Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/242563
Parting Shot Go to Your Room THE BATTLE FOR YOUR DOLLAR IS MIGRATING FROM THE GAMING FLOOR TO YOUR GUEST ROOM. BY SCOTT DICKENSHEETS ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL O'LEARY T here was a time when going to Vegas meant going out. Your grandparents belted on the swank clothes, palmed a twenty to a showroom maître d', and stayed late at the tables. Your parents oohed at the faux volcanoes and white tigers and took in a show. You, perhaps, have kicked it in a bottle-serviced nightclub, dropped a bundle in a celebrity restaurant, and attended a bachelorette weekend you only hazily remember. Each era has offered its own version of Vegas's one true product—the trophy experience— but however different they were in style, volume, and the price of the booze, they had something in common: a public dimension. You got out there, role-playing different versions of yourself amid crowds of people doing the same. Unless you were on the lam, you certainly didn't come to Sin City to hole up. Until now, that is. For some, the new Strip is about staying in—with style. Maybe you're a celebrity who wants to do Vegas without the gossip-column titters; maybe you're just a dry-goods mogul from Boise happy to drop four figures a night for your own private Idaho. Whatever your story, savvy hoteliers are making it ever more tempting to stay in your suite. If you're ensconced in the new Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace—perhaps in the 1,950-square-foot Sake Suite or a five-bedroom penthouse—you've got a media room, a billiard table, and space for plenty of friends. Best of all: When you're peckish, in-room sushi awaits your summons downstairs for an on-call chef. The Sky Villas at Aria are "private estates" and come with 24-hour butler service—a more common amenity in luxe Vegas than you might imagine. A villa at Mirage offers a backyard with a pool, hot tub, bar, and putting green, perfect for a weekend of in-room entertaining. The redesigned two-floor bungalows of the Tropicana hearken back to the 1960s, when Rat Pack stars would hole up for weeks—only now they have dedicated massage rooms to further eliminate reasons to leave. As a development, luxury hominess isn't entirely unexpected. For a few years, casinos have been relying less and less on our poor impulse control at the tables; gambling is no longer their main source of revenue. Instead, they've made vital new profit centers out of what used to be loss leaders: Coffee shops became celebrity restaurants, gift stores became shopping esplanades, and entertainment became Cirque du Soleil. That's helped Vegas maintain its lead in the experience economy, even as gambling has spread across civilization, and even into Florida. It was only a matter of time until someone in the marketing department thought, Hey, maybe we can extract more profit from those rooms…. Indeed, it might not be long until you can dial up a small troupe of in-room Cirque acrobats—as long as you can afford it. V 112 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 112_V_BOB_Closer_Winter14.indd 112 1/10/14 4:13 PM