Resort plans expansion projects

LAS VEGAS - In a bid to retain its role as a leader in the high-roller market, casino icon Caesars Palace is undergoing major renovations catering to coveted casino customers.

The resort is adding a complex of luxury suites in an area occupied by its showroom and ballroom/convention complex. The resort is also adding a high-limit gaming salon.

''We want to make sure we keep our niche at the high end,'' resort spokeswoman Debbie Munch said Tuesday.

Caesars had something of a lock on high-spending casino customers from the time it opened in 1966 as the swankiest hotel on the Strip. The resort found itself sharing the wealth with the opening of its neighbor, The Mirage in 1989, the MGM Grand four years later and Bellagio in 1998.

Munch said the changes at Caesars are part of the resort's ongoing bid to retain its place in the industry.

''This property has never stayed the same,'' she said. ''It's not just going to sit here like it was in 1996.''

Caesars also is adding two new restaurants, remodeling 600 rooms and suites, and refurbishing the front of the resort's original three towers.

And it is building a temporary special events pavilion at the back of the property. The pavilion is expected to include 6,000 to 7,000 seats and will be used for concerts, boxing and other events. A permanent arena might be built on the site, Munch said.

Arthur Goldberg, president and chief executive officer of Park Place Entertainment, Inc., has said the company plans to build a fifth tower at Caesars, on the corner of the Strip east of a 1,250-room, $600 million tower that opened in 1997.

Park Place purchased Caesars in December for $3 billion.

Closing the Circus Maximus showroom will mean the passing of an era for Las Vegas. Some of the top names in show business, from Frank Sinatra to Diana Ross, performed in the room over the years.

''The showroom was configured for dinner shows,'' Munch said. That tradition faded more than a dozen years ago and today only a couple of resorts still offer them.

''We've looked at changing and rebuilding an entertainment experience somewhere else on property,'' Munch said.

No price tags or completion dates have been released for the projects.