CITY CENTER FACADE - CRYSTALS SHOPPING COMPLEXWOW!… What else can you say when you look at the future.. or experience it? That is exactly what City Center, the largest and most dramatic urban complex ever to bow in Las Vegas feels like. The latest project from the MGM Mirage Group, City Center is a work of art on a scale that mere mortals rarely accomplish. Already dubbed “Dubai West” due to its size and opulence, City Center sparkles, dazzles, and redraws a line in the sand – separating it from any other property in this already glamorous city. I was thrilled to get an advanced looked at the complex early this week. 
JASON IN THE MIDDLE OF RETAIL HEAVEN It didn’t take much to get me on the plane to Vegas to be one of the first people to experience City Center! Also, how often do you get to look at 8.5 Billion dollars? That staggering budget won't be topped anytime soon.
CRYSTALS INTERIOR - 500,000 SQUARE FEET
Despite the worst economic environment in 75 years, MGM pushed ahead with the uber project that broke ground back in 2007. Bravo! The company should be applauded for recognizing that when the economy recovers during 2010 and 2011, this property will be the luxury destination in Sin City, if not the world. It will take years or at least a decade for any other future project to outdo this work of art. Not to mention that since the credit crackdown of 2009 – who will ever be able to line up funding like this anytime soon?
Crystals is the luxury retail complex that features astonishing boutiques from the biggest names in fashion. Of course Louis Vuitton took the center by storm by opening their largest boutique in the U.S.- 3 levels of open air design displaying the latest LV collection, as well as custom made products for Vegas like a traveling roulette wheel in your own LV trunk! Don't ask the price! Tom Ford opens his second boutique in the US that will no doubt host the unveiling of the designers women's collection in 2011. French “it” collection Lanvin also chose City Center to unveil it’s second state side boutique after Bal Harbour– opening early 2010. Fellow French fashion house and luxury benchmark –Hermes- will also be a part of the massive atrium.
The real star of the Crystals shopping complex is the building itself. There is over 500,000 square feet of luxury retail shopping destinations! At the center of the building sits a three story wooden tree house designed by NYC based architect David Rockwell. 
DAVID ROCKWELL'S TREEHOUSE The curved lines of this wooden Café / lounge in the sky makes me think of Star Wars – a futuristic image of a minimalist cantina. At the same time, the shape and position of the tree house looks like an abstract heart, pulsating life to all corners of the Crystals. Rockwell is known for breaking boundaries and taking projects to the next level. He is a prolific talent - in the past year alone working on such diverse projects as the state of the art Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, the set of the 81st Annual Academy Awards, and this out of this world retail environment in Las Vegas. (And this is just his projects happening in North America). Rockwell gave the building smooth lines that soften and calm the feeling created by Fellow Architect and dreamer, Daniel Libeskind, who designed the facade and outer building of Crystals. Jagged edges of steel and glass envelop Rockwell's world of smooth wood and filtered light. 
SMOOTH LINES AND CALM LIGHTING IN THE CRYSTALSThe overall effect is like some futuristic bio-dome where only luxury goods and those who can afford them have survived. The Crystals and City Center are about as unlike any other structure in Las Vegas you can imagine. City Center and Wynn are not only at opposite ends of the strip in Vegas, they are polar opposites when it comes to aesthetics.
Amazingly, the 8 billion dollar City Center has only one gaming property – Aria. The stunning hotel and casino has 4,000 guestrooms! The lobby is unlike any casino - hotel you have ever seen. Calm and serene with live trees everywhere you look. To help Aria take shape, the powers that be enlisted another rock star of design, NYC architect Peter Marino to contribute to the casino itself. Marino is the darling of the fashion world, creating some of the biggest and most luxurious Fashion boutiques in the world for global brands like Chanel and Christian Dior. 
CITY CENTER DRIVEWAY -VERY BLADE RUNNER For City Center Marino created the VIP gaming area of Aria. The inspiration was the curves and natural flow of the Grand Canyon. 
HIGH ROLLER GAMING ROOMS BY PETER MARINO AT ARIA Marino outdid himself with this visually stunning space. He was able to create a sense of calm for those who will be risking large sums of money on every hand! Not only visually stunning, Aria is proud to have received LEED GOLD certification for the property – another first for a project this size.
The talent of the MGM management is that they are able to present this ultra luxurious property- while at the same time offering enough options for those on a more limited budget. Case in point,
TERRENE BOUTIQUE two of the retails stores owned and operated by the MGM management offers a range of price points that give the same look as the luxury designs for sale in the Crystals complex. Terrene for Women and Viceroy for Men, both stores off the lobby in Aria.
I can’t even go into the restaurants here and do them justice. There are 16 in Aria alone! More to come on the eating options, but just be warned – don’t eat for a week before you go. I'll be writing about this for days, as there are so many details to cover! Oh, did I forget to mention, Elvis is in the building? That's right, Cirque du Soleil has created another show for Las Vegas. This time, honoring the King of Rock & Roll himself. The theater at Aria houses the show and also has the only official Elvis store in Las Vegas.
After you rock City Center, pop across the strip one night to Planet Hollywood to take in the former “Girls Next Door” star Holly Madison in her new burlesque production - PEEPSHOW. Holly went from being one of Hef's harem to being the hottest tease on the strip.. or something like that. Hef who? 
HOLLY MADISON OF PEEP SHOW
Bottom line, Get yourself to Las Vegas in 2010! With all the incentives being offered, there has never been a better time to go. You are guaranteed have a great time. There are so many great deals on airfare and many of the major hotels are offering packages with steep discounts. Some are even giving casino dollars to spend on the property. Jet Blue also has direct flights from the new terminal at JFK. Good Luck!