Incentive - December 2007 - (Page 56)

las vegas incentive marketplace Refining the Convention Center The first phase of an $890 million project at the Las Vegas Convention Center is forecasted to begin next year, and will entail constructing a new Grand Concourse lobby running the entire length of the building and adding 87,000 square feet of meeting space to the South Hall area. After the completion of phase one in 2010, a renovation of all existing space will get underway and is scheduled to finish by the end of 2011. The focus of the renovation will be two-fold: upgrading the building’s infrastructure to carry it into the future and creating a uniform look. Complementary projects will be completed throughout the renovation process, including streamlining the vehicle and pedestrian traffic flow, building fire and police department facilities on premises, and constructing a suspended enclosed walkway from the monorail station directly into the convention center. Star Quality Last month, the MGM Grand’s Joël Robuchon (right) became the first and only Las Vegas restaurant to earn a prestigious top rating of three stars in the city’s debut Michelin Guide. Joël Robuchon shares this honor with only 57 restaurants worldwide. The guide gave stars to 16 outstanding Las Vegas dining establishments, with Alex (Wynn), Guy Savoy (Caesars Palace), and Picasso (Bellagio) receiving an impressive two stars and thirteen restaurants garnering one star, including Bradley Ogden in Caesars Palace, Daniel Boulud Brasserie in the Wynn Resort, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in the MGM Grand, Michael Mina in the Bellagio, and Nobu in the Hard Rock Resort. On the Horizon Of the 38,000-plus new guest rooms set to join the current 131,000 in Las Vegas by 2010, many are in upscale developments with key incentivecaliber components. Both the $600 million, 599-unit Palms Place Condominium Hotel & Spa Tower at The Palms Casino Resort (above) and the $500 million, 1,282-room Trump International Hotel & Towers are on schedule to open next year, while the $1.4 billion Encore is scheduled to open adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas next summer with approximately 2,000 guest rooms that are even larger and more luxurious than those at its sister hotel. The $7 billion City Center is slated to open by late 2009, and $4 billion Echelon Place is opening in 2010—both with luxury boutique hotels within their complex. Construction is also underway on the $3 billion Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino, as is work on the $25 billion W Las Vegas Hotel Casino and Residences. Adrenalin Action Pole Position Raceway, which opened in November, is a 60,000-square-foot indoor motorsports entertainment facility with a variety of options for incentive groups. Private parties can take over all or part of the facility, creating customized races using the fastest indoor karts in the United States on a quarter-mile-long, European-style track designed in part by NASCAR Champion Kurt Buschy. Pole Position Raceway has four private event rooms, the largest of which overlooks the track and can handle a reception of up to 200 people. Catering is available for everything from box lunches and buffets to a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres or a sit-down dinner. The venue, which is decorated with racing memorabilia, also features arcade games and billiard tables. 56 | December 2007 SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - December 2007

Incentive - December 2007 Contents Editor’s Note: Revved Up In the News Cover Story: Rolls-Royce Empowers Its Own Case Study: Booz Allen Hamilton Beating Your Best Incentive Primer: Add Value to Your Event Keeping Safety In Mind Incentive Interview Potentials Here and Now Research: Corporate Gifts Facts Report Tabletop Awards: Travel Gift Cards Travel News Viva Puerto Vallarta Indigenous Spas Advertiser Index Off the Cuff: Ambassador Christoph Bubb Luxury Brands Special Supplement

Incentive - December 2007

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