bye-bye, sphinx: luxor renovation spelling the end of themed casinos?

How do you avoid an Egyptian motif when you have a pyramid of a building? Good question. Either way, changes are abound for the Luxor. From the Las Vegas Review Journal:

LUXOR'S NEW LOOK: FAREWELL TO EGYPT
The pyramid will stay, but changes inside are on the way

By HOWARD STUTZ

Luxor is working to get Egypt out of the pyramid.

Two years after acquiring the 4,500-room hotel-casino as part of its $7.9 billion purchase of the Mandalay Resort Group, MGM Mirage is giving the Luxor a new look.

The casino operator wants to transform the image of Luxor, which is named for a historic Egyptian city.

"We're not a British museum with ancient artifacts, we're a casino-resort," Luxor President and COO Felix Rappaport said. "This was a brilliantly conceived building from the outside. The pyramid always created a sense of wow and wonder, but the inside never delivered on that promise."
Read more.

I have only played at Luxor once, I believe. That was a couple years ago when I got my brains bashed in up one side of the Strip and down the other; except at Luxor. That was the only place where I was able to win a little bit of cash. Otherwise, I was nothing more than a walking ATM for the casinos.

I've always been impressed with the exterior of the Luxor, but paid little attention to the interior. Its location is good if you prefer MGM, Mandalay Bay and NYNY. I guess this renovation project means we can say bye-bye to the Sphinx out front.

As well, here's the Money Quote:

"The brilliance of the Egyptian theme is in the pyramid. Inside, however, it seemed a restaurant or bar was given a trite Egyptian name and the job was done. Las Vegas has moved beyond that overall theming in the last five to 10 years."—Felix Rappaport

Money Quote #2:

"It's the way the city is going. It's much less about these cartoonish-themed properties and more about attracting a younger, hip audience."—David Schwartz, director of UNLV's Center for Gaming Research

Amen! I fully intend to be in that "younger, hip" group for at least another 15 years...please, God, keep me young and hip. :-)