Pyramid-shaped Luxor casino getting a makeover

The pyramid-shaped Luxor hotel-casino is getting a multimillion dollar makeover. The name and distinctive shape of the resort near the south end of the Las Vegas Strip will remain the same, but the interior and most hotel rooms will be renovated, said Jenn Michaels, executive spokeswoman for resort owner, MGM Mirage Inc. “The outside of the Luxor is one of the most famous icons of Las Vegas. We’re not going to change that,” Michaels said. “What MGM Mirage and Luxor are looking to do is deliver on the promise of the dramatic exterior with a series of contemporary dynamic amenities within the resort.” The phased renovation calls for MGM Mirage and its joint venture partners to spend about $300 million remodeling about 80 percent of the hotel and casino, adding lounges, restaurants and a nightclub. Company executives said the Luxor, which opened in 1993 and is named for a historic Egyptian city, needed a renovation to compete with newer and bigger developments on the Strip. “We’re not a British museum with ancient artifacts, we’re a casino-resort,” Luxor President and COO Felix Rappaport told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The pyramid always created a sense of wow and wonder, but the inside never delivered on that promise.” Next year, Luxor’s atrium will be changed from a family friendly arcade to more adult-themed amenities with restaurants, lounges and entertainment venues. Many Egyptian-themed amenities have been removed, and hieroglyphics and other symbols on interior casino walls also are being eliminated. The Aurora Lounge near the hotel lobby has replaced Nefertiti’s bar. CatHouse, a restaurant and European-style lounge, is replacing Isis and Sacred Sea in an upstairs area above the casino. Plans also call for opening LAX Nightclub, operated by the Pure Management Group, by Labor Day, and adding other bars and lounges later in the fall. The Luxor Steakhouse is scheduled for to be remodeled early next year, while the pool area also is being upgraded.