Caesars Palace

[1][2] Caesars Palace was opened in 1966 by Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin, who sought to create an opulent facility that gave guests a sense of life during the Roman Empire.

In addition to holding boxing matches since the late 1970s, Caesars also hosted the Caesars Palace Grand Prix from 1981 to 1982. Notable entertainers who have performed at Caesars Palace include Frank Sinatra, Morrissey, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Teresa Teng, Count Basie, Dean Martin, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, The Moody Blues, Celine Dion, Ike & Tina Turner, Shania Twain, Bette Midler, Cher, Elton John, Liberace, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Julio Iglesias, Ann-Margret, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Gloria Estefan, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, Sting, Matt Goss, Adele, and Deana Martin.

In 1962, cabana motel owners Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin received a $10.6 million[3] loan from the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund.

Architectural writer, Alan Hess, stated: "Caesars Palace needed only a sumptuous array of Classical statuary and a host of marble-white columns to establish its theme.

[Its] emblem was a chesty female dipping grapes into the waiting mouth of a recumbent Roman, fitted out in toga, laurel wreath, and phallic dagger".

The cost included "the largest order of Ukrainian caviar ever placed by a private organization", two tons of filet mignon, 300 pounds (140 kg) of Maryland crabmeat and 50,000 glasses of champagne.

[9] On December 31, 1967, stunt performer Evel Knievel arrived at the hotel to watch a boxing match and convinced Sarno that he could jump over the distance of 140 feet (43 m) over the fountains.

[13] In 1969, a Federal Organized Crime Task Force accused the casino's financial manager, Jerome Zarowitz, of having ties with organized-crime figures in New York and New England.

[14] Although Zarowitz was never tried, the task force pressured Sarno and his other investors to sell the casino, which led to it being acquired by Lum's restaurant chain owners Stuart and Clifford S. Perlman for $60 million.

[23] The local district attorney's office declined to file charges against Waterman for pulling the gun, stating that Sinatra had refused to make a statement regarding the incident.

[41] In September 2015, Caesars Palace agreed to pay the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network an $8 million civil money penalty for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

[50] The shows similarly resumed, with many celebrities announcing 2023 Caesars Palace residencies; including Adele,[51] Jerry Seinfeld,[52] Sting,[53] and Rod Stewart.

[54] Jeff Campbell of Lonely Planet refers to the hotel as "quintessentially Las Vegas", a "Greco-Roman fantasyland featuring marble reproductions of classical statuary".

[65] Entertainment Close-Up wrote that the Julius Tower is the "latest piece of a $1 billion investment to cement Caesars Palace as the premier resort at the center of the Las Vegas Strip".

[80] With many high-end boutiques including Cartier, Chanel, Calvin Klein, Dior, Emporio Armani, Gucci, Ted Baker, Tiffany and Co, Valentino, and Versace,[81][82] it is the highest grossing mall in the United States, with higher sales per square foot than Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California.

[93] One author noted that due to the combination of darkness and enclosure of the gambling room, never being lit with light from the outside, it "disorients the occupant in space and time", and one "loses track of where he is and when it is".

[85] Many international performers have performed at the hotel, including Frank Sinatra,[94] Sammy Davis Jr.,[95] Rod Stewart,[96] Celine Dion,[96] Cher,[97] Bette Midler,[97] Liberace,[98] Liza Minnelli,[99] Elton John,[100] George Burns,[101] Pat Cooper,[102] Diana Ross,[103] Teresa Teng,[104] Paul Anka,[105] Julio Iglesias,[106] Judy Garland,[107] David Copperfield,[108] Stevie Nicks,[109] Dolly Parton,[110] Tony Bennett,[111] Steve and Eydie,[112] Gloria Estefan,[113] Phyllis Diller,[102] Luis Miguel,[109] Ike & Tina Turner,[114] Janet Jackson,[115] Shania Twain,[96] Jerry Seinfeld,[115] Harry Belafonte,[116] Louie Anderson,[117] Ricky Martin,[115] Mariah Carey,[118] Deana Martin,[119] B.B.

[124] In mid-1996, a new venue known as "Caesars Magical Empire" was created on the property, showcasing magicians such as Michael Ammar,[125] Jon Armstrong,[126] Lee Asher,[127] Whit Haydn,[128] Jeff "Magnus" McBride,[129] and Alain Nu.

[131] The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is a 4,296-seat entertainment venue with a 22,450 square feet (2,086 m2) stage, which was originally built at a cost of $95-million for Celine Dion's show, "A New Day...", in 2003.

[136] On May 26, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama performed in the Colosseum in the one-night show A Good Fight alongside Sheryl Crow, Bette Midler and Rita Rudner to fundraise for Nevada's senator Harry Reid re-election campaign.

[140] The show is hosted by The Gazillionaire,[141] played by actor and former Cirque du Soleil clown Voki Kalfayan[142] and his assistant, Penny Pibbets,[143] portrayed by actress Anais Thomassian.

The club's center was a stage where dancers called the Pussycat Girls clad in fishnet hose and corsets, began a new dance show every half hour.

The New Yorker writes that Caesars Palace was "dubbed the Home of Champions after hosting decades of events like boxing matches, auto races, and volleyball tournaments".

The hotel has hosted fights between George Foreman and Ron Lyle in January 1976, Roberto Durán and Esteban de Jesús in January 1978,[165] Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali in October 1980,[166] Holmes and Gerry Cooney in June 1982[167] as well as Wilfredo Gómez versus Juan Antonio Lopez at the same date; Gómez's bout with Salvador Sánchez on August 21, 1981, Marvin Hagler vs. Roberto Durán and a world championship fight between Shane Mosley and Shannan Taylor.

[173] Caesars Palace has played host to a number of professional wrestling events throughout the 1990s, the most notable of which is WWE's WrestleMania IX in April 1993 which capitalized on the Roman theme of the venue.

[175][176] On September 27, 1991, a National Hockey League preseason game between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers was held on an outdoor rink built in the Caesars Palace parking lot.

[183][184] Chef Brian Malarkey opened Searsucker Las Vegas – the fourth branch of the restaurant after San Diego, Del Mar, California, and Austin, Texas – in March 2015.

The 7,500 square feet (700 m2) dining area has a "retro Americana" theme, with "cowboy culture" motifs reflected throughout the furnishings and paintings designed by Thomas Schoos.

It has appeared in films such as Hells Angels on Wheels (1967),[217] Where It's At (1969),[218] The Only Game in Town (1970),[219] The Electric Horseman (1979),[220] History of the World, Part I (1981), Rocky III (1982),[217] Oh, God!

In television it has appeared in series such as The Partridge Family, the "Viva Ned Flanders" episode of The Simpsons, The Sopranos, Friends, The Strip (1999),[217] Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Caesars Palace fountains in 1970
Caesars Palace in 1970
View from Flamingo Road in 2012
The Winged Victory of Samothrace copy in the Caesars fountain
The front of Caesars Palace in 2008
Augustus Tower in 2015
The Forum Shops in 2011
Looking towards the Race & Sports Book in 2009
Exterior of the Colosseum in 2007
Outside of the theatre in 2008
The Pussycat Dolls Casino in 2007
Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill in 2012
Interior of Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro with chocolate clock in foreground in 2013
Lobby in 2008