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LAS VEGAS (AP) — An outdoor shopping experience modeled after a more modern Middle Eastern marketplace, complete with a little bit of price haggling, has opened in front of Bally's Las Vegas.
The open-air Grand Bazaar Shops opened Thursday morning after a delay and about 15 months of construction, with numerous storefronts still "coming soon" based on signs outside the stalls and on a directory.
Looking for a $2,000 crystal-encrusted football? A personalized t-shirt? Crazy socks? More than 100 spaces for retailers and restaurants sit on 2-acres of prime Strip-front property, steps away from other indoor malls, including nationally-recognized retailers and local or unique boutiques.
Caesars Entertainment Corp. which owns Bally's, also owns the parcel and partnered with the shopping district's developer and operator, Larry Siegel and his Juno Property Group. Siegel confirmed it cost about $50 million to build.
Caesars executive David Hoenemeyer said late Thursday night at an event to debut a nightly Swarovski presented light show, that the project had been in the works for five years stretching back to his first meeting with Siegel.
A centerpiece of the project includes a 14-foot in diameter Swarovski crystal starburst above the jeweler's newest store, part of a nightly midnight light and sound show to mimic the ball drop in New York on New Year's Eve.
The shops are expected to be open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.
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