to do with it. Luxor just plain sucks, whereas the other three are nice. Stick a gondolier in my apartment and it will still suck.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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One of the biggest problems the Luxor has it that many Asians won't stay there because they believe pyramids are bad luck for gambling. My girlfriend and all her friends have told me that they wouldn't even consider staying there. This means that the hotel loses out on a significant percentage of gamblers.

[/ QUOTE ]

just stayed there for the first time and I saw TONS of Asians. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I like the rooms are ok but the place is run down and it has no good acts, poker room is pretty awful too.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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Luxor needed to update. It wasn't competing well with anyone. It's an older luxury resort without as much luxury. It wasn't really capturing any group except the discounters. From what I've been told, it never has really maximized itself from the beginning.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think it was ever intended to be very high on the luxury scale. Circus Circus, hardly known as purveyors of grand luxury, built it to be just a bit upscale from the Excalibur.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Luxor needed to update. It wasn't competing well with anyone. It's an older luxury resort without as much luxury. It wasn't really capturing any group except the discounters. From what I've been told, it never has really maximized itself from the beginning.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think it was ever intended to be very high on the luxury scale. Circus Circus, hardly known as purveyors of grand luxury, built it to be just a bit upscale from the Excalibur.

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Excalibur, Luxor, and Mandalay -- lower-, middle-, and upper-tier resorts, all in a row. That was the original CC/MRG plan.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
One of the biggest problems the Luxor has it that many Asians won't stay there because they believe pyramids are bad luck for gambling. My girlfriend and all her friends have told me that they wouldn't even consider staying there. This means that the hotel loses out on a significant percentage of gamblers.

[/ QUOTE ]

just stayed there for the first time and I saw TONS of Asians. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I like the rooms are ok but the place is run down and it has no good acts, poker room is pretty awful too.

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I guess I should have been more specific. It's probably the Chinese who mostly have an aversion to gambling in a pyramid as they feel the luck will run out. I'm sure not all of them do but every single one that I know (and I know a lot) have told me over the years that they would never go there.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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I guess I should have been more specific. It's probably the Chinese who mostly have an aversion to gambling in a pyramid as they feel the luck will run out. I'm sure not all of them do but every single one that I know (and I know a lot) have told me over the years that they would never go there.

[/ QUOTE ]

That reminds me of how the MGM had to get rid of the big lion they used to have at their entrance because the Asians thought it was bad luck to walk through its mouth.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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[ QUOTE ]
I guess I should have been more specific. It's probably the Chinese who mostly have an aversion to gambling in a pyramid as they feel the luck will run out. I'm sure not all of them do but every single one that I know (and I know a lot) have told me over the years that they would never go there.

[/ QUOTE ]

That reminds me of how the MGM had to get rid of the big lion they used to have at their entrance because the Asians thought it was bad luck to walk through its mouth.

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http://p.vtourist.com/64387-MGM_Grand-Las_Vegas.jpg

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

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[ QUOTE ]
I guess I should have been more specific. It's probably the Chinese who mostly have an aversion to gambling in a pyramid as they feel the luck will run out. I'm sure not all of them do but every single one that I know (and I know a lot) have told me over the years that they would never go there.

[/ QUOTE ]

That reminds me of how the MGM had to get rid of the big lion they used to have at their entrance because the Asians thought it was bad luck to walk through its mouth.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm. That's the first I've heard of that. I'll ask her when I get home. It's kind of odd though because they love the MGM because of the Lion. It's very good luck.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

Since they obviously will keep the pyramid shape
I think they should go with an alien theme.

You know, Roswell greys running around, maybe some
Jaffa warriors from Stargate SG-1, etc. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Maybe that would only appeal to Sci-Fi geeks like
me, but at least it would be different and
get rid of that beige color.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I guess I should have been more specific. It's probably the Chinese who mostly have an aversion to gambling in a pyramid as they feel the luck will run out. I'm sure not all of them do but every single one that I know (and I know a lot) have told me over the years that they would never go there.

[/ QUOTE ]

That reminds me of how the MGM had to get rid of the big lion they used to have at their entrance because the Asians thought it was bad luck to walk through its mouth.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm. That's the first I've heard of that. I'll ask her when I get home. It's kind of odd though because they love the MGM because of the Lion. It's very good luck.

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I forgot all about this until the new bump. I just asked her and she hasn't been there in a long time but didn't think it was a big deal. Not in the same league as the pyramid.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
They see having an all-encompassing theme is a little dated

[/ QUOTE ]

Is it? I like what Paris and Venetian do with their themes, and NYNY to some extent. What's wrong with a theme casino?

[/ QUOTE ]

Nothing wrong with a theme casino....they just dont stack up to the Wynn. No theme.
In defense of your opinion there is nothing like driving 4 hours to Vegas and setting up shop at the fantastically themed casino - The Excalibur. Nothing like a staff of workers faking a bad English accent.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

I'm Asian, and haven't heard about the "bad luck" associated with the pyramid. But now that it's out there, I'm NEVER going back. I would think the Luxor could make an immediate step in the right direction by getting rid of Carrot Top, though.

Re: Luxor dropping the egyptian theme?(!)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
They see having an all-encompassing theme is a little dated

[/ QUOTE ]

Is it? I like what Paris and Venetian do with their themes, and NYNY to some extent. What's wrong with a theme casino?

[/ QUOTE ]

Nothing wrong with a theme casino....they just dont stack up to the Wynn. No theme.

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Are you kidding? The theme at the Wynn is "Steve Wynn is a Badass". That's why it's called the Wynn LDO.