Las Vegas Weekly

December 15, 2009 · 9:27 PM

Twitter.com/robin_leach: A packed media day at Aria in CityCenter

By Robin Leach

Beginning about nine hours ago.

In 24 hours, the glittering city within a city opens here. It’s been five years in the making for MGM’s spectacular CityCenter.

Mandarin Oriental and Vdara towers and Crystals retail promenade already open. Tomorrow, it’s the 4,600-room extraordinary Aria casino resort.

This afternoon, we ink-stained wretches get the first look at Cirque du Soleil’s new Viva Elvis spectacular along with the Montreal execs.

Vegas DeLuxe will be interviewing several of them, and our photog Tom Donoghue is already here to capture all the show and costume shots for us.

In advance, we’re doing a restaurant tasting tour. My friend legendary restaurateur Sirio Maccioni is in from NYC to open his Sirio Ristorante.

Set up camp (office) @Sirio. Gorgeous Italian restaurant designed by my pal Adam Tihany, who also did Mandarin Oriental hotel here at CityCenter.

I keep thinking I’m back in NYC with this sleek, sophisticated look at Sirio. Adam tells me I should be thinking I am in Rome. I agree -- both!

11 a.m. tomorrow the official opening of Aria with fountains and water walls at full speed. 8 p.m. gala party for every Vegas VIP to celebrate.

11 p.m. massive fireworks extravaganza and first members of public allowed in for gaming. Tomorrow, I have the outrageous cash MGM has to have on hand.

That’s in case everybody is a winner at 11:31 p.m., and Nevada Gaming Control insists enough to pay everybody! Can’t break the bank of Monte Carlo.

Now off to explore my friend Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant. Another NYC chef. Then my pal Michael Mina’s new seafood eatery.

We all go back to the start of The Food Network, which I helped pioneer back in the mid ’90s. This is going to be a restaurant gourmet heaven!

Wow. Wait until you see Jean-Georges Vongeritchten’s steak restaurant: stunning, luxurious and in seating levels like private mogul stadium boxes.

Then dear pal Michael Mina has golden birch trees effect decorating his seafood palace. This is all astounding.

Priscilla Presley onstage at Cirque theater for Viva Elvis presentation.

Priscilla in center of the guys.

Guy Laliberte speaks remembering the first Mystere show when the flower first bloomed in the desert. He says the garden is now in full bloom.

Robert F.X. Sillerman, owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, says videos in Viva Elvis will make your heart stop. Says Elvis had to return to Vegas.

Cirque was only company to partner to achieve that. Elvis was unique. Introduces Priscilla. The only woman Elvis married.

Priscilla says Elvis had to come home to Vegas. She said it took three years from first meeting to get to this first preview performance.

Priscilla says it will be a different Cirque show. She says Elvis would be very pleased with the show. Elvis is back home.

Another shot of Priscilla onstage at Elvis theater, which is beautiful, as well.

Priscilla and Cirque execs will watch about six of the show’s acts with us.

Dancers run through theater to start show.

Giant Elvis character on stilts, amazing teams of wild acrobatic hits. Set is that of a giant jukebox.

My prediction from that first number is that Viva Elvis could become Cirque's biggest hit show.

It’s a music and dance show more than a Cirque circus production. Elvis music tracks woven in brilliantly. Phenomenal sound system.

Beautiful colors onstage. Emphasis on choreography. Magnificent gospel songstress.

It’s a yesteryear, super-sized, double wow Vegas entertainment show. People will be singing, dancing and leave on good times high.

It’s interesting you don’t see Elvis, but he’s all around here. His songs were made for Cirque dance routines. Amazing Spider-Man trampoline act.

Cast and executives gather for official photo.

Seats in Presley theater wide enough for dancing in. They’ll need them because audiences will be jumping.

Just ended tour of Light Group properties with Jodi Myers, president. Haze nightclub, Union restaurant, Gold Lounge, Deuce high-roller lounge.

The pool club with its underground speakers will come online at end of March. Haze, named after owner Andrew Sassoon’s daughter, is unique.

It’s 10,000 square feet larger than Jet and four times larger than the Bank, their sister clubs. Amazing live performance areas, multilevel seating.

Think best nightclubs in Ibiza and then multiply by tenfold. DJ Tiesto plays New Year’s Eve and will have whole new effects to play with in DJ booth.

Haze is mega club w/theatrical-styled performances. You arrive in Moulin Rouge-themed zone on lower valet level. That starts the experience

We’ll post full details on VegasDeLuxe.com before the weekend. Union is a Fix/Stack-styled restaurant, but open-walled in middle of casino.

Walk the wall of moody Christopher Walken portraits to the high-roller Deuce Lounge -- table games and a super-bar that also serves food.

Gold Lounge is partnership with Cirque folks tipping hat to Elvis with monkey emblems in ornamental metal frames. All incredibly impressive

We’ll post full details, fun facts and the Haze secrets for New Year’s Eve on VegasDeLuxe.com this week. Tomorrow, full photo gallery of Viva Elvis.

Absolutely extraordinary, exclusive interview with Robert F.X. Sillerman, who owns Elvis Presley Enterprises. It will make world headlines.

He has major plans for Elvis visibility in Vegas “now that Elvis has come home” with the Cirque Viva Elvis show.

We also have interview with Cirque creative chief Gilles Ste-Croix, who talked about new illusions Criss Angel will be adding to Believe.

Plus interview with Viva Elvis director Vincent Patterson. He and I almost worked together on a TV project we’d been teamed on five years ago.

Vincent revealed there was another Elvis Cirque project that he started work on before this Viva Elvis Vegas show that was killed off!

Tons of exclusive stories and photos as we approach the 24-hour excitement countdown before Aria and Viva Elvis open.

We’ll take a break now, as we have to be back at Aria for 11 a.m. official ribbon cutting and opening day press conference Thursday.

But tons of photos from today’s Aria play day. I know Lady GaGa is @Palms Thursday and Friday, but guests at CityCenter will truly go gaga here, too.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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