LAS VEGAS -- The lights on the Eiffel Tower in Paris were turned off just as the lights on its smaller 540-ft. counterpart literally around the world were turned on in Las Vegas. On Sept. 1, the Paris-Las Vegas, a $785 million, 2,914-room casino-hotel officially opened for business.

The facility, which received final approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission on Aug. 4, has 2,100 slot machines, 80 to 90 table games and more than 4,200 employees who are known as "citizens of Paris." Rates average $125 a night for a 400-sq. ft. room; however, rates for the larger 4,000 sq. ft. suites could go for as much as $5,000.

In addition to the Eiffel Tower, guests may tour replicas of the Arc de Triomphe, the Paris Opera House, the Louvre and the Hotel de Ville. Other amenities include sidewalk cafes, nine themed restaurants, two wedding chapels, 85,000 sq. ft. of casino space and a 1,200-seat theater.

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