ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997 TAG: 9701060031
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS
SOURCE: Associated Press
IT'S SMALLER AND CLEANER - and it has slots. New York-New York is the newest kid on the strip.
Thousands of people eager for a taste of the Big Apple began swarming Friday through Las Vegas' newest resort, the $460 million New York-New York.
The hotel-casino opened to the public at 12:35 a.m.
Featuring a 47-story knockoff of the Empire State Building (the real one: 102 stories), a 150-foot Statue of Liberty (the real one: 305 feet counting the base) and a Coney Island-style roller coaster, the new resort is among the most innovative in a wave of new hotels.
Maria and Fran Camisa, sisters who live in Queens, nursed a $1 slot machine in the casino with a Central Park atmosphere.
``I feel like we're back home,'' Fran Camisa said. But she added, ``If I could find more winning machines, I'd be happier.''
``It's much cleaner than the real New York,'' said another visitor, Gail Kutz of Milwaukee.
Jason Ader, a gaming analyst for Bear Stearns Inc., predicted the 2,035-room resort will be a must-see attraction that will appeal to all facets of the gaming market.
``The exterior impression the property makes is like nothing else on the Las Vegas Strip,'' Ader said.
``This will be the most photographed spot in the world,'' William Sherlock, president and chief executive officer of the resort, said Thursday night at a VIP and media gala preceding Friday's opening.
Among the celebrities attending the preview were David Hasselhoff; Wayne Newton; Phyllis McGuire; Connie Stevens; Pat Morita; Jenny McCarthy; Renee Taylor; Joe Bologna; Matt LeBlanc; Jim Belushi; and David Schwimmer.
Prior to the VIP opening, executives gathered across the Strip to watch the lighting of a 154-foot Statue of Liberty.
Thousands of curious onlookers watched a five-minute fireworks display while the Frank Sinatra-Tony Bennett duet recording of ``New York, New York'' played in the background.
The resort, built on 20 acres across from the MGM Grand Hotel, replicates New York City icons abutting each other over a common base. Besides the Empire State Building, there's a 41-story Century Building, 40-story Chrysler Building, 38-story New Yorker Hotel, 36-story 55 Water Street building and 35-story Seagram Building.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Fireworks explode over the $460 million hotel andby CNBcasino in Las Vegas Thursday night. It opened to the public at 12:35
a.m. Friday. 2. A replica of the Statue of Liberty, looking more
like Marilyn Monroe, stands atop the slots inside the casino of New
York-New York. color.