Las Vegas: The city of constant change

LAS VEGAS — There's only one high rolling, fabulous Las Vegas. Where else can you enjoy a sampling of New York City, Paris, Egypt, Italy, Knights of the Round Table, pirates, volcano action, ancient Rome, close encounters with "Star Trek" and roller coasters; plus more eye candy than the human retina can possibly absorb?

In recent years, Las Vegas has become an entertainment capital. It's also famous for its fleet of buffets, Elvis impersonators, wedding chapels and more.

The face of the famed Las Vegas Strip is an ever-changing zone of glitter, glamor and neon. According to Erika Yowell, senior manager of media relations for the Las Vegas News Bureau/Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, there are currently plans for $30 billion in new resort development — the greatest dollar amount in the city's history.

The Boardwalk Casino closed in January to make way for the MGM/Mirage Project City Center Hotel, set to open in 2009.

And the Stardust Resort and Casino will shut its doors in early 2007 for Echelon Place, expected to open in 2009. And there are a dozen other new hotels/casinos, on or near the Strip, set to open later this year.

Another eight projects are set to be completed in 2007 and another nine in 2008.

However, rumors that McCarran International Airport will be relocated to Jean, 30 miles south of Las Vegas, are untrue. Yowell said a new airport is scheduled to open in Jean in 2018, probably for cargo and international arrival and departures. Yet it will not replace the conveniently located McCarran Airport.

Las Vegas had almost 39 million visitors in 2005, with March being the busiest month of the year. Yowell said Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas regularly vie for the No. 1 and No. 2 most popular U.S. destinations each year. (Las Vegas visitations were up 2.6 percent for the first two months of 2006.)

"Las Vegas has a larger number of hotel rooms than any other destination and a consistently higher occupancy level," she said.

The city currently has 133,186 rooms, with 2,231 new hotel rooms coming by year's end, plus another 1,286 time-share units planned. By the year 2010, Las Vegas is expected to have more than 171,000 rooms.

Is that enough?

Yowell said Las Vegas' rooms are totally filled on some weekends.