Looking at CityCenter

CityCenter has been open for almost a year and the Rate Vegas blog and Vegas Tripping got me to thinking about where I thought things are with the newest property in Las Vegas.

First and foremost, and most telling, after my initial visit to check out CityCenter I haven’t returned in my last two trips to Vegas.  I liked the buildings a lot, but there was nothing special about the casino at Aria to make it a must visit for me.  I enjoy the crowds at Palms and Hard Rock and the gambling and food at Wynn, Encore and Venetian so I visit them almost every trip.

CityCenter reviews haven’t been off the charts so there’s been no reason to go out of my way or even across the street when I’m staying at Planet Hollywood.  Actually when I go to that area of the strip, I enjoy drinking and gambling and looking at working girls at Bellagio.  Why bother with the new and poorly laid out CityCenter mega-complex.

So, after a year CityCenter has done nothing to win my attention or business.  Maybe that will change over the next year, but it’s not very high on my list of destinations in Vegas.

Check these informative articles if you’d like a deeper analysis of why CityCenter is where it is today.

Rate Vegas: “Have Conditions at CityCenter Poisoned The Well?” Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Vegas Tripping: “If Only CityCenter Could Play a Mulligan” and “Aria’s Latest Recipe for Cost Cutting”

Vegas Gang Podcast: Download a great discussion on CityCenter and Aria here.

Props to Hunter and Chuck Monster for putting much thought and work into CityCenter since day one.  The Cosmopolitan is the next new property opening on the Vegas Strip and should be the last for a while.  As I’ve said before I’m looking forward to their independent approach to opening a new the strip.