Bally's Grand Bazaar Shops

I haven't had a chance to share my thoughts about the Bally's Grand Bazaar Shops on this blog. With many of the shops opening, now seems like a good time.

Bally's is located pretty far off the Strip in terms of walking distance. For years to reach the casino you would travel up a long moving walkway, and then up and down a series of escalators. Pretty inefficient.

The large amount of space between the Strip and the entrance presented an opportunity for Bally's parent company Caesars Entertainment to build something productive. With retail being hot right now, and an easy way to make money by simply renting space out to tenants - the decision was made to develop the Grand Bazaar Shops.

The area has been open for a couple of months, but it seems like tenants are just now starting to open. One of the anchors is a Starbucks with stadium style seating for people watching. Fuel Bar and Garage has flair bartenders along with the "garage" game-room with beer pong, pool and even basketball. There's also a hot sauce shop that I'll probably have to check out.

The shops have been widely criticized across the internet for being tacky, flea-market-like, and an eyesore. I can't exactly disagree with any of these sentiments, but I'm probably more open minded than most comment section participants.

From what I've seen the layout just seems odd. I understand that Bally's isn't a luxury property, but I think Caesars could have made this area into a nicer space - similar to what they did with The Linq and what MGM is doing with The Park.

The saving grace might be the free attractions at the shops:

Nightly Light Show:
Experience the unique hexagonal LED rooftop canopy, designed just for Grand Bazaar Shops, featuring an energetic light show set to custom-created themed soundtracks.

Swarovski Midnight Celebration:
Central to the Grand Bazaar Shops’ experience is the Swarovski Crystal Starburst. The Starburst soars above Grand Bazaar Shops’ colorful, mosaic-pattern rooftop canopy and is the star of the nightly Swarovski Midnight Celebration, a brilliantly colored light, music and video spectacle.

I'm guessing neither of these will become the next Bellagio fountains or Mirage volcano, but in a time where free attractions are going away, it's nice to have them as an option. I really liked the old Bally's moving walkway light show, so I have a feeling I might end up liking this one as well.