Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corporation. Caesars is located on the west side of the Strip, between the Bellagio and the Mirage. The hotel includes a convention facility of over 300,000 square feet (28,000 m²).^[1]

Caesars has 3,960 rooms^[2] in six towers: Augustus, Centurion, Roman, Palace, Octavius, and Forum. The Forum tower features guest suites with 1,000 square feet (93 m²) of space. It is the only venue in Las Vegas to host a World Series of Poker Circuit Event.^[3]

History[link]

In 1962, Jay Sarno, a cabana motel owner, used US$35 million that had been lent to him by the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund to begin plans for a hotel on land owned by Kirk Kerkorian. Sarno would later act as designer of the hotel he planned to construct.

Building of the 14-story Caesars Palace hotel began in 1962. That first tower would have 680 rooms on the 34 acre (138,000 m²) site.

Sarno struggled to decide on a name for the hotel. He finally decided to call it Caesars Palace because he thought that the name Caesar would evoke thoughts of royalty because of Roman general Julius Caesar.

Sarno contracted many companies to build the hotel, from the Roman landscapes it presents, to the water fountains that have been stages of various events and the hotel's swimming pools.

On August 5, 1966, the hotel was inaugurated.

In 1969, a Federal Organized Crime Task Force accused the casino's financial manager, Jerome Zarowitz, of having ties with organized-crime figures in New York and New England. Although Zarowitz was never tried, the task force pressured Jay Sarno and his other investors to sell the casino.^[4] In 1969, the Lum's restaurant chain, led by Stuart and Clifford S. Perlman, bought the hotel for $60 million.^[5] The company soon shed its restaurant operations and changed its name to Caesars World.^[6] On July 15 of that year, executives lay ground on an expansion area of the hotel, and they buried a time capsule in the area, but the time capsule was stolen days later.

In 1973, the Del Webb corporation was contracted to build a 16-story building adjacent to the Palace. The project was finished in 1975.

1980s[link]

In 1981, the Perlmans sold their shares in Caesars World after trying to get a gaming license for a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The New Jersey Casino Control Commission accused the brothers of doing business with people who had organized-crime connections.^[7]

Caesars Palace lobby

1990s[link]

The spiral escalators are a defining feature of the Forum Shops.

The hotel's management wanted it to have a new atmosphere as the 1990s approached, a trend mirrored by many of the big Las Vegas resorts. This move was not strange to Las Vegas hotel owners, as most hotels there were planning to modernize.

In 1992, The Forum Shops at Caesars opened; it was one of the first venues in the city where shopping, particularly at high-end fashion house stores, was an attraction in itself. The fourth phase, which opened on October 22, 2004, has the second-built circular escalator in the United States. The other is at the Westfield San Francisco Centre.

2000s[link]

Caesars has opened the Plaza, an open-air area with celebrity chef Bradley Ogden's eponymous restaurant and the Colosseum, where Céline Dion (A New Day...) and Elton John (The Red Piano) were regular performers. The Colosseum was specifically built for Dion's show, A New Day..., a spectacular produced by former Cirque du Soleil director Franco Dragone. Dion's show was also notable for having some of the highest ticket prices for any show in the city, with seats as high as $220 each; nonetheless, the show regularly sold out.^[8]

Caesars Palace opened the Augustus Tower in August 2005 (designed by Bergman Walls Associates). It stands 46 floors high and is perpendicular to the Strip.

In 2005, Harrah's Entertainment acquired the first Caesars Entertainment, Inc. and became the owner of Caesars Palace.

In 2006, the hotel held a total of four Michelin stars for their restaurants. Two stars for Restaurant Guy Savoy and one star each for Bradley Ogden and Mesa Grill.

Ownership[link]

Over the years, the hotel has been owned by various companies, including Sheraton and The Hilton International Corporation's, Caesars Entertainment (originally known as Park Place Entertainment) bought the property in 2001 before it merged with Harrah's in 2005. That year, Caesars Palace was affected by a large flood.

Caesars Palace is the flagship property of Caesars Entertainment.

Future[link]

With the success of the Augustus Tower, Caesars Entertainment was planning to expand by building a new hotel Octavius Tower and sports complex. The sports complex would replace the events center. The project cost $1 billion and Harrah's planned to open it in summer 2009. In January 2009, Harrah's said it would postpone the opening of the new tower, citing a lack of demand for hotel space.^[9] In September 2011, Caesars announced that it would open Octavius Tower in January 2012.^[10]

The Colosseum at Caesars[link]

The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is a 4,296-seat entertainment venue, originally built for Celine Dion's show A New Day.... The venue has since hosted performances by numerous other artists.

