“What’s next?” That question is always floating around the Las Vegas Strip, but right now, it’s actually plastered all over the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Fashion Show Drive. And there are answers, too:
“Less about them, more about us.”
“Less seeing, more being seen.”
“Less goods, more best.”
“Less service, more attention.”
“Less frazzled, more frisson.”
I don’t know about you, but I had to look up frisson. It means “a sudden, passing sensation of excitement; a shudder of emotion; thrill.” That sounds pretty cool, right? If that’s what’s going to be installed across from Wynn and Encore, a big pile of frisson, I could get down with that.
These answers are all we have, so far, to answer the question of what comes next on the Strip, at least in regard to Alon. These words, and some flashy, hip, vacation-y imagery, are wrapped around the construction site fences surrounding the in-development resort, set to open in 2018. Details about the hotel and casino have been scant—we know Australian mogul James Packer is behind it, and he’s recruited a team of former Wynn executives, including Andrew Pascal, to make it go.
But maybe these slogans and cool pictures are enough? There’s a lady in a beach-front cabana snagging a glass of white wine from a shirtless man and a thin couple clad in black getting their groove on. There are a couple of party portraits, with all different kinds of people wearing suits and furs and retro eyeglasses, smiling, enamored with each other or at least the scene they’ve created. And there’s a hotel bed, with a man face down wearing only his skivvies, his apparent paramour sitting up and smirking to herself, seemingly pleased with whatever just happened. Naughty.
All of this clearly wants to be different, edgier than your average Vegas resort. But that sort of pre-opening claim has probably been made by every Strip resort since the conclusion of the themed-casino era.
Alon’s site signage is very different, however, from that of its neighbor, the other big project we wanna get all excited about. The walls of plywood around the Resorts World Las Vegas site are decorated in a much more traditional—and even less informative—manner. They’re colorful and quite nice, but only at what will become a main entrance for the sprawling Genting Group resort (also set to arrive in ’18) at the intersection of Convention Center Drive do we get to see a few renderings of what this sucker will look like. The rest of the Resorts World imagery is about being regal and red, decidedly Asian, and telling Las Vegas that this thing’s a big deal all around the world. The Bahamas section is crystal blue, with tropical fish and a bikini blonde staring into the horizon. The Malaysia section shows hotel towers jutting out of a rainforest. Singapore has a friendly, fuzzy anteater, just walking around.
Both of these signage strategies are trying to create a vibe instead of giving legitimate hints about what kind of experiences await us. Alon’s stuff is specifically boastful, not only reminding us they’re bringing “a new name in leisure” to the Strip, but also reaching for “a new way of thinking about Las Vegas.” That seems hyberbolic and impossible, but hasn’t it been achieved a few times, by Caesars Palace and Mirage and Bellagio and maybe even the Cosmopolitan?
So our takeaways: Resorts World is planning to go big, very big, and bring the wow factor back to the Strip, whereas Alon is planning to make us all very curious about what it’s going to look and feel like. We’ll have to wait at least two more years to find out.
