Luxor Hotel and Casino; Pyramids and Sphinxes

Sail the Nile – or almost anyway. The Luxor’s iconic pyramid is 30 stories tall and houses the original section of the hotel. The Luxor’s pyramid is very similar in size to the famous Red Pyramid in Egypt. The wonderful replica of the Great Sphinx of Giza fronts the entrance.

The more recent additions of the twin ziggurats house 22 floors of guest rooms apiece. Ziggurats are massive structures built in the form of a terraced step pyramid that diminish in size as one moves skyward. Like the pyramid, they were part of the religious, social and political architecture of the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau.

For all its size, the Luxor is one of the more predominately eco-friendly self-sustaining hotels. Perhaps because Nevada, like Egypt, is at heart a desert.

Originally owned by Circus Circus and opened in 1993, one of the more novel aspects of the Luxor’s pyramid is that it was originally built for “petty cash” without any outside financing. All $375 million dollars of it. Five years later when the ziggurats were opened their price tag was $675 million.

While a great deal of the original interior ancient Egypt motif was replaced when the current owner, MGM Resorts, did an all-around upgrade in 2007 the exterior was simply cleaned and left in all its glory.

Wondering about that bright light? It is the Luxor Sky Beam. At 42.3 billion candelas (the common candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela), the Sky Beam is visible up to 275 miles (440km) on a clear night. The FAA has designated it an official navigational landmark for planes – and that is when it operates at only half power as it has since 2008 in an energy saving endeavor.

Junk Food Folks Trivia: The McDonald's inside of the Luxor food court became the first out of two McDonalds in the entire world to vend Pepsi products instead of Coke products. The second opened up 3 years later in Excalibur.

More Serious Trivia: Ziggurats are first noted in the late 3rd millennium BC and are believed to have inspired the story of the Tower of Babel.