LAS VEGAS (AP) — A new owner of the Aladdin hotel-casino released plans Thursday to remodel the Las Vegas Strip property with a futuristic Planet Hollywood theme by the end of next year.
The property's Middle Eastern elements will be replaced with a sweeping modern design, said Robert Earl, chief executive of Planet Hollywood International and partner with resort owner OpBiz LLC.
"We're going to bring Hollywood to Vegas, and we're going to have a must-see attraction," said Earl, adding the redesign could cost up to $140 million.
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The plan will reshape entrances from the Strip and the hotel's Desert Passage shopping center, presenting what Earl characterized as a "dynamic and electrifying look."
"The old Aladdin was a total screw-up," he said by telephone Thursday from Mexico City. "One of the biggest issues was access. The whole facade was just impossible to enter. We're rectifying that with a pedestrian plaza so it is an easy place to walk."
Work is due to start next month and be completed by the end of 2006. The casino and hotel will remain open while work focuses first on the casino, registration area, shops, and the addition of a race and sports book.
As part of a previously announced partnership with Clear Channel Entertainment, the 7,000-seat Theatre for the Performing Arts will get a face-lift, and work has begun on a new 1,500 seat showroom.
Orlando-based Westgate Resorts also is building a 52-story timeshare tower adjacent to the property that will cost $400 million. The first of 1,000 condominiums and hotel suites are expected to open by the end of 2007, Earl said.
The $1.4 billion Aladdin opened in August 2000 and filed for Chapter 11 protection about a year later.
Earl is a partner in the $637 million takeover and renaming project with OpBiz members Bay Harbour Management of New York and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
The property's Middle Eastern elements will be replaced with a sweeping modern design, said Robert Earl, chief executive of Planet Hollywood International and partner with resort owner OpBiz LLC.
"We're going to bring Hollywood to Vegas, and we're going to have a must-see attraction," said Earl, adding the redesign could cost up to $140 million.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=190 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=notch_header width=1 rowSpan=3>
The plan will reshape entrances from the Strip and the hotel's Desert Passage shopping center, presenting what Earl characterized as a "dynamic and electrifying look."
"The old Aladdin was a total screw-up," he said by telephone Thursday from Mexico City. "One of the biggest issues was access. The whole facade was just impossible to enter. We're rectifying that with a pedestrian plaza so it is an easy place to walk."
Work is due to start next month and be completed by the end of 2006. The casino and hotel will remain open while work focuses first on the casino, registration area, shops, and the addition of a race and sports book.
As part of a previously announced partnership with Clear Channel Entertainment, the 7,000-seat Theatre for the Performing Arts will get a face-lift, and work has begun on a new 1,500 seat showroom.
Orlando-based Westgate Resorts also is building a 52-story timeshare tower adjacent to the property that will cost $400 million. The first of 1,000 condominiums and hotel suites are expected to open by the end of 2007, Earl said.
The $1.4 billion Aladdin opened in August 2000 and filed for Chapter 11 protection about a year later.
Earl is a partner in the $637 million takeover and renaming project with OpBiz members Bay Harbour Management of New York and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.