Plugs Pulled on Two Las Vegas Light Shows

By Scott Roeben, on October 13 2019
2 min read 7 comments
Las Vegas

Some highly-visible eye candy on the Las Vegas Strip is no more.

Without fanfare, the Vortex at Linq and Swarovski Starburst at Grand Bazaar Shops have been demolished.

Here’s a look at the Vortex back when it still had its groove.

Linq Vortex
Sadly, the Vortex never met its full potential.

The Vortex deck at Linq has been a spectacularly underutilized space given its prime location and stunning view of the Las Vegas Strip.

In recent weeks, work has been done on the Vortex level of Linq, and the digital light display has been dismantled.

Linq Vortex
We demand more shiny to take the place of the previous shiny.

The Vortex deck will be the new home of an ESPN production studio. The new studio is set to open in 2020.

Over at Bally’s, the Swarovski store at Grand Bazaar Shops is currently being demolished and the much-touted Swarovski Starburst light show is already gone.

Here’s what it looked like before it was taken down.

Swarovski starburst
Sorry if you missed it. Vegas moves fast.

The Swarovski Starburst was 14 feet in diameter and made up of 911 custom-cut Swarovski crystal spheres.

Here’s the Starburst light show prior to the demolition.


The Swarovski store at Grand Bazaar Shops closed more than a year ago, but only recently has been demolished.

Swarovski demolition
Oh, look, the mirror image of your garage. Maybe a little more time organizing and a little less time reading blogs.

The Swarovski shop had a tiny footprint (400 square feet), but the demolition crew has still managed to jam several pieces of equipment into the space.

Swarovski demolition
We love these pocket-sized excavators and would like one for our birthday, thanks.

At the site, we spotted tons of severed wires we can only assume controlled the lights in the Starburst.

Starburst wires
All dressed up and no star to burst.

While there’s been no announcement about what’s up next for this space, rest assured the Swarovski store wasn’t demolished in the hope the space would be monetized. It’s at Grand Bazaar Shops.

While the Vortex at Linq will be missed, we’re pretty sure nobody’s missing the Swarovski Starburst as it never lived up to the hype promised when it opened in 2015.

While these two attractions have gone dark, Las Vegas still has plenty of sparkle, and there’s always more in the works.