Luxor Walking Tour
7 discoveries Audio narration
Luxor’s pyramid on March 5, 2020, with the tram structure in the foreground and a later hotel tower at right.
Luxor opened to the public on October 15, 1993, making a glass-sided pyramid the defining feature of a new South Strip hotel-casino. Circus Circus Enterprises developed the Egyptian-themed resort beside its earlier Excalibur. The shape was more than a sign: hotel rooms lined the pyramid around a tall interior atrium.
The first morning
The first visitors arrived before dawn. Lynn Waddell’s report that morning describes thousands entering at 4 a.m. and encountering a resort whose new high-tech attractions were not all working smoothly. It captures both the ambition of the opening and its unfinished edges. The public opening followed a gala the previous evening, a different event from ordinary visitors entering the casino.
Building a pyramid hotel
The Council on Vertical Urbanism records the pyramid as a 30-floor building completed in 1993, crediting Klai Juba Architects and Veldon Simpson-Architect with its design. A later company description explains the distinctive circulation: inclinators rose from the corners, while rooms overlooked the atrium. Architecture, hotel accommodation and entertainment occupied the same unusual shell.
Growing beyond the pyramid
Luxor soon grew beyond the pyramid. In April 1997, a contemporary report described a completed major expansion with new tower rooms, a redesigned interior, meeting facilities and a moving walkway to Excalibur. More work was still planned. By 2004, the company described the resort as a pyramid with two 22-story towers. Later operator material gives April 1998 for the twin-tower opening; the accounts are retained as evidence of phases rather than collapsed into one certain completion day.
Changing the rooms and entertainment
The resort entered MGM Mirage’s portfolio through the 2005 acquisition of Mandalay Resort Group. Entertainment and interiors continued to evolve. MGM’s 2007 report lists new Luxor nightlife venues, including LAX and CatHouse, as part of its capital investment program. The operator’s 2026 fact sheet records another substantial change: remodeling of pyramid guest rooms in February 2021. These changes took place within the continuing Luxor identity.
The resort and photograph today
Luxor remains an operating hotel-casino at 3900 South Las Vegas Boulevard. Its larger grounds include later buildings as well as the pyramid, so a single map point does not outline the whole resort. The photograph dates from March 5, 2020 and shows the pyramid behind a tram structure, with a later hotel tower at right. It records that period’s exterior and advertising, rather than the 1993 opening or current show availability.
Read the full historySources and context
Reporting from the public opening
Lynn Waddell, Las Vegas Sun, October 15, 1993 at 10:23 a.m.: thousands entered at 4 a.m. that morning; pre-opening gala Thursday night; high-tech attractions not all functioning. Indexed opening paragraphs read; direct reader returned 403. This contemporaneous observation supports October 15 for public opening despite operator retrospective October 13 wording.
The pyramid’s design and completion
Council on Vertical Urbanism: 30 floors, 1992 construction start/1993 completion, Klai Juba Architects and Veldon Simpson-Architect; current 3900 South Las Vegas Boulevard building record. Completion year is not a precise casino opening day.
The expansion celebrated in April 1997
Bob Shemeligian, Las Vegas Sun, April 18, 1997: prior-day ceremony, new tower rooms, interior redesign, meeting facilities and Excalibur walkway; more phase-II work still under way. Indexed article body read; direct reader returned 403. This does not establish every later tower/phase opened together in 1997.
The connected but distinct resorts in 2004
Mandalay Resort Group Form 10-K, year ended January 31, 2004: Business property descriptions distinguish Luxor and Excalibur; Properties describes their shared larger landholding. Note 1 gives June 18, 1999 company rename from Circus Circus Enterprises. A corporate rename or common landholding is not evidence that one operating resort replaced the other.
From Circus Circus to MGM’s portfolio
MGM Mirage 2007 Form 10-K: management discussion, Acquisitions, closes Mandalay acquisition April 25, 2005; property tables and Note 3 identify Luxor/Excalibur among acquired properties. Capital investments identify 2007 Excalibur room work and new Luxor nightlife venues; these are historical examples, not current venue listings.
Luxor in the operator’s 2026 fact sheet
Current linked PDF downloaded and text extracted, page 1: MGM operation, 3900 South Las Vegas Boulevard, February 2021 pyramid-room remodel. Its October 13, 1993 opening differs from the October 15 contemporaneous public-opening report; its twin-tower April 1998 label is retained as a conflict/phase boundary alongside the April 1997 expansion report. No exact combined tower completion day selected.
The mapped property area
Coordinates 36.09547,-115.1758, fresh source read October 20, 2026; existing qualified Place v1 reused unchanged. Representative property/building area, not an entrance, full footprint, original attraction position or verified walking route.
The dated exterior photograph
Own-work Commons photograph, capture date and CC BY-SA 4.0 verified October 20, 2026. Exact 5184 × 3456 original inspected and retained. Dated exterior context; not current signage or visitor-access evidence.
The operator’s 2026 fact sheet and FAQ say October 13, 1993. The October 15 contemporary report explicitly describes public entry that morning after a gala the previous night; October 15 is selected for the public opening. The reason for the operator’s different date is not established.
A contemporary April 1997 report celebrates a completed major expansion, while later operator material dates the twin-tower opening to April 1998. Work occurred in phases; no single exact day for every expansion element is asserted.
The map marks the pyramid/building area, not all later hotel towers, an entrance or a verified route.
The photograph dates from March 5, 2020. Visible advertising is historical, and the tram structure is foreground context.
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