LAS VEGAS, Nev., May 16 -- Bally Entertainment Corp. announced Tuesday it plans to build a $420 million Paris-themed casino resort in Las Vegas with 2,500 guest rooms and 80,000 square feet of casino space. Named Paris Casino-Resort, the property on the Las Vegas Strip will include replicas of the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Paris Opera House, the River Seine and a 50-story version of the Eiffel Tower, complete with a recreation of the Jules Verne restaurant and an observation lookout. Groundbreaking is set for late this year, with the opening expected two years later. The resort will be developed on 25 acres adjacent to Bally's Las Vegas, which has 2,800 rooms, with a 33-story 'X'-shaped tower. The development is the latest in a scramble by Las Vegas operators to lure more gamblers to Nevada as other states open up to legal gaming. Companies have also been trying to make a break with the 'Sin City' image of Las Vegas by opening family-oriented attractions. MGM Grand and Primadonna Resorts broke ground six weeks ago for their $350 million New York-New York Hotel & Casino project on the Strip. And Mirage Resorts announced last year plans to build a $250 million resort- casino on the Strip, where the old Dunes Hotel once sat. 'Las Vegas is continuing to expand and prosper and Bally is committed to being an integral part of that growth,' said Arthur Goldberg, chairman and chief executive officer. 'This location, owned by Bally, is one of the last prime undeveloped sites left on the Las Vegas Strip.
'The Paris Casino-Resort will be a realistic version of the French city and will allow visitors to experience, short of an actual trip to France, the excitement and magic that Paris has to offer,' he said. 'The Eiffel Tower will soon become a must-see attraction for all who visit Las Vegas, and every detail of the resort will be planned to transport our guests on a journey through that spectacular city.' Paris Casino-Resort also will house nine themed restaurants, 90,000 square feet of convention space, a French-themed retail shopping complex and a 25,000-square-foot health spa. The casino will include turn-of- the-century and modern French themes with art nouveau sculptures and French impressionist paintings. The hotel rooms will be decorated in different periods of French history. The complex also will offer a working French winery and French- style gondola rides and feature a re-created Paris Metro station where a monorail between Bally's Las Vegas and the MGM Grand that is expected to open in June. Theme-style resorts are now the rage among Las Vegas developers. Circus Circus Enterprises launched the first round in the battle, with the October 1993 opening of its $390 million, 2,500-room Luxor casino featuring a 30-story, glass-skinned pyramid and a replica of the Sphinx. Later that same month, Mirage Resorts opened its 2,900-room, pirate- themed $475 million Treasure Island resort that features live pirate shows. About two months later, MGM Grand opened its mega-resort, with 5, 000 rooms and a 'Wizard of Oz'-style theme park. Circus Circus is expected to fire the next shot in the resort war. It announced in early March it would buy the Hacienda Hotel from Sahara Gaming for an undisclosed price. It also owns the adjacent property and is expected to announce a mega-resort at that site soon. In another sign of the rising expectations for Las Vegas, ITT Corp. decided earlier this year to start dumping its financial services units and become a major player in entertainment by spending $1.7 billion to buy the three Caesar's World casinos in Nevada.
