Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Las Vegas no stranger to new technology

Tabú Ultra Lounge's interactive tables may be cutting edge, but they're certainly not the first use of advanced technology in Las Vegas.

"Casinos are very well known to go the furthest extent to attract and retain customers, especially when it comes to visual enhancements," says Jon Friedberg, co-founder of Reactrix Systems, which owns the interactive projector system at Tabú.

In addition to the reactive images projected onto Tabú tables, there's The Mirage's volcano, the Bellagio fountains, lifelike talking statues in the Forum Shops, a thunderstorm in the middle of Desert Passage, water effects in Rain at the Palms, and rumjungle's walls of fire and water, among others.

"Vegas has a lot more money to spend," says Adam Wurtz, Rain's technical director. "Even the dinkiest showroom on the Strip has technology light years ahead of what's on Broadway."

Says Jeffrey Beers, designer of Tabú and rumjungle: "Las Vegas is a good place to try those things out, if not the best place in the world. We want to do things that are new, bold and fresh."

Rumjungle was Beers first foray into incorporating technology into a local nightclub.

The wall of fire and water was "so state-of-the-art that I had to invent it," Beers notes. "The whole point is to stay ahead of the curve. I always want to engage the guest so that it becomes a memorable and inviting space."

Tabú may be his most aggressive attempt at creating that place.

The lounge contains 21 screens with different projected images, two of which display the Reactrix System images.

Eleven projectors hang from the ceiling above the bar and images constantly move across the surface. They're mostly images of clothed and nude women, men and other sensual pictures. One picture appears to sink into the bar's surface and disappear, says Mike Milner, executive director of nightclubs and entertainment for MGM.

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