When in Rome—Caesars Palace: The First Themed Casino in Las Vegas

ABSTRACT“Welcome to Caesars, I am your slave” intoned toga‐clad cocktail waitresses wearing high‐heeled sandals on the opening day of this stately pleasure dome. This single sentence typified the intent of the creator and builder of this sumptuous development, Jay Sarno (1922‐1984). He dreamed of building a casino‐hotel that afforded every “reveler”—a unique gaming experience: posh accommodations, fine dining, star‐studded entertainment, and up‐scale shopping. Sarno chose replicas of the world's most famous art to adorn his creation. This paper analyzes the realization of his dream through the theory of two philosophers fascinated by the reproduction of images. Roland Barthes (1915‐1980) elaborated upon the objective nature of art and what the viewer brings to it. Walter Benjamin (1892‐1940) developed the notion of phantasmagoria to describe the illusions of sound and light shows in Paris, an apt metaphor for this establishment in Paradise. Benjamin's thoughts on lithographs illuminate the characteristics of the art in Caesars: accessibility, flexibility, decorativeness, and anonymity. These attributes transformed this casino‐resort into an icon of popular culture. The authors take a deeper look into the simulacrum, pastiche, and theme of a place that caters to men's wants and desires. The authors also discuss the Forum, an extension of Caesars Entertainment Corporation's holdings. The Forum provides an opportunity for consumers to shop without guilt for the most exclusive products the world has to offer in a Roman themed environment. The authors conclude with an analysis of the Forum as a cathedral of consumption, an entrepreneur's dream where people pay, not for the intrinsic worth of goods and services; but for the status attached to them.