Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SUAVE SOUVENIRS: Movin' On Up

Tourists can now sport Las Vegas souvenir that goes beyond standard T-shirt

Resort logos can be found on more than just the traditional white souvenir T-shirt. A variety of jackets, golf shirts, women's casual wear and robes sport names of Strip casinos. Here, Jenia Agassi hangs satin jackets at the Caesars store. Photo by Clint Karlsen. Caesars Palace is one of several resorts with its own fragrance. The Emperor and Goddess fragrances are two of the six perfumes and colognes featuring the Caesars logo. Photo by Clint Karlsen. The $135 bathrobe from the Bath House Spa is a favorite souvenir for many guests who stay in The Hotel at Mandalay Bay. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky. The inflatable bubble bag at 55 Degrees Wine + Design is a much-sought-after souvenir, says Andrew Bradbury, founder of the wine shop in Mandalay Place. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky.

For years, a silk-screen T-shirt or a baseball cap was all a tourist had to tell the world he or she visited Las Vegas, stayed at Bally's or lost their life savings in Sin City.

Now, tourists who want to commemorate their stay at, say Caesars Palace, can recall the good times once they're home by slapping on some Caesars Man cologne or pulling on a $95 twill shirt sporting a gladiator helmet embroidered on the chest. Or if they want to make a fashion statement while advertising their allegiance to the Bellagio, they can do that simply by wearing a $348 black jacket made of buttery Italian lambskin with the resort name embossed in the leather.

To the people who purchase and wear these kinds of items -- usually resort guests -- it's not so much about buying a souvenir as it is incorporating the resort into their lifestyle, say retail representatives.

"We look at Caesars as a brand, the same as any other designer would look at their product," says Mitchell Simbal, the senior vice president of retail for Caesars Palace. "We design and we develop product ... from a fashion standpoint. I think that's how we see the business now. It's not the '80s and '90s where you'd just get some sort of white T-shirt with a logo screened on it. It's not just putting out the obligatory T-shirt, we want to combine the best with our (brand)."

Take a stroll through a resort gift shop, and, while you'll still find the typical Las Vegas souvenirs, they'll be displayed near genuine leather jackets, exclusive designer perfumes, skin care products, fashionable men's and women's casual wear and luxurious bathrobes, all featuring resort logos.

Robes, from a low of $80 to a high of $150, tend to be hot sellers, say representatives of Bellagio, Four Seasons and Caesars Palace. The bathrobe featuring Mandalay Bay's Bath House logo retails for $130 and is a popular item with spa guests, a spokeswoman says.

Fragrances can be found, too. The Venetian and Bellagio have one, while Caesars sells three lines of scents. Paris Las Vegas has an exclusive fragrance called C'est Si Bon.

The Bellagio co-brands with Nike Golf, putting its logo on authentic Nike golf shirts, including the line worn by Tiger Woods, says Darrell Seagraves, spokesman for MGM-Mirage retail.

Customers love such merchandise for two reasons, Seagraves says.

"You have two elite companies at the head of the pack and it's all in one. You're getting a Nike product as well" as something from the Bellagio, he explains.

Some resorts, such as New York-New York and Four Seasons Las Vegas, take the lifestyle thing beyond the closet, and sell their mattresses, linens, mirrors, soap dishes and more.

"Anything that a guest wants from a room, the company will sell it to them. Our customers are so dedicated to the brand that they want that same experience when they're home, from the bathroom items to the coffee mugs that we put with the coffee makers," says Four Seasons Las Vegas spokeswoman Lori Kennedy. "They want those Four Seasons touches in their homes."

Those things aren't cheap, either. A California king-sized bed, with mattress and box spring, runs about $2,200, with the queen size selling for $1,800. Both are manufactured for the hotel by Sealy. Pillows cost $75.