what will vegas be in 2011? bigger, better, more lavish.

While this article in the Las Vegas Review Journal is overtly about Harrah's expansion of Caesars Palace and how the gaming company regards Caesars as the crown jewel of its properties, there's also a tremendous money quote that bears thought:

THE STRIP: Emperor's new clothes
Harrah's unveils plans for addition to Caesars Palace

By ARNOLD M. KNIGHTLY

When Harrah's Entertainment acquired Caesars Palace 25 months ago, employees were worried about the direction the new owners might take the high-profile property, according to general manager John Unwin.

"We were really concerned Harrah's was going to take us out of the high-end business," he said. "It took a year for the staff to really believe it would only be better."

But here's the money quote:

Approximately 28,000 rooms are expected to be added along the Strip by the end of 2011, according to an investors note from Wachovia Capital Markets gaming analyst Brian McGill.

Since the late 1980s, the Las Vegas Strip has been in a constant pattern of bigger, better and more lavish. Old-timers lament the progress as too theme park-ish; a criticism not lost on me, necessarily (even though my first trip to Vegas was 1999). I get it. The Strip is less personal and more corporate. But to the credit of company's such as Harrah's, the idea of customer service is not lost on them in the corporate era. At least that's been my experience.

It's a city whose primary economic driver is tourism. It's something taken to heart by every CEO, pit boss, casino host, restaurant server, cab driver (usually) and hotel employee. But it wasn't alwyas this way. I've noticed the transformation through the years from the more than occasional local who took glee in openly belittling tourists (a behavior that is as unnecessary as it is mean and stupid). It would seem the current trend is anything but biting the hand that feeds.

And that is always a good thing.