In May 2007, Bette Midler was announced as Dion's formal replacement. Midler will reportedly only perform about 100 shows a year, with Elton John continuing to perform his popular Red Piano show 50 nights a year while Midler is on hiatus. When Midler opened at the Colosseum, the sold-out show debuted at #1 on Billboard.com's Weekly Ticket Grosses.

After taking a three-year hiatus, Cher, following her Farewell Tour, returned to Caesars Palace with a three-year contract, performing 200 shows beginning May 6, 2008.^[11]

The Mexican superstar Luis Miguel performs several shows every September since 2007 to celebrate the Mexican Independence Day.^[12][13]

Gloria Estefan performed a special seven-day concert in 2003 for the launch of her album Unwrapped. The show was titled Live & Unwrapped, and all the concerts were sold out.

Stevie Nicks performed a special four-night stint at The Colosseum in May 2005. Her show was called "Dreams", and was sold out. Nicks also played one night exclusive shows at The Colosseum again in August 2005 and December 2006. She performed another four-night stint in March 2007.

On May 26, 2009, U.S President Barack Obama performed in the Colosseum in the one-night show A Good Fight alongside Sheryl Crow, Bette Midler and Rita Rudner to fundraise for Nevada's senator Harry Reid re-election campaign. Several streets were closed and the Augustus tower was blocked as security precautions by the Secret Service during the visit.^[14]

Caesars Palace view from Strip

Entertainment and attractions[link]

The Caesars Palace main fountain. The statue is of the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

Caesars offers additional attractions including:

• Fall of Atlantis—free show
• Festival Fountain—free show
• Pure Nightclub a nightclub
• A number of world-famous restaurants and celebrity chefs
• The Pussycat Dolls Lounge, an adjunct of the Pure Nightclub

In February 2006, a section of the casino was designed to match the Pussycat Dolls Nightclub^[15] and is called the Pussycat Dolls Casino.

During the 1980s, the hotel opened an Atari game room that had over 60 Atari video game arcade machines.

Pure[link]

Pure is a popular nightclub at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The venue is 40,000 square feet (3,700 m²)^[16] and is the host of The Pussycat Dolls Lounge. The club is frequented by celebrities hosting invite only parties. The club is operated by Pure Management Group.^[17]

Pure offers three separate partying spaces, each with their own DJs: the dance area, lounge and terrace.^[18]

The club is known to pay significant appearance fees for celebrities to attend events at the club. During the fall of 2009, Scott the Engineer of The Howard Stern Show made an appearance as a "celebrity" DJ.^[19]

Notable performers[link]

Many top performers, such as Pilita Corrales, Rod Stewart, Celine Dion, Cher, Bette Midler, Liberace, Elton John, George Burns, Pat Cooper, Diana Ross, Paul Anka and Odia Coates, Julio Iglesias, Judy Garland, David Copperfield, Stevie Nicks, Gloria Estefan, Phyllis Diller, Luis Miguel, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Seinfeld, Eric Tsang and Mariah Carey have performed at the hotel.

In 1982 Ronnie Vannucci, now playing in Las Vegas-based The Killers, became the youngest musician to play with a band at age six in a lounge in Caesars Palace.

Magician David Copperfield was a headliner for several stints in the Circus Maximus Theatre.

Race and Sports Book, near Mesa Grill

Comedian George Burns had performed there a number of times in the early 1990s and had stated that he wanted to perform there on his 100th birthday but could not due to failing health.

Stunts[link]

On December 31, 1967, Evel Knievel unsuccessfully tried to jump 141 feet (43 m) over the hotel's water fountain with his motorcycle.

In 1980, Gary Wells gained much media coverage, and much physical suffering, when he unsuccessfully tried to jump a motorcycle over a water fountain at the Caesars Palace. He sustained injuries to many different parts of his body.

In 1989, Robbie Knievel successfully completed what his father could not do years before by completing the fountain jump.

On May 4, 2006, Mike Metzger became the first person to ever backflip on a motorcycle over the fountains.

