Vol. 16, No. 3, Oct-December 2005 

Show Basics, The Lighter Side:
Fun & Lasers in Las Vegas
By David Lytle, Editor, The Laserist. First published: Nov. 1995

I was halfway through the desert when the lasers took hold. Miles from Las Vegas, driving north, a fat green laser beam shot up from the (ity and swooped over the roof of my rental car. This wasn't your ordinary, razor-thin shaft of emerald green light twinkling in the night. This was a big, broad, landing strip of light large enough to accommodate multi-engine aircraft. It pulled me into town, toward the ground zero of Las Vegas. I saw it clearly. I followed it. I was dazzled.

Las Vegas is changing. The vast ex-panses of flashing incandescent lights and pulsating neon that once dominated The Strip are taking a backseat to a different kind of attraction: exploding volcanoes, Egyptian theme parks, and lasers. The makeover is proving profitable-Las Vegas is enjoying a sustained business boom fueled by family vacationers.

Where do laser displays fit into this mix? Just about everywhere. On a recent whirl wind tour, I saw lasers used as signage, as attractions, and as special effects. But when there are so many things to see and hear in Vegas, laser displays have to compete harder than ever to secure their niche. Are they doing that? By sheer numbers, the answer is yes. There must be more laser displays per capita in Las Vegas than anywhere else in the world. But for a closer look, come with me as I spend two days trying to track down the city's most effective laser displays...

WORLDS LARGEST DISPLAY

My first stop is the Las Vegas Hilton, host to what Laser Fantasy International says is the world's most powerful laser display installation. From my hotel, just a few blocks from the Hilton, the display is hard to miss. I see a beam lying low over the city from this angle, splitting the night air like the center line down a highway. The lasers originate in a fountain at the Hilton's main entrance.
The display is powered by four 40-watt YAG lasers that funne; theirl light through 16 remote fiber-fed scanner pairs. It operates in two modes: a five-minute "beam and light ballet" that projects beams into the atmosphere, and a static mode that projects four beams on a nearly flat trajectory low over the Las Vegas skyline. I like the static mode best-the beams are more visible because they're closer to the ground, close enough to illuminate palm trees with an eerie YAG-green glow.

I watch the beams nearly alone in front of the Hilton. I'm told the Hilton opted for the big beam installation because they're a block or two off the main strip, and wanted a high-profile landmark to make themselves known. The lasers certainly grabbed my attention from blocks (and miles) away, but they didn't seem as impressive at closer range, perhaps because of the high ambient light levels and less direct sight lines. But maybe that's the point-when I'm at the Hilton, they probably want me inside playing the slots, not ogling multiple YAG outputs.

THE SPHINX LIGHTS UP

Taking an opposite approach, the outdoor laser display in front of The Luxor Hotel and Casino is highly visible from close range, but practically invisible from the next block. Laser beams shoot out from a reflect ing pool at the base of a 125-foot Sphinx that sits in front of the Luxor pyramid. A 50-foot high screen of water functions as a projection surface for the laser and a 5,000 watt xenon slide projector. Egyptian- theme slides seem to float in mid-air on this water screen, and laser images appear with three-dimensional depth when projected through the misty haze. At one point, laser beams shine out from the Sphinx's eyes, causing the water below to chum and boil.

My favorite effects were abstract patterns created by the lasers in the water mist. Sparkling chips of green and blue laser light languidly twirled in a moving tapestry of light and water. But like the Hilton, there were few people who stopped to watch the show. Countless people streamed past on the sidewalks to and from the Luxor, and made comments that were always positive: "Wow," "Cool," "Check this out!" Butthese people didn't break stride to take it in.

The outdoor shows at the Luxor, the Hilton, and a stationary beam atop the Rio Hotel and Casino, fall into the category of signage. They get people's attention, but don't draw an audience. Just like a flashing neon sign, they become partof the visual background of Las Vegas, something to be admired but not studied.

DRAWING CROWDS

This was not the case atSam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, a huge complex far from The Strip, where the "Sunset Stampede Water and Laser Spectacular" draws a standing-room only crowd. The show combines synchronized water fountains and laser lights set to an original symphonic score. It's played out against a towering rock wall that rises sixty feet inside a huge atrium. At the base of the wall, a large pool holds the water fountains. Hundreds of people gather around the pool before the show starts to get the best viewing spots for the seven and a half-minute event.

