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The second of Mandalay Resort Group Las Vegas properties, Excalibur broke onto the Strip skyline in 1990 with rather more of an impact than the arrival of its predecessor Circus Circus.
Whereas Circus Circus has taken nearly 30 years to reach it's current size, Excalibur was built in one go. Probably one of the first of the mega-concept hotel / casinos, Excalibur's theme of medieval knights is flawlessly implemented - even the wallets at the Photo Development are identified as 'Memories of the Realm'!!
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Excalibur is now rather overshadowed by it's far more illustrious neighbour Luxor that does a better job of a far more interesting concept, but that doesn't really detract from Excalibur too much. With the completion of New York, New York and Mandalay Bay the southern end of the strip is at least as interesting as the Ballys / Mirage / Treasure Island / Caesars Palace section - and indeed has succeeded in pulling much of the interest (and therefore traffic) down the strip.
The overhead walkways linking the four corners here have proved so succesful that a host of new ones has now appeared up and down the strip - for example at the other 'main' intersection of Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard - linking Caesar's Palace, Bellagio, Barbary Coast and Bally's, making walking the strip a far easier (and safer) experience!
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This picture was taken in 1993, and shows how much this end of the strip has changed in such a short time.
The vacant lot in the foreground is now New York, New York. In the background is a crane, and just visible is the nearly complete pyramid of Luxor. At this time only Excalibur and the Tropicana were fully operational at this end of the strip - and it's certainly benefited from the additional construction.
I don't know quite why, but I find the inside of Excalibur appallingly easy to get lost in. It doesn't seem to matter which entrance I use, or where I'm heading but invariably I end up at the wrong side. Maybe it's because the inside is so totally symmetrical, maybe it's that the main casino seems to run diagonally across the resort. Maybe I'm just losing it, either way Excalibur wins the most-confusing-casino-layout award (knocking Caesar's Palace into 2nd place)!!
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