Las Vegas Weekly

November 11, 2008 · 10:23 AM

Video Exclusive: A sneak peek at the new $660 million Aliante casino

By Robin Leach

The view from Aliante's backyard.

Photo: Station Casinos

It’s 11/11 on the calendar -- and thus at 11:11 p.m. today, the newest of our Station Casinos -- the Aliante -- will open in North Las Vegas just an hour after a giant 11-minute Grucci fireworks display lights up the skies.

It’s taken 320 hours to set up the fireworks display and almost 60 hours just to choreograph the firing sequences. The choreography has been set to music from Lenny Kravitz (“Fly Away”), Stevie Wonder (“Higher Ground”) and Frank Sinatra (“Fly Me to the Moon”) -- all keyed to the theme of flight because of its neighbor the Nellis Air Force Base!

Groundbreaking was in February of last year, and more than 1,400 employees will celebrate its opening tonight. The new $660 million casino is another jewel in the crown for the Frank Fertitta family, who started the company in 1976. It began with The Casino, which became the Bingo Palace, which became the Palace Station by 1984.

The family, with sons Frank III and Lorenzo, now preside over 18 properties, including the Boulder Station, the Texas Station, the Sunset Station, Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, Santa Fe Station, the Fiesta Rancho, Wild Fire and Gold Rush. The company has more than 400 acres of land earmarked for future locals casinos throughout Nevada.

Here’s our full advance, video exclusive sneak preview of the new Aliante resort-casino-hotel.

It features 2,550 of the newest and most popular slots, 40 table games for roulette, blackjack and craps and a 12-table, smoke-free poker lounge. Aliante has 202 European-style hotel rooms plus nine suites, which will be the most luxurious and technologically advanced in North Las Vegas, along with a 2,000-square-foot fitness center with 23 workout machines. For the non-physically active, there are 16 Regal Cinema movie screens.

In addition, there are six new restaurants, including my friend Rino Armeni’s first Pips Cucina & Wine Bar for Italian recipes from his grandmother! Camacho’s Cantina has a chandelier made from 2,700 empty tequila bottles. Wonder how long it took the electricians to drink that before hanging it? Only joking! They probably partied in the nearby 5,000-square-foot E.T.A ultra-lounge with its private dens and Armani gray drapes. The hotel also features six fast food outlets in the food court.

There’s a brand new Access Showroom, which will play host to a superstar lineup starting this weekend with Smokey Robinson on Friday and Saturday. The legendary soul singer of smooth will be followed by REO Speedwagon, Brett Michaels & his Rock of Love bus tour, jazzman extraordinaire Chris Botti, singer-pianist Kenny Loggins, Godsmack’s Sully Erna and Aaron Lewis of Staind.

The visual highlight, though, to me is the staggering, sleek outdoor pool designed from local stones and natural materials from the desert surroundings that make you think you are in Scottsdale rather than North Las Vegas! Kudos to the design team who have also provided 5,000 parking spaces and seven entryways to the property for easy access.

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