How Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace Looks Right Now

Posted on: October 30, 2024, 12:08h. 

Last updated on: October 30, 2024, 12:29h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

We knew it was gone. The destruction of Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace, one of the last surviving relics of retro-Vegas kitsch design on the Strip, began this spring. But seeing it gone — thanks to new photos of the construction zone from Vital Vegas blogger Scott Roeben — is a different, more depressing, variety of knowing.

Cleopatra’s Barge, which opened in 1970 and closed in 2020, was named and modeled after the pleasure yacht used by Cleopatra VII, the last queen of Egypt. (Image: Caesars Entertainment)

Since about 2000, most of the reviews and stories published about the barge have praised its miraculous ability to survive the upheavals that have claimed similar relics of classic Vegas across America’s most constantly evolving landscape.

So much for miracles.

What’s Barging In

The photo of the construction zone above will eventually resemble the rendering below. It’s the caviar and cocktail bar in the front of Caspian’s, the part of the upcoming “speakeasy” visible from Caesars Palace’s gaming floor. (Images: Scott Roeben/Vital Vegas and Celano Design Studio Co.).

A trendy bar called Caspian’s Caviar & Cocktails is being erected in the barge’s place because, well, money.

Clique Hospitality brings in high rental revenue for the casinos that host its bars and nightclubs — no doubt a lot more money than Wayne Newton’s “Up Close & Personal” residency generated for Caesars Entertainment when it opened as the last show at Cleopatra’s Barge in 2019.

Clique operates the Barbershop at Cosmopolitan and Easy’s at Aria. These are “speakeasies,” Las Vegas’ gimmicky knockoff of the outlaw bars that once secretly operated at the back of other businesses during America’s Prohibition era.

And Caspian’s will follow the formula. It will consist of an 1,100 square-foot front bar, visible from the gaming floor, which serves caviar, champagne, and vodka cocktails in an elegant setting.

But a passageway hidden behind the bar’s back wall will lead to where the real fun is served … in a 2,300 square-foot music lounge that seats 100.

“Those in the know will venture into the darkness, and upon opening the door, an explosion of vibrancy and color will shock the senses with a moment of brilliant impact, inviting them into an otherworldly journey,” reads the overly press release-y press release from Caesars.

This is what will become the “secret” speakeasy behind the bar at Caspian’s. Photos like this owe either to Scott Roeben’s unparalleled network of spies, his lack of fear of being arrested for trespassing or, probably, both. (Image: Scott Roeben/Vital Vegas)

Classic Vegas Sailing Off

Cleopatra’s Lounge opened with the Centurian Tower addition, now the Nobu Hotel, in September 1970. It replaced the original Nero’s Nook show lounge.

This original rendering of Cleopatra’s Barge is dated May 25, 1970. (Image: Las Vegas News Bureau)

Marketed as a “floating” lounge, it was actually built into the floor beneath the moat that surrounded it.

The Barge’s final, surprise moment in the spotlight came in 2022, when Adele — on the eve of the debut of her long-delayed residency at the Colosseum — tweeted a photo of herself goofing around nervously on its abandoned deck. (Image: X/Twitter/@adele)

In addition to Mr. Las Vegas, the Barge’s tiny deck has hosted performances from Dionne Warwick and magician Matt Goss.

Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra were reported to be occasional members of its 150-capacity audience, though we couldn’t confirm that.

The golden breasts of the Cleopatra statue at the boat’s bow were considered two of the key places for gamblers to rub for good luck on the Las Vegas Strip.

Only Caesars Entertainment knows the current location of those breasts, and whether and where they will be displayed again. And they’re not saying anything.

We’ll keep you abreast.