Galleria Bar Opens at Caesars Palace, $27 Cocktails Cause Kerfuffle

By Scott Roeben, on September 27 2022
5 min read 10 comments
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Caesars Palace has completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of its “lavish guest arrival experience,” and—in a shocking turn of events—the experience is actually as lavish as Caesars Palace claims it is. Maybe even lavisher.

We went by to check out the newly-unveiled revamp of the iconic resort’s main entrance, casino dome, porte-cochere and video poker bar, Galleria Bar.

The bottom line is Caesars Palace has revisited its history, given itself a strategic facelift and made serious strides in reclaiming its rightful position as one of the most impressive and beloved casino-hotels in the world.

Our month of August was originally called Sextilius until Caesar Augustus renamed it after himself. Bastard.

Back in Feb. 2022, Caesars Palace revealed a completely reimagined main entrance. Supply chain disruptions pushed the original project completion date back from 2021, but it was worth the wait.

The centerpiece of the new entrance is a 15-foot-tall Carrara marble statue of Augustus Caesar.

Some of the world’s most famous statues are carved from Carrara marble, including Michelangelo’s David.

A replica of Michelangelo’s David stands inside Caesars Palace, in the Appian Way Shops, with a plaque reading, “I WAS IN THE POOL!”

The new entrance at Caesars Palace also features a raised ceiling with hand-painted illustrations of Roman gods and a chandelier with 70,000 crystals.

Augustus’ birth name was Gaius Octavius Thurinus, but after he started getting cramps from all the autograph requests, he changed it in 26 B.C.

Flanking the new entrance are two table games areas.

Guests who are dropped off in the porte-cochere can grab a photo op with Caesar, then get busy gambling and drinking.

Here’s a quick walk-through of the space, from the hotel registration area to the main casino floor.


 

The sexiest new addition to Caesars Palace is Galleria Bar, named after an ancient Roman shopping mall.

Galleria Bar, a take on “a palatial Italian study,” has 24 seats and 22 slot machines.

Galleria Bar features four Venus statues. Caesar Augustus claimed to be related to the goddess, through her son, Aeneas, a name impossible to say aloud without giggling.

The video poker pay tables aren’t great, but it’s a lobby bar on the Las Vegas Strip. Denominations start at $1.

Oh, look, it’s a visual metaphor for pretty much all our discretionary income.

Galleria Bar is more about the location, vibe, people-watching and fancy drinks.

Here’s the cocktail menu. We trust your loins are fully girded.

“It’s not about the prices, it’s about the experience!” we kept repeating to ourself to avoid a cardiac episode.

Yes, you read that correctly. The drinks are $27 each.

On the bright side, they’re excellent! We had the Queen of Hearts, made with Casamigos tequila, watermelon puree, lime juice, salt, jalapenos and a watermelon wedge.

In Italian, this garnish is called “grande anguria,” or “a bigass slab of watermelon.”

When we shared the drink menu on Twitter, some experienced what can only be described as an implosion of their brains.

Before you get your Spanx in a bunch, please keep in mind if you’re playing, many of these $27 cocktails can be comped. Still, if you’re not playing, your drink will be $27. Plus tip, of course.

Let’s just say $27 is the new $18. Which was the new $12 not too long ago. Which was the new $8.

Just gamble, already. And make sure to ask your bartender if your drink will be comped based upon your play. That way, you can avoid sticker shock.

Galleria Bar uses the red light, green light drink monitoring system we’ve talked about innumerable times. Basically, it helps bartenders know who has earned their free drink and who hasn’t.

In 2016, Caesars Palace was the first casino in Vegas to use the red light, green light drink monitoring system. Now, they’re pretty much standard on new video poker machines.

Our top tip is to use the tip glass to see the color of your light (green means you’ve earned a free drink, red means play more).

Green light, happy place. Red light, pick up the pace.™

Galleria Bar operates 24 hours a day, and we only encountered one sex worker during our visit, so word clearly hasn’t spread about this new lobby bar yet. (The existing Lobby Bar is still around, mere feet away from Galleria.)

Caesars didn’t stop with the entrance and Galleria Bar, of course. They also got to work on the crystals in the main casino.

Many movies have been filmed at Caesars Palace. Most notably, “History of the World: Part I,” just because you didn’t see that one coming.

The main casino now has a new, larger crystal chandelier that weighs about 3,200 pounds and has 12,000 crystals.

Additional bling lines the ceiling of the casino, with another 120,000 crystals.

The crystals in the casino alone cost more than $1 million.

We haven’t experienced a crystal that expensive since the last time we visited a Las Vegas strip club.

While the casino chandelier reportedly has 12,000 crystals, we lost count at about 46. Sorry, we are easily distracted.

The renovation reveal precedes a number of upcoming additions to Caesars Palace, including Peter Luger Steakhouse (moving into the Rao’s space), Dominique Ansel Las Vegas (the Cronut guy will sit next to Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill ) and Stanton Social Prime (taking over the Searsucker space).

All these new offerings are expected to open by the end of 2022.

Caesars Entertainment has pulled out all the stops to ensure its flagship casino feels like a flagship casino.

While we don’t enter Caesars Palace via the porte-cochere (we self-park), we still love what they’ve done to the place.

The main casino always felt a little cramped and many didn’t even realize the main entrance was the main entrance. (The statues and fountain near hotel registration always seemed more like the entrance to a palace.)

Caesars Palace has delivered on its promise to create a “wow” factor for guests, and even longtime fans of the casino will find the refresh refreshing.

While some hotel themes don’t age particularly well, the Roman theme at Caesars Palace is the theme that keeps on giving. It’s timeless, and big props to Caesars for making the most of this undeniable jewel (sorry, crystal) on the Las Vegas Strip.

Update (9/30/22): Here’s something you won’t see anywhere else! We asked Caesars Entertainment where the Caesar statue (featured in the old entrance) went, and come to find out, it was moved to a spot near the self-parking garage elevators. Which led to our asking where that statue went. Our brain exploded when we learned the two statues were actually swapped. The statue in the main entrance is the one that was previously located near the self-parking garage, and vice versa (photo, below). Now, you know!

Fun fact: All the Caesars statues at Caesars point to bars.