Mandalay Bay Event Center. The overarching goal, said the company, was to “create an experience that encourages social interaction and one of Las Vegas’ best-known pastimes – people-watching.” Since the park is part of neither New York-New


York nor Monte Carlo, Murren needed a third-party executive from his team of property presidents to oversee it. He reached up to Circus Circus and drafted its prexy, Don Thrasher to be his park ranger, as it were. Thrasher sat with Casino Life to discuss his new responsibility.


The big question


Since the image of a tree-shaded public space adorned by foundations and peopled by strolling entertainers is alien to the conventional image of the Las Vegas Strip – stunningly so – there seemed to be one obvious place to begin: Why a park? “We’re looking to give the consumer unique


experiences,” Thrasher began. “This will give the consumer something completely different,” inspired by the “great social-gathering places” of the world’s major cities. He describes it as “a place to decompress somewhat” from the density of the casinos. “When you enter the park, the first thing you’ll see is the trees, the canopy of foliage. We want


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