LAS VEGAS -- The biggest piece of the CityCenter project debuted Wednesday night. ARIA Resort & Casino is the central building in the massive project and the opening ribbon has been cut.
The fountains, facades and the employees were all ready to welcome guests to eat, drink, sleep and gamble.
As soon as visitors walk in, they're greeted by a 50- foot long copper structure simulating the Colorado River.
SLIDESHOW: The opening of ARIA Resort & Casino
CityCenter's only casino keeps the neutral colors. Almost every piece of furniture is dark wood, but the light fixtures and chair upholstery brighten up the room.
Aria's owner and developer, MGM Mirage, hopes everyone feels welcome inside its walls.
"All of us are going to find our own place. We're all going to find the thing we love the most. For some people, it may even be outside on one of the walkways. For others, it'll be any numbers on the inside -- whether it's the lobby at ARIA or along the walkway to the convention center, which has a magnificent Julian Schnabel. There are all kinds of these things going on at CityCenter and that's what makes it all so fun," said MGM spokesman Alan Feldman.
The hotel rooms are more high tech, all are contemporary and all state of the art. From the drapes to the lights, music and phone, everything is electronic and accessed by a keypad. The best part is they start at $159 a night.
You can take advantage of that rate starting Thursday night, since the doors don't officially open until just before midnight after the fireworks show. Most of the 16 restaurants and 10 bars and lounges will also be open for business.
