Caesars Palace to Add Shops, Rooms in Major Expansion

Faced with the opening of huge competing casino-resorts, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is planning a $250-million expansion that will boost the size of its popular shopping arcade and add a magic-themed entertainment complex.

The Las Vegas landmark, which is owned by Los Angeles-based Caesars World, released details of its expansion a few weeks after Mirage Resorts and Circus Circus each opened large casino-hotels with several thousand rooms each. Next month, the 5,009-room MGM Grand Hotel and Theme Park opens.

Caesars plans to take advantage of the traffic generated by these new resorts by building nearly 50,000 square feet of casino space and more than 100 guest rooms on the south side of its property on the Las Vegas Strip.

“The entire front section of Caesars Palace will be given a new empire-style type of look . . . directed at the traffic coming from the south (where the) new themed resorts are rising,” Chairman Henry Gluck said in an interview Wednesday.

Gluck also said the casino is building a new structure that will house a series of magic shows, attractions and a magic-theme restaurant. The complex, which will open next year, is based on Hollywood’s Magic Castle, a private club and restaurant featuring magic acts and performers.

In addition, Gluck said the developers of the Forum Shops, a shopping and entertainment complex located on Caesars’ property, are planning a $65-million, 40-store expansion that will add such retailers as F.A.O. Schwarz and Chanel.

Caesars last expanded in 1992, when it opened the Forum Shops and enlarged its casino.