Encore Hotel - New Lucky Charm on Vegas Strip

by Bodog Casino | Feb 9 2009

Believe it or not there’s still room left on the Las Vegas Strip.

Even though there’s 31 hotel & casinos on the four-mile strip and even though 18 of those 31 are known as the largest in the world, there’s still room for more.

So stinking-rich owner Steve Wynn decided to open the “Encore Hotel & Casino” on December 22, 2009.

Apparently Wynn hasn’t been affected by America’s floundering economy in any way, because he pumped $2.3 billion into the 74,000 square foot tower. Hopefully we won’t see him asking congress for a bailout anytime soon.

Regardless of how much money he rolled out, when you take a look at the place you know he didn’t waste all 2.3 bill on private jets and weekend retreats. If you want a mental image of the look and themes throughout the resort think the butterfly.

“I love the process of metamorphosis,” explains Roger Thomas, the designer guy behind Encore. "Butterflies are also signs of beauty (and) harbingers of good luck.”

“Steve was captivated by this idea.”

Sitting right next to Steve’s other flashy hotel and casino, “The Wynn”, The Encore boasts 2,034 rooms, a 27,000 square foot casino, five restaurants, seven bars, and a new nightspot called XS.

Each of the five restaurants comes with its own style. There’s Sinatra, a Frank Sinatra-themed steakhouse which includes a Grammy and Oscar award statuettes on loan from the Sinatra estate. The Wazuzu, a modern-Asian bistro that features a 27-foot crystal dragon; Switch, a French-influenced surf and turf restaurant that features walls, ceiling and lights that rise, fall and change color every 20 to 30 minutes; Botero Steak, a steakhouse themed after the work of Colombian neo-figurative artist Fernando Botero and featuring three of his artworks and two of his sculptures; and the Society Cafe, a casual restaurant if you don’t feel like spending Sinatra money.

If diamonds are your best friend The Encore has got you covered. The resort's jewelery shop featured the 231-carat, prune-sized Wynn Diamond, which was billed as the largest cut pear-shaped diamond in the world. We’re pretty sure that 231-carat diamond is not for sale but feel free to have dreams about it.

If you’re thinking that they spent a load of cash in order to be different, they did. Although Vegas is all about the mighty dollar one of the reasons Wynn’s hotels (which also includes the Bellagio, the Mirage and Treasure Island) have been so successful is that a part of him is looking to create some new artistic eye-candy for visitors.

“We're designing to create emotion --we're trying to create those great moments for a guest,” says Thomas.

“I don't want to replicate anything else that exists on the planet. We strive for the unique.”

If you’re looking to visit Vegas in style, we suggest checking out The Encore before Wynn drops another two-bill’ building on the strip.