Viva Las Vegas despite slump

Elvis has not left the building. In fact, at Dubai World’s CityCenter project in Las Vegas, as many as 130 backstage workers are being hired just for a show dedicated to “The King”.

Developers of the US$8.6 billion (Dh31.58bn) CityCenter are confident of their prospects despite the trying economic climate.

Described by MGM Mirage, Dubai World’s joint venture partner, as an “unprecedented urban metropolis”, the 27-hectare Las Vegas Strip resort is to include a permanent Cirque du Soleil Elvis show, a 4,004-room gaming resort, 2,400 condominiums and luxury non-gaming hotels including Las Vegas’s first Mandarin Oriental.