Hail, Augustus

I never thought of this until now, but wouldn’t it be funny if, in keeping with the success of Spamalot, they tweaked Caesars Palace to be more like Life of Brian than Gladiator? That’s just a thought as I prepare to go to the grand opening of the Augustus Tower.

From the LVRJ:

Guests didn’t want to wait until Caesars Palace’s corporate leaders and entertainer C line Dion cut the ribbon tonight to officially open the Strip hotel’s new $289 million, 949-room Augustus tower.

The building is already sold out.

Harrah’s Entertainment, which acquired Caesars Palace as part of its $9 billion buyout of Caesars Entertainment in June, held a soft opening of the tower during August. The demand for the newly designed rooms, which average from $200 to $400 a night, has been what hotel officials had hoped.

“The tower was long overdue and it helps us bring more people into the property,” said new Caesars Palace President Gary Selesner, who was appointed to his position in early August. “The tower was designed for a more affluent hotel guest that enjoys what Las Vegas offers and is willing to pay top dollar for a stylish hotel room and spend money on world class dining.”

Selesner said that Caesars Palace will benefit from the Harrah’s marketing database, which will ensure the rooms in the Augustus tower are also filled with free-spending gamblers.

The tower’s rooms start at 650 square feet, 50 percent larger than comparable hotel accommodations in other cities, and increase in size to 2,470 square feet for one of 23 three-bedroom suites. The suites include various amenities, such as in-room saunas, infinity tubs, steam showers and flat-screen televisions.

No room at the tower: Caesars new venture already sold out

I don’t know exactly what an infinity tub is–it sounds like something from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, though, and that makes it cool with me. I’ll have to make sure to bring my towel to the grand opening festivities.

In addition to marking the “official” opening of 949 more rooms on the Strip, today is important (at least for me), because it is the official publication date for Cutting the Wire. Hopefully I’ll get some book signings lined up soon.

I’ll say hi to Celine Dion and Gary Loveman–the two notables who I’ll be joining (along with every other media person in Las Vegas) for “cocktails and hors d’oeuvres” to celebrate the big opening–if I get close enough. I wonder if they’ve ever thought about gambling prohibition and the internet?