Environmental Nightmares

[David Morris]

BTW, all the talk these daze in LV is the soon-to-be-opening "City
Center," a huge new complex of buildings by starchitects right at the
most expensive part of the "Strip."  And this last week Dubai World
(one of the major investors in City Center) announced that was
struggling to pay back debt for the now faultering spakling mega-city
in its own desert.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/30/las-vegas-citycenter-and-_n_373608.html

LAS VEGAS, (AP, OSKAR GARCIA) -- Sin City is pinning its biggest bet
ever -- $8.5 billion -- on a 67-acre, six-tower complex of striking
hotels, gourmet restaurants, swank shops and a single casino that
starts opening Tuesday in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip.

Many watching the high-stakes roll of the dice shudder at the thought
that nearly 5,900 rooms in three hotels will be awaiting guests when
CityCenter's crown jewel -- the 4,004-room Aria Resort & Casino --
opens Dec. 16. That will increase Las Vegas' already saturated
inventory by more than 4 percent at a time when fewer visitors are
coming and room prices have fallen 25 percent from last year.

CityCenter's debut might pull rates even lower, but state leaders hope
the complex leads Nevada out of two years of economic misery that has
hit the state with record unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies.