LAS VEGAS (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — According to the Business Press, Palms Casino Resort proprietor George Maloof is set to unveil what he calls a "one-of-a-kind" concert venue this month, although it won't officially open until February.
The new multi-level, tiered entertainment space will capture the attention of competitors in the raucous Las Vegas concert market, particularly the Hard Rock, Mandalay Bay's House of Blues and developers of the future Maxim Casino Hotel, which is planning upscale concert digs of its own.
In an interview with local journalists Steve Friess and Miles Smith that aired online Sept. 1, Maloof revealed the latest in a string of ambitious additions to the Palms. "I truly believe it will be the finest facility of its kind in the country," Maloof told TheStripPodcast.com. "We've been under construction for six months (eight now). It'll be done in January and we'll have the opening in February," "It's a very, very sexy, hot venue," he said of the concert hall.
Palms officials, including the firm hired to manage the rollout, PR Plus, have been very low-key about construction of the venue and would not provide specific information regarding the project. But Maloof's comments and records filed with the Clark County Comprehensive Planning Department, show that the Palms is indeed going all out.
The concert hall will be located at the back of the casino floor, across from the casino's Flamingo Road entrance. A temporary construction wall currently sits between the Fantasy Market Buffet and a security desk near the food court. According to plans, that is where escalators and a bank of elevators will soon ferry people to lobbies off the casino floor. There will be similar connections for patrons arriving from the new Fantasy Tower. According to a Palms employee associated with the project, the hotel-casino demolished ballrooms and two movie theaters to make room for the hall.
"It's spectacular. It holds 2,500 seats, has perfect sight lines. It's more of a theater. It has lots of amenities, lots of bars, lots of VIP areas, great connections to the property," Maloof told Smith and Friess.
According to building specifications, seating will range from the main floor, mezzanine and balcony to VIP boxes complete with their own nearby lounges. The horseshoe-shaped hall surrounds a 67-foot-wide stage. Plans also mention a boxing ring, which might pit the Palms against nearby Boyd Gaming properties for the local boxing market or perhaps signals a foray into other types of fighting events.
To replace the ballrooms that were demolished, construction plans indicate the Palms will open new convention space somewhere atop the concert hall's rear-balcony section.
Maloof told listeners not to expect any permanent headliners. No Broadway shows, either. "I'm going to rotate (acts in and out). We will not be doing a headliner. I don't think that works," the casino operator said. "We will have the finest facility and will be very, very flexible and do lots of things. We will not do Broadway."
SIA Acoustics, of New York City, is listed as the concert hall's sound designers. SIA's more famous work includes acoustical projects at the Grand Ole Opry, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Lighting is being designed by Joe Kaplan Architectural Lighting Design of California, which has a long track record of working with casino properties.
The concert hall comes on the heels of two high-profile Palms openings in the past year, including its Playboy Club early last month and the opening of the Fantasy Tower in May. The tower's top-tier suites go for $35,000 a night.