The lasers are far more effective inside this controlled environment than they are at the outdoor venues. Full-color aerial beams shoot out from halfway up the rock wall, glistening with intensity as they slice through geysers of water. The sight angles nd ambient lighting are just right, letting the audience get close enough to really experience the dazzling brightness of a 25-watt color show.

"It's kind of an intimate show up front,but it's also very good from the second floor balcony, where you can see the beams," said Christian Hugener, president of Thomas Gregor and Associates, the show's designer. The company, which specializes in high-tech entertainment, used the talents of Image Engineering to provide the laser effects. "To me," said Hugener, "the laser is just another lighting instrument. It's asking too much to generate an entire show around a laser."

The same philosophy seems to apply at the Festival Fountain located in the Forum at Caesar's Palace. The 40-foot diameter fountain sits at the entrance to a mall of high-end shops. It is complete with larger-than-life audio-animatronic statutes of Bacchus, Venus, Apollo and Plutus. The show, designed by Ed Auswacks of Laser Media, features laser images projected on
to a 70-foot diameter dome, and aerial beams that shoot up from the fountains and explode on cue from Bacchus' goblet. The laser beams are combined with the orations and movements of the Gods, who urge the audience to enjoy the pleasures of the Forum. The area around the fountain, estimated to hold 1,000 people, is filled to the brim before the show starts. Although the laser effects are impressive, the bright lights in the mall dampen their dazzle for me.

FIGHTING FOR ATTENTION

he fountain display was designed to draw people from the sidewalks of The Strip into the shopping mall, and it seems to be succeeding well for the third year running. "I think it's been very effective," said Rick Sperber, operations director for the Forum Shops. "You can just look at the reactions of the crowd to see it's working. I think the lasers have a very big impact; at times they are the focal point of the show."

The other staple of Las Vegas entertainment, the nightclub show, has graduated into the realm of Broadway mega-production and ^^^1 nearly always includes laser effects. At the MGM Grand Hotel Casino, laser technician Mel Lovelace was kind enough to give me a full tour of the facilities. "EFX" is now playing at the hotel, and it runs about 90 minutes in length, including exactly three minutes and 37 seconds of laser effects. For those few minutes, MGM has invested in three large-frame lasers (two krypton, one ar-gon), six scanner pairs, a host of eam and "starfield" effects, and hundreds of feet of fiber optic cable to deliver the laser power. This is yypical for Vegas shows. "Starlight Express" at the Hilton features five minutes of lasers; Siegfried and Roy at The Mirage have about eight minutes. Like "EFX," both the Hilton and Mirage also employ state-of-the-art laser systems.

My final stop in Vegas is the "Enter the Night" show at the Stardust Resort & Casino. Talk to any laserist in Vegas, and they'll tell you this is the show you must ee. I buy my ticket in advance and look at its fine print: "Topless Performance. Under 21 not admitted. Admission includes two beverages." Then I look at the sign above the ticket booth: "Largest Laser Show in Las Vegas." Now we're talking.

CUE 1: LASER FAN

I can tell I'll like this show from the start. The opening cue is for an argon beam fan that shoots directly over my head. It's a small theatre, seating about 700 people, and the low ceiling makes the beams jump out. About two-thirds of the way through the show, the "Illumagenesis" number
begins. This is a seven and a half-minute laser and dance piece that is simply stunning. A group of six dancers move on a softly lit stage in a graceful ballet highlighted by the atmospheric weavings of a multitude of laser beams. The beams not only have amazingly vivid colors, but the choeography of the beam movements is entrancing. At one point, scanners above the stage shoot down through a double layer of open-weave scrims, tracing out 2D abstract images on the scrims while creating 3D atmospheric patterns in the stage fog.

The beam movements were choreographed by Jennifer Morris of Image Engineering, the company that provides the laser effects. Image Engineering's Walter Gundy attributes much of the show's suc
cess to "Enter the Night" producer Ted Lorenz. "He picked a lot of people who were all-stars in their fields and gave them room to work. The lighting, the sets, the costumes, they all work together."

As I leave Vegas behind, the "Illumagenesis" number stands out as the most memorable laser movement. But what stands out more is how differently lasers are used in Las Vegas than in other venues. Producers shy away from graphics in favor ofatmospheric effects. They shy away from blue and green atmospherics in favor of a full-color spectrum.

And no matter how the laser display is used-as signage, as a crowd-drawing attraction, as a special effect-it is just one star among many. A big, bright, dazzling star, to be sure, but one that never shines alone.