On July 17, 2010, Flight Centre attempted a Guinness World Record for the largest toga party, still to be confirmed

Caesars Magical Empire[link]

In mid-1996, a new venue known as "Caesars Magical Empire" was created on the property, showcasing major magicians such as Jon Armstrong, Lee Asher, Whit Haydn, TC Tahoe, Jeff "Magnus" McBride, Scott and Jenny Alexander, and Alain Nu. This development coincided with the 1990s campaign to reinvent Las Vegas as a destination for family vacations, by creating attractions appropriate for children as well as adults. The "Empire" was an extravagantly-themed immersive dining and entertainment experience, housed in a 66,000 sq ft (6,100 m²) specially-built building constructed with 800 tons of steel. Guests with ticketed reservations entered through the "Celestial Court" to the "Chamber of Destiny", which, through elaborate effects, appeared to be a magical elevator which transported them underground to a "subterranean catacombs." In reality the guests didn't descend at all; the walls of the room were raised by a large electric winch and the floor of the room shaken by pneumatic actuators. "Roman gladiators" led the guests through winding dimly-lighted passages, assuring them of their safety, and then humorously pretending to have taken a wrong and dangerous turn.

The guests then arrived at the circular, domed, and ornately appointed Sanctorum Secorum,^[20] a central, 70-foot (21 m)-high rotunda, from which other areas of the "Empire", such as the mirrored "Infinity Hallway", could be accessed. An audio-visual welcome from a heroic statue of Caesar was enhanced by music, a light show, and a 20-foot (6.1 m) gas flame curling up from a fissure in the "rock." A large vase seemingly floating in space near a statue poured a continuous stream of water into a pool. The guests were then divided into groups and given one of three medallions to wear. Next, guests were escorted to ten dining chambers, each seating 24 persons (for a total of 240 guests at each seating). In addition to a wait staff which interacted comically with the guests, magic was performed in each dining room by a sorcerer host. In one amusing trick, guests were given paper "menus" on which were images of a cow, chicken, fish and vegetable, and were instructed to tear one of the pictures as indication of their choice of a beef, chicken, fish or vegetable entre. The menus were then collected and seemingly all thrown haphazardly together, then "destroyed" by fire. but nevertheless, each guest correctly received his or her chosen dinner. A stylized clear glass goblet that held spirits during the meal were also available for purchase in the Caesars Magical Empire gift shop.

The interior of the entire complex was decorated in a combination of pseudo cave-and-classic architecture, with faux rock-work and stone, real marble floors, triumphal arches, brass railings, painted mosaics, atmospheric sky domes, banners, torches, Roman "classical" furniture and lamp reproductions, statuary, caryatids and telemons, bas-relief faces of mythical personages, and intricately cast "carved" designs, all theatrically lighted.

After dining, the guests were free to visit one of two lounges, The "Spirit Bar" (flanked by two "Seance Rooms") or the "Forbidden Crypt." Additionally, they could see more magic performed in one or another of two incongruously-named-and-designed theatres: the 75-seat "Secret Pagoda Theatre", or the 150-seat "Sultan's Palace."

While the endeavor was popular and profitable, accommodation of several audiences of 240 diners each day at capacity was no match for the potential income from the enormous audiences which could be accommodated in a large concert space. Thus the six-year reign of the "Empire", came to an end on November 30, 2002, after which the structure was razed to make room for a large concert hall created for singer Celine Dion.^[21]

Sporting events[link]

The Caesars Palace Grand Prix car race (a Formula One World Championship event) was held at Caesars Palace in 1981 and 1982. After the Watkins Glen race course was removed from the schedule following the 1980 season, Formula One included an event in Las Vegas for the 1981 campaign. The new race was not popular among the drivers, primarily because of the desert heat. The track was laid out in the parking lot of the Caesars Palace hotel and was surprisingly well set up for a temporary circuit: wide enough for overtaking, it provided ample run-off areas filled with sand, and had a surface that was as smooth as glass. Its counter-clockwise direction, however, put a tremendous strain on the drivers' necks. When Nelson Piquet clinched his first World Championship by finishing fifth in 1981, it took him fifteen minutes to recover from heat exhaustion. The 1982 race was won by Michele Alboreto in a Tyrrell, but the race was not renewed for the following season due to poor attendance.

Several championship boxing matches were held in Caesars Outdoor Arena in the 1980's. Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Durán all headlined here, along with Larry Holmes against both Muhammad Ali and Gerry Cooney. England boxing captain Errol Christie was on the supporting bill with Hearns when he fought Duran. Also, three bouts between Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe were contested here, one of which included the infamous "Fan Man" incident which saw a parachuter with a fan attached to his back parachute down to the ring in the middle of the fight. Michael Moorer also won the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World when he defeated Holyfield. The fight led to Holyfield's first of several retirements. Oscar De La Hoya also headlined several boxing cards here during the mid-to-late '90s, as did Shane Mosley.

The arena also held one of its more interesting events during the summer of 1991: a pre-season game between the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. A rink was laid out over the parking lot and held firm despite 85-degree temperatures. Behind a goal from Wayne Gretzky, the Kings came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 5-2 before a crowd of over 13,000. The game served as a predecessor to both the Frozen Fury (the Kings' annual preseason game in Las Vegas that began in 1997) and the Winter Classic (the annual regular season game played outdoors on New Year's Day that began in 2008).

WrestleMania IX, one of the annual World Wrestling Federation spectacles promoted by Vince McMahon, was held here in 1993. The theme was "The World's Largest Toga Party".

On October 2, 2004, big-time boxing returned to the Palace, as Wladimir Klitschko and former Olympian Jeff Lacy headlined a card televised on Showtime.

In popular culture[link]

Film[link]

• Hells Angels on Wheels 1967
• Hell's Angels '69 1969
• Where It's At 1969
• The Electric Horseman 1979
• Pleasure Palace
• History of the World, Part I 1981
• Rocky III 1982
• Oh, God! You Devil 1984
• You Ruined My Life 1987
• Rain Man 1988; setting of the iconic card counting sequence.
• Hearts Are Wild 1992
• Showgirls 1995
• Fools Rush In 1997
• The Strip 1999
• Rush Hour 2 2001
• Ocean's Eleven 2001
• Intolerable Cruelty 2003
• Dreamgirls 2006
• 10.5: Apocalypse
• Category 6: Day of Destruction
• Iron Man 2008; in the opening scene, Tony Stark gambles during an awards ceremony in which his friend Obadiah Stane accepts the award on his behalf.
• The Hangover 2009; the main characters stayed in the hotel.
• In the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Caesars Palace appears in the fictional city of Las Venturas, but with the name Caligula's Palace. The casino is a major part of the game's plot, in which the main character must pull off a robbery heist on the casino, which is run by the mafia.
• 2012 2009; Caesars Palace and the other hotels along the Las Vegas Strip collapse into the ground after being hit by a cloud from the Yellowstone Caldera eruption.
• My Mother's Curse 2012

Television[link]

• A&E had a reality show called Caesars 24/7 showing behind the scenes at Caesars. The jobs highlighted by the show ranged from security and concierge to "The Grape Goddess" and "Shadow Dancers." Many visitors were documented as well. The show ran for two seasons.
• In The Partridge Family episode What? And Get Out of Show Business?, the family depart to Las Vegas for their first live gig at Caesars Palace.
• During The Simpsons episode Viva Ned Flanders, Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders stay at Nero's Palace in Las Vegas, an obvious spoof of Caesars.
• In The Sopranos Season Six, Part two, Tony stays at Caesars Palace following the murder of Christopher Moltisanti, also he seems to have some connection with the management of the hotel because he is sent the Casino's private jet, and given a penthouse for free.
• In Will & Grace Season Six, last two episodes "I Do. Oh, no You DI'nt (Part 1 and Part 2)", Karen Walker hops on a plane to Caesars Palace, Sin City with fiance Lyle (John Cleese) and faithful friends Will and Jack.
• The first-episode auditions for Cycle 12 of America's Next Top Model were held at Caesars Palace.
• In the Friends episodes 'The One in Vegas' (part one and two) and 'The One After Vegas', the six main characters stay at Caesars Palace.
• Miss Chinese International Pageant 2000 was held at Caesars Palace.
• Caesars Challenge was taped at Caesars Palace and aired on NBC from 1993-1994.
• In The Suite Life on Deck episode 'So you think you can date?', London asks Bailey to write her report on Julius Caesars Palace. Bailey then corrects her that Julius Caesar was a Roman emperor, not a casino.

See also[link]

• Caesars Atlantic City
• Caesars Windsor
• Caesars Entertainment

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Caesars Palace hotel (Las Vegas)

• Caesars Palace Web Site
• History of Caesars Palace

v t e Las Vegas Strip South end Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign West side casinos Aria Bellagio Caesars Palace Circus Circus Cosmopolitan Echelon (on hold) Excalibur Luxor Mandalay Bay Mirage Monte Carlo New York-New York Slots-A-Fun Treasure Island East side casinos Bally's Bill's Casino Royale Encore Flamingo Fontainebleau (on hold) Harrah's Imperial Palace MGM Grand O'Sheas Palazzo Paris Planet Hollywood Riviera Tropicana Venetian Wynn Former casinos Boardwalk Castaways Desert Inn Dunes El Rancho Casino El Rancho Vegas Hacienda Klondike Landmark New Frontier Sahara Sands Silver City Silver Slipper Stardust Thunderbird Westward Ho Shopping The Crystals Fashion Show Mall The Forum Shops Grand Canal Shoppes Miracle Mile Shops Attractions Adventuredome The Roller Coaster Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay Speed – The Ride Transportation CityCenter Tram The Deuce Las Vegas Monorail Mandalay Bay Tram RTC Transit Strip Gaming Area

