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**Excalibur Hotel and Casino**
	Excalibur Hotel and Casino
Facts and statistics
Opening date	June 19, 1990
Theme	Medieval / Camelot castles address=3850 Las Vegas Boulevard South; Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
No. of rooms	4,008
Total gaming space	100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2)
Permanent shows	Tournament of Kings; Thunder Down Under
Signature attractions	Merlin Versus The Dragon (Now Offline)
Casino type	Land
Owner	MGM Mirage
Previous names	Xanadu project (never built)
Years renovated	2000; 2007
Website	www.excalibur.com

The Excalibur Hotel and Casino is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States. It is owned and operated by MGM Mirage.

Excalibur, named for the mythical sword of King Arthur, uses the Arthurian theme in several ways. Its facade is a stylized image of a castle. Until 2007, a wizard-like figure representing Merlin looked out from a high turret (since replaced by a figure advertising Dick's Last Resort).

Excalibur is situated at the Tropicana - Las Vegas Boulevard intersection. The intersection is so busy that pedestrians are not allowed to cross at street level. Instead, Excalibur is linked by overhead pedestrian bridges to its neighboring casinos to the north (the New York-New York, across Tropicana Avenue) and to the east (the Tropicana, across the Strip). There is also a free tram that connects Excalibur to its sister MGM Mirage properties to the south, the Luxor and Mandalay Bay. As of 2007, Excalibur has remodeled 2000 of their guest rooms to feature contemporary furnishings and state-of-the-art plasma-screen TV's.

[edit] History

The Excalibur opened on June 19, 1990 originally built by the Circus Circus company. It was one of many new, modern Las Vegas hotels that featured children's attractions, such as an arcade and a motion simulator called Merlin's Magic Motion Machine. Another feature of the Excalibur that is prominent is a large family swimming pool. When it opened it was the largest hotel in the world.^[1]

On March 21, 2003 the largest Megabucks Jackpot, as of that time, was hit at the Excalibur. The jackpot was for $39,713,982.25. In April 2009 there was a jackpot won in Reno, Nevada, it is now the second largest jackpot ever won, tailing behind the Excalibur jackpot.

On April 26, 2005, the Excalibur, along with the other hotels of the Mandalay Resort Group, was purchased by rival MGM Mirage.

Excalibur now has 2,000 newly remodeled rooms that are called "Widescreen Rooms". The all-new widescreen rooms have been upgraded floor to ceiling. They feature 42" plasma screen televisions, custom pillow top mattresses with Egyptian cotton, contemporary bathrooms with granite countertops, and alarm clocks with iPod inputs. Widescreen rooms also offer the property's best views, as well as its most convenient access to the pool and spa.

[edit] Attractions

In June 2007, Dick's Last Resort opened a restaurant in the Excalibur.

The Excalibur features a wedding chapel.

The hotel has opened a spa near the pool.

The second floor Shoppes once featured an open stage foyer where various acts were performed. The Octane lounge now occupies the stage where a cover band performs nightly.

In 2007, the pool area was closed for renovation. Most of the parking area to the east of the parking garage was gated off for the expansion of the pool area. The new pool construction was originally started in fall, 2006 in the hopes of being completed for the summer of 2007 but there were delays so the date was pushed to summer, 2008. Excalibur's official website now says that the pool is open saying "We've doubled the size of our pool, adding cabanas, fire pits, sun decks and a secluded relaxation pool. And our new poolside restaurant, DRENCHED Restaurant and Lounge, is the perfect place to quench your thirst, and your appetite."^[2]

[edit] Gallery

Excalibur across the street from Statue of Liberty at New York, New York

Excalibur Closeup

[edit] Film and television

The hotel was featured in the South Park episode "It Hits the Fan".
In the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a hotel resembling the Excalibur made an appearance
In the video game Driver 2:, Excalibur is featured in the "Las Vegas" portion of the driving/gaming mode
In a special Las Vegas edition of the TV show Fear Factor, The Excalibur casino was the setting for one of the stunts.
The hotel was featured in season six of Top chef, when Jennifer used it for inspiration of her next meal.

[edit] References

^ Koch, Ed (June 19, 1990). "Strip jousting begins". Las Vegas Sun. http://lasvegassun.com/news/1990/jun/19/strip-jousting-begins/. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
^ Las Vegas Hotel Swimming Pool

[edit] External links

Excalibur Hotel and Casino website
"Roy Vegas" - photos showing the Dick's Last Resort promotion that replaced Merlin
Huzzah!: 'Tournament of Kings' is one of only three or four shows on the Strip with genuine family appeal
Schatzker, Mark (October 6 2004). "How medieval-themed restaurants get it wrong". Salon.com. http://www.slate.com/id/2107363/. Retrieved 2008-10-01.

Coordinates: 36°05′56″N 115°10′32″W / 36.09889°N 115.17556°W / 36.09889; -115.17556

[0] Koch, Ed (June 19, 1990). "Strip jousting begins". Las Vegas Sun. http://lasvegassun.com/news/1990/jun/19/strip-jousting-begins/. Retrieved 2008-04-02.

[1] Las Vegas Hotel Swimming Pool

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