Posted on: November 14, 2023, 09:50h.
Last updated on: November 14, 2023, 09:50h.
Cleopatra’s Barge has sailed into Las Vegas history, destined to be replaced at Caesars Palace this spring by just another upscale bar aimed at Millennials.
Dry-docked in the middle of a 180-capacity bar, surrounded by acres of casino, Cleopatra’s Barge was an extra cheesy slice of Las Vegas kitsch. A replica of the vessel aboard which Cleopatra is said to have bewitched Mark Antony, it was not even part of the Caesars Palace opened by casino mogul Jay Sarno in 1966.
The “floating” lounge opened with the Centurian Tower addition — now the Nobu Hotel — in September 1970, replacing the original Nero’s Nook show lounge.
But Cleopatra’s Barge was significant because it lasted. It was considered the last iconic piece of Old Vegas architecture still in active use on the Strip.
The Barge’s nothing of a stage was performed on by Dionne Warwick and clowned around on by Adele. Allegedly, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra were occasional customers, and Ol’ Blue Eyes may or may not have sang a song or two here after a show in the Circus Maximus (now Colosseum) showroom.
“I, Caesar, have created Cleopatra’s Barge in my Palace of Pleasure so my guests might sink into the silken cushions and imagine that they are on this mystery woman’s ‘ship of sin’ as it keeps its date with destiny,” read a guidebook left in Caesars hotel rooms back in the day, now preserved in the Special Collections library at UNLV.
The breasts of the Cleopatra statue at the boat’s bow were considered two of the key places for gamblers to rub for good luck inside Caesars Palace. The others were the hand of the Caesar Augustus statue at the hotel’s entrance, the gloves of boxing champ Joe Louis outside Mesa Grill, the toe of Michelangelo’s David inside the Appian Way Shops, and the Brahma shrine near Serendipity 3.
The barge’s final performer in residence was another iconic piece of classic architecture himself — Wayne Newton. His “Up Close & Personal” show opened on the fake boat in 2019, before relocating to the Flamingo when the pandemic shut down the Strip for 90 days, and Cleopatra’s Barge for good.
Caspian’s Caviar & Cocktails, operated by Clique Hospitality — which also operates the Barbershop speakeasy at Cosmopolitan and Easy’s Cocktail Lounge at Aria — will fill the unfillable void the Barge leaves behind this spring.