Coordinates: 36°07′04″N 115°10′30″W / 36.11778°N 115.175°W / 36.11778; -115.175

Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in 1979.
Born	Robert Craig Knievel (1938-10-17)October 17, 1938 Butte, Montana
Died	November 30, 2007(2007-11-30) (aged 69) Clearwater, Florida
Cause of death	Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Resting place	Butte, Montana
Nationality	American
Occupation	Stunt performer
Known for	Motorcycle stunts
Spouse	Linda Joan Bork (1959–97) Krystal Kennedy (1999–2001)
Children	Kelly, Tracey, Alicia, Robbie
Parents	Robert Edward Knievel, Ann Kehoe
Website
EvelKnievel.com

Evel Knievel (/ˈiːvəl kɨˈniːvəl/;^[1] October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007), born Robert Craig Knievel, was an American daredevil and entertainer. In his career he attempted over 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps between 1965 and 1980, and in 1974, a failed jump across Snake River Canyon in the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket. The 433 broken bones he suffered during his career earned an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the survivor of "most bones broken in a lifetime."^[2] Knievel died of pulmonary disease in Clearwater, Florida, aged 69. According to The Times writing his obituary, Knievel was one of the greatest American icons of the 1970s. Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.^[2]

Knievel was born in Butte, Montana in 1938 and raised by his grandparents. After watching a Joie Chitwood auto daredevil show as a child, he took to jumping using a pedal bike, later moving on to motorcycles. As a troubled youth, he earned his stagename after occupying a jail cell next to a man named Knofel, leading the jailer to refer to the pair as Awful Knofel and Evil Knievel (Knievel later changed the spelling of the first name to Evel). In addition to stunt riding at local shows, his early life including a spell in the United States Army at the behest of a magistrate, as well as jobs as a hunting guide, an insurance salesman, while also becoming an ice-hockey team owner. Knievel notably staged an exhibition match against the Czechoslovakian hockey team ahead of the 1960 Winter Olympics. After moving into sports full time, he had moderate success on the motocross circuit.

Knievel moved into the entertainment business in 1966 by setting up his own daredevil show, initially using a variety of performers and touring several US states, and later converting it to a solo show focused entirely on his jumps as the centre-piece. He came to national attention when he persuaded the owners of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to let him jump their fountain on New Year's Eve 1967, which was filmed for ABC. After a failed landing, he spent 29 days in a coma. On his recovery, he continued to make high profile and lucrative jumps, and began lobbying the government for permission to jump the Grand Canyon. When this failed, he settled on the Snake River jump in Twin Falls, Idaho. Knievel attempted to jump it on September 8, 1974 in the X-2 Skycycle. Immediately after launch, the arresting parachute deployed, and the vehicle floated down on the near side crashing just a few feet away from the river's edge, with Knievel suffering minor injuries and avoiding drowning had he fallen into the water instead (since a jumpsuit/harness malfunction kept him strapped in the vehicle). Knievel then traveled to Britain, and on May 26, 1975, attempted to jump 13 buses in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium, again crashing but with severe injuries. His longest completed career jump came at Kings Island theme park in Ohio on October 25, 1975, jumping 14 buses, marking his peak television audience.

In 1977, Knievel served six months in jail for assaulting his Snake River promoter Shelly Saltman for writing an unflattering book. After this conviction, Knievel's career suffered, causing him to declare bankruptcy following a $13 million award for damages to Saltman. Subsequently, Knievel eventually withdrew from doing major shows after cancelling an attempt to jump a tank full of live sharks in Chicago after injuring a cameraman during a practice jump. He instead concentrated on touring with and training his son Robbie Knievel, also a daredevil, eventually making his last jump in March 1981.

In his career heyday, Knievel's nationally televised motorcycle jumps were four of the twenty most-watched ABC's Wide World of Sports events to date.^[2] He became a celebrity, recognizable for his use of a Stars-and-Stripes red white and blue V-shaped set of motorcycle leathers and cape. On the back of this fame, Knievel gained endorsements from Harley-Davidson and a toy line by the Ideal Toy Company. A 1971 film Evel Knievel starred George Hamilton as Knievel, and he starred as himself in the 1977 film Viva Knievel!. Knievel later said of his career that he had "earned $60 million, and spent $62 million".