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SHANGRI-LA CASINO — LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
How does a casino developer compete with exploding volcanoes, marauding
buccaneers, and/or a towering Manhattan skyline with a roller coaster on
top...? Such was the charge for Exline Design when associate Fran Inman
approached the firm to develop a world–class show concept for her prominent
Atlantic City, New Jersey–based gaming industry client. Working closely
with BAR ARCHITECTS of San Francisco, Exline Design lead the creative show
design effort for the concepting of this innovative gaming guest experience.
BAR and EXLINE paired as a creative team in a design competition to generate
a concept for a full–scale casino project slated for a prominent site
on the Las Vegas Strip.
 The
competition solution captured the sense of intrigue and adventure associated
with the casino project’s title, “Shangri-La”. The show concept
borrowed from the storyline of “Lost Horizons”, a popular American
novel by James Hilton. The show was to be anchored by a recreated seven–story
“Himalayan Temple” positioned prominently on the Strip at the
entrance to the casino. At intervals throughout the day, a troupe of unusually
costumed entertainers created a regal parade that ventured out onto the
plaza in front of the development. This exotic pageant of saffron–robed
monk–like characters, drumming Sherpas, and parading elephants signaled
a chain of dramatic events where the giant seven–story tower literally
moved back to reveal a huge circular opening in the pavement. This dramatic
entrance led to a fantastic walk–thru attraction that in turn delivered
guests into an area near the heart of the casino’s gaming floor.
“...winding its way through a rocky cave–like corridor, the entry
passage opens into a large show building featuring an amazing life–sized
diorama! The expansive ceiling is a single–span cyclorama displaying
projected images of dramatic evening skies over a spectacular mountain setting.
Snow capped peaks, tall stands of conifers, and Tibetan architectural features
fill the space and stand in silhouette against the illuminated starry sky.
As guests make their way toward the casino, they feel as if they have wandered
into a remote mountain out–post perched on top of the world in a distant
Himalayan range.”
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