Luxor Las Vegas

Luxor Las Vegas is a famous casino hotel on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It looks like an ancient Egyptian temple, with a huge pyramid that stands 30 stories tall. Inside, it has a very large atrium. At the top of the pyramid, a bright light shines up into the night sky. It is the strongest light made by people in the whole world.

The hotel opened on October 15, 1993. Building it started in April 1992. It had more than 2,500 rooms and cost $375 million. Over time, the hotel changed a lot. It added new towers and got Nevada’s first 3D IMAX theater. Some parts of the Egyptian theme were changed. For example, an indoor Nile River ride was removed.

Now, Vici Properties owns the hotel and MGM Resorts International runs it. Luxor is a popular place for visitors. It has had many famous performers, like comedian Carrot Top, the Blue Man Group, and magician Criss Angel. In 2018, it opened the first esports arena on the Las Vegas Strip. This shows how the hotel stays current with new kinds of entertainment.

History

Construction and opening

The Luxor Las Vegas was first announced on November 14, 1991, by Circus Circus Enterprises. It was planned as a pyramid-shaped resort on the Las Vegas Strip, and groundbreaking happened on April 21, 1992. The design was inspired by ancient Egypt.

The resort was built by Perini Building Company and cost $375 million. It stands 30 stories tall and was completed in 1993. Luxor opened to the public on October 15, 1993, at 4 a.m., and it became a popular spot with many visitors.

Renovations and ownership changes

A few years after opening, Luxor had a big change costing $300 million and finished in 1997. New hotel towers were added, and the casino design changed. The resort stayed successful.

In 1999, Circus Circus Enterprises changed its name to Mandalay Resort Group and was later bought by MGM Mirage in 2005. In 2021, the hotel rooms were renovated again. Today, Vici Properties owns the building, while MGM Resorts International continues to operate it.

2007 bombing

On May 7, 2007, a bomb exploded in a vehicle in the Luxor parking garage. One man, who worked at Nathan's Famous, was killed. The resort did not close, and operations continued normally. Two men were later found guilty.

Property overview

Luxor is at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. It sits between Excalibur to the north and Mandalay Bay to the south. The hotel looks like a pyramid and stands 30 stories tall. It has the world's largest atrium.

Inside, there are over 4,000 hotel rooms and a big casino.

The pyramid outside sometimes shows ads. It also has a large copy of the Great Sphinx of Giza. The hotel uses special lights. One light is called the Luxor Sky Beam. It shines high into the night sky. The beam uses many bright lamps to make a narrow, strong light that can be seen from far away.

Attractions

When Luxor Las Vegas opened, it had exciting attractions like the Karnak Lake with fountains and laser shows. These shows used lasers to create pictures on a big screen of water, inspired by ancient Egypt. However, these shows stopped in 1995 because they were too close to an airport.

The resort also had special rides and shows inside, including a tour through a pretend Nile River and a pyramid show called “Secrets of the Luxor Pyramid.” Later, the resort added a large indoor playground for fun activities.

Luxor featured a museum with replicas of ancient Egyptian treasures, including a copy of King Tut’s tomb. This museum closed in 2008, and its items were moved to another museum. The space was then used for other exhibits, like items from the Titanic and sports memorabilia.

The resort had many places to eat, including steakhouses and restaurants with different types of food from around the world. Over the years, Luxor also created spaces for video games and esports, with a big arena that hosted many events for gamers.

Live entertainment

Luxor Las Vegas has hosted many fun shows over the years. It first had a theater with seats for 900 people called Pharaoh's Dinner Theater. The show was about ancient Egypt.

Later, a bigger theater opened with many different performances. Some shows were Imagine, A Theatrical Odyssey, the Blue Man Group, and the Broadway musical Hairspray].

In 2008, magician Criss Angel started a popular show called *Believe. After that, Cirque introduced R.U.N in 2019. This show had rock music and exciting stunts. Today, the resort has a variety show with acts from America's Got Talent.

In popular culture

Luxor is a good example of 1990s Postmodern architecture. Its sphinx was on a book by architect James Steele. The resort has been in many movies, such as Showgirls (1995), Mars Attacks! (1996), and Up in the Air (2009). In Blade Runner 2049 (2017), an old version of Luxor's pyramid appears in a future Las Vegas.

Will Smith shot a music video for "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" (1998) at the hotel. Luxor was also shown on TV shows like Fear Factor and CSI. A copy of Luxor called "The Camel's Toe" appears in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), and an Egyptian-themed casino inspired by Luxor is in Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013).