Caesars Palace Launches Multimillion-Dollar Renovations To Las Vegas Property

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. CZR announced its Caesars Palace resort is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation to the original main entrance, main casino and porte-cochère.

What’s Happening: The “main entrance to the property will be entirely rebuilt from the ground up resulting in an arrival experience fit for a Caesar” — complete with a 15-foot-tall statue of Augustus Caesar welcoming guests, according to a press statement released by the company.

The renovations will include two new gaming pits flanking the entrance, along with a new lobby bar and a renovation of the property's domed table games floor. Construction is slated to begin this month and most of the project is scheduled to be done by New Year's Eve.

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Why It Matters: Caesars Palace first opened in 1966 and has one of the most colorful histories among the Las Vegas resorts. The property offers 3,980 hotel guest rooms and suites, and the lobby renovations mark the first major upgrade to the property since the opening of the 668-room Octavius Tower in 2012.

As the U.S. moves beyond the coronavirus pandemic, Las Vegas is eager to attract visitors who were unable to arrive during the health crisis. And it appears progress is being made in restoring the city’s vibe: According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, 2.9 million people visited the gambling mecca in May, up 12% from April, and weekend hotel occupancy in Las Vegas in May was roughly 88%, which is close to the pre-pandemic May 2019 figure of 96%.

Las Vegas’ hotel occupancy during the weekdays was at 63% in May, much lower than the 88% level recorded in May 2019. Michael Massari, chief sales officer for Caesars Entertainment, told the Las Vegas Sun the weekday numbers are still low because trade conferences and conventions have yet to fully resume their Las Vegas gatherings — although he was confident this will turn around shortly.

“Customer demand for future meetings never waned,” Massari said. “We were still a little concerned by companies saying things like they’re only going to send seven people (to a convention) when they used to send 10, but I think we’re going to have a good remainder of the year.”