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Vegas Retold

The history of Luxor Hotel and Casino

Opened October 15, 1993

Luxor’s dark glass pyramid and palms under a blue sky in 2020, behind the foreground tram structure; a later hotel tower stands at right.
Luxor’s pyramid on March 5, 2020, with the tram structure in the foreground and a later hotel tower at right.

ArticCynda / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Original source photograph retained without editorial alteration. Responsive displays may resize and crop the presentation.

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.

  1. Reporting from the public opening

  2. The pyramid’s design and completion

  3. The expansion celebrated in April 1997

  4. The connected but distinct resorts in 2004

  5. From Circus Circus to MGM’s portfolio

  6. Luxor in the operator’s 2026 fact sheet

  7. The mapped property area

  8. The dated exterior photograph

What remains uncertain

  • 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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