Plan Your Meetings

The Golden Nugget on Fremont Street Experience

Las Vegas: Where business meets pleasure

By Kristi Casey Sanders and Kelundra Smith
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Watch for:

  • The Golden Nugget is undergoing a $170 million expansion to add 500 guest rooms by late 2009.
  • Hard Rock Hotel is scheduled to add an additional 60,000 square feet of convention space and 390 new rooms by mid-2009.
  • The Las Vegas Convention Center is scheduled to undergo a $890 million renovation and expansion to be complete in 2010-2011.
  • An expansion project at Caesar’s Palace will add 110,000 square feet of convention space by mid-2009
  • A 135-room Holiday Inn Las Vegas is scheduled to open in February 2009 with 1,500 square feet of meeting space.
  • A 119-room SpringHill Suites Las Vegas Henderson is scheduled to open in November 2011.
  • Sands Expo and Convention Center is undergoing a $680 million expansion to add 1.2 million square feet of convention space by early 2010.
  • A proposed expansion of the Las Vegas Monorail may connect The Strip to the airport. Visit lvmonorail.com.
  • Deutsche Bank AG is foreclosing on the $3.5 billion Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
  • The 400-room M Resort, the southernmost casino in the Las Vegas Valley, will open in March 2009. A rooftop restaurant, a wine cellar, a movie theater and a mall are expected to open on-property by 2010.
  • The Golden Nugget is set to host the 2009 season of NBC’s “Poker After Dark.” The first 60 episodes will be filmed at The Grand Oct. 26-Nov. 5.
  • Plans to build a Las Vegas Plaza Hotel have been postponed until 2009.
  • Construction is underway at the Aria Resort & Casino, the anchor property of the CityCenter development on the Las Vegas Strip. The $11 billion Aria project will have 4,000 rooms in 61-story towers and will open in 2009.
  • Caesars Palace is opening its sixth hotel tower, Octavius, in summer 2009. Amenities include 665 rooms and 240,000 square feet of convention space.

Want to treat attendees like high rollers?

The legendary Golden Nugget —a AAA Four-Diamond Award-winner since 1977— has over 37,000 square feet of meeting space, including The Grand, a new, 11,000-sq. ft. event center adjacent to the casino floor. It has received 40 “Best of Gaming” awards from the readers of Casino Player, including “Best Service,” “Best Casino” and “Best Overall Hotel/Casino.” Other amenities include a $30 million pool complex with a shark tank, private cabanas and a dive bar; an arcade; a golf concierge; a full-service spa; live entertainment; nightclub venues; and on-site dining. For over-the-top luxury, take a look at the Venetian, the Bellagio or the Wynn Las Vegas. To create the Rat Pack vibe, check out the Sahara, where they performed and appeared in Ocean’s Eleven. Several transportation companies offer scenic airline or helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon.

Want to keep it green?

The Silver-certified Palazzo Las Vegas Hotel recently became the world’s largest building project to gain LEED certification. MGM’s Mirage, Grand Hotel, Skylofts and Signature hotel properties all have green initiatives in place; its upcoming CityCenter resort complex will apply for LEED certification. The Springs Preserve is an unusual off-site venue with 50,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space for team-building, seminars, group outings, meetings and receptions; its LEED-certified Desert Living Center is constructed of recycled materials, and uses solar energy and reclaimed water.

Want unusual venues?

Stratosphere Las Vegas has a 1,149-ft. tower with indoor and outdoor observation decks; groups can meet or dine more than 100 stories above The Strip. Circus Circus Hotel, Casino & Theme Park has a year-round circus show and Adventuredome, an indoor amusement park with thrill rides. New York New York Hotel & Casino has a 10,000-sq. ft. Brooklyn Bridge replica that accommodates up to 1,000 people reception-style, and 600 people for seated dinners. The Barrel Room is a private tasting room adjacent to Rio’s Subterranean Wine Cellar that accommodates meetings of up to 180 people. The Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis at Caesar’s Palace is a 4.5-acre complex of pools, gardens and Roman architecture accommodating groups of up to 4,000.

Want entertainment?

The Tournament of Kings dinner show features jousting, fireworks and dancing maidens. Cirque du Soleil has several shows running in different showrooms, including “O,” “Love,” “Zumanity,” “KA,” “Criss Angel: Believe” and “Mystere.” The Beatles Revolution Lounge is an interactive, psychedelic nightclub thematically tied to the Cirque du Soliel show “Love.” Attractions include touch-activated “painting” tables in the VIP lounge, lyric walls and an “LSD” ceiling. It’s not for the politically correct crowd, but some groups may enjoy gaming and cocktails at the Playboy Club, which is sandwiched between Italian restaurant Nove and Moon, a nightclub with a retractable roof, in the Palms’ Fantasy Tower. The Second City presents improvisation and sketch comedy at the Flamingo. Las Vegas showrooms are famous for long-running shows featuring well known comedians and entertainers.

Want non-gaming hotels?

Lake Las Vegas, an area 30 minutes from The Strip, is home to non-casino luxury resorts, such as The Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas, Loews Lake Las Vegas and the MonteLago Village Las Vegas Conference Resort, which specializes in small to mid-size meetings. In addition to watersports, the Lake Las Vegas area offers championship golfing and full-service spas. Closer to The Strip is The Four Seasons Las Vegas, the city’s first AAA Five-Diamond Award-winner, and the Platinum Hotel, Lounge & Spa, a boutique hotel with indoor and outdoor meeting space for groups of 300 and less.

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What you should know

Las Vegas is a first-tier destination that hosts more than 20,000 conventions annually. The city continues to reinvent itself with luxury casino resorts, high-end retail outlets, headlining acts and excellent dining options. Although the city is best known for attracting colossal conventions, there are several properties that cater to small groups needing 5,000 square feet or less. Some of the world's largest hotels (according to room count) are located on the "The Strip," a 4-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard. The Las Vegas Monorail links eight resorts to the Las Vegas Convention Center along the east side of The Strip; an expansion line to connect the monorail to the airport is in the planning stages. Also get information on current show schedules, transportation and construction updates at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Web site (LCVA.com).

What will surprise you

Nearly $40 billion of hotel and condo-hotel projects were scheduled to open over the next five years, but some projects have stalled. This is a luxury destination, but planners can find great deals, especially now that demand is beginning to soften. Because of the city's hedonistic reputation, planners often overlook its considerable natural attractions, including its golf courses. If you have an active group, consider taking them to Lake Las Vegas, Lake Mead, Mt. Charleston or Red Rock Canyon, or charter a daytrip to the Grand Canyon.

The 411:
  • 9.7 million square feet of meeting, exhibit and trade show space citywide
  • 3.2 million square feet of meeting and convention space at Las Vegas Convention Center
  • 136,000 guest rooms
  • 202,362 slot machines