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/66705
photography by chris smith/hulton archive/getty images (ali); courtesy of heidi sarno straus (sinatra); courtesy of lvcva (williams) funding for Gorme, Caesars' house pianist and, eventually, music director for the big- gest Caesar of them all, Frank Sinatra. "Caesars was the premier property in Las Vegas," Falcone says. "It was the place, no question about it. If you were in the band at Caesars Palace, you were in the best band. The town was resplendent with entertainment, and Caesars Palace had the greatest roster of entertainers that you could imagine." Circus Maximus went on to showcase such stars as Liberace, Diana Ross, and Cher before closing in 2000. Steve and Eydie performed on the final night to a capacity crowd, which included Falcone. "That was a mag- nificent showroom," says Falcone, who recalls his wife being thrilled to be sitting near Gregory Peck one night. "Every great star performed there. When Sinatra was there, Sugar Ray Robinson and Cary Grant would be at the front tables, and Dean Martin would come to see the show. Everybody wanted to be at the front tables." Sarno had sort of a Caesars Palace test-run via a series of cabana motels before taking the plunge in Las Vegas. It all started when he and his college friend and partner Stanley Mallin got their kitschy Cabanas from operating partner Nathan Jacobson, who invested into the project after making money in insurance. A boys' trip to Las Vegas got him thinking about taking his statues and costumed hotel hostesses to a huge new level, and a particular undevel- oped tract of land caught his eye. Meanwhile, Las Vegas's most notorious investor, Jimmy Hoffa, had taken a liking to the go-getting Sarno, which prompted the Teamsters' funding the construction of Caesars Palace. Sarno, Mallin, Jacobson, and Jerry Zarowitz opened the property together in 1966 but sold it just three years later to brothers Clifford and Stuart Perlman. (Sarno Straus says her father sold out with no regrets: "For cre- ative guys like him, it's not about the operations. His skill set is coming up with something new, fantastic, cutting-edge. Once that is built, it's time for the next adventure.") The next year, in 1970, Cleopatra's Barge, where singer Matt Goss now pays tribute to the legacy of golden-age Vegas entertainers every Friday and Saturday night, opened. The British pop star is part of a new genera- tion enamored with the Rat Pack and performs with a live band as he tilts a Sinatra-style fedora over one eye and croons hits such as "Lovely Las Vegas." "I definitely want Vegas," he says, "to have a swagger and a romance and glamour about it." In the late 1970s and early '80s, the hotel enjoyed a boxing heyday as major stars Holmes at Caesars, October 2, 1980. Muhammad Ali loses to Larry such as Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, outdoor arena. Gerry Cooney, and Larry Holmes fought for championships in an "The Cooney-Holmes fight was the first one I saw live," says current Caesars president Gary Selesner. "Caesars was the center of the universe, Sarno, and actress Line Renaud at Sinatra's birthday party at Caesars Frank Sinatra, Jay Andy Williams in the Showroom at Caesars, opening night, August 5, 1966 where everyone who was anyone wanted to be and where anything possible." Caesars Palace's expan- sion has been unparalleled on the Strip. Over the years, new guest accommodations—the Forum, Centurion, Palace, Augustus, and Octavius Towers—were added, with the newest, Nobu Hotel (the famed Japanese restaurant will be the anchor restaurant), scheduled to open this fall. The spectacular Garden of the Gods pool grounds were renovated several times, most recently in 2010, and are now an almost embarrassment of riches that includes eight pools spanning five acres. In December 2004, Caesars distinguished itself by leasing the space for Pure nightclub, which was instrumental in creating a new identity for Las Vegas as a nightlife destination with strict door policies, celebrity hosts, and expensive bottle service. The much smaller Light had brought that East Coast nightlife cul- ture to Vegas, but as a mega-club, Pure took everything to the next level, especially in the arena of celebrity hosting. This year, the groundbreaking Forum Shops at Caesars celebrates its 20th anniversary. For many American cities, 20 years might seem young for a shopping mall, but Forum Shops was the first of its kind when it broke ground on raw land on the north side of the property. At the time, there were no upscale stores in Vegas—society women shopped in California, and the designers brought in gowns before big events for the most well-to-do ladies. was