World just got smaller: Curtains drop on themed hotel-casinos

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- As reported by The Las Vegas-Review Journal: "Nefertiti's Lounge is gone, the Nile will probably never run through Las Vegas again and it could very well take an archaeology degree to find a hieroglyphic in the Luxor casino these days.

"The street lamps of New York-New York have been snuffed out. Treasure Island's skull and crossbones belongs to a sign museum now but may as well have been sent to a watery grave. Years ago, the yellow brick road met its dead end at MGM Grand.

"...It's the newest method of remodeling in Las Vegas: taking the theme out of themed hotels.

"In the town where implosions became a tourist attraction in the 1990s, buildings have stopped going "boom." Instead, casino operators are blowing off their hotel's theme in favor of the latest Strip trend, vacation luxury.

"...But a lot of people aren't happy about it, says Mark Adams, a Las Vegas-phile who runs vegastodayandtomorrow.com, a Web site that tracks casino construction and remodeling projects. He hears from tourists who don't like the new trend.

"'The families love the themes,' Adams says. 'They want to come and play in adult Disneyland, bring their kids with them. Everything is chichi and cool now, but how many modern chichi hotels can the city support?'..."