ARABIAN NIGHTS ALADDIN RISES AGAIN TO GIVE VEGAS A LITTLE MAGIC.

Byline: Jerry Rice Staff Writer

Las Vegas is set to welcome the $1.4 billion Aladdin Resort & Casino, and what concerns Richard Goeglein most are the details.

The big things are just about in place for the Thursday debut of the fifth new major resort to open on the Strip in less than two years. It's the little things, the last-minute surprises, that Goeglein is focusing on. ``We've tried to think of everything, but I'm sure there's something we'll find out that we didn't do just right,'' said the Aladdin's chief executive officer.

The hotel's theme is ``1,001 Arabian Nights.'' It features a 36-foot magic lamp over the main casino floor; giant winged horses right out of ``Tale of the Ebony Horse'' marking the entrance to the Race & Sports Book, and what's billed as the world's largest indoor light board creating a 130-foot ``Enchanted Garden,'' with an ever-changing display of blooming flowers stretching over the interior of the casino.

One of the most important features will be the design of the property itself. No longer will hotel guests have to traipse through the casino to get to and from the pool. ``People in their bathing suits do not generally view that as a positive experience,'' Goeglein said.

In fact, from the rooms (after a short elevator ride) it's a straight walk to the convention meeting areas, the restaurants, the shops, the spa and other attractions, including the pool.

``There's nothing you can do on our property that mandates a walk through the casino - unless you want to go to the casino,'' Goeglein said.

Another plus is an elevator core about 50 feet on each side of the check-in area. (That feature alone added $5 million to the cost of the design.) In other words, the farthest any guest will need to walk after getting off the elevator is past seven doors.

``If you happen to be at the end of the hall (at some of the other major Strip properties), it's 350 or 360 feet that you'll have to walk,'' Goeglein noted.

Additionally, accessing the hotel/casino after arriving in town will be less frustrating since guests won't be limited solely to an approach off Las Vegas Boulevard, which often is gridlocked on Friday and Saturday nights. A second entrance on Harmon Avenue is available.

While the 2,567-room Aladdin may not be the biggest resort in town (that honor goes to the 5,005-room MGM Grand), it offers amenities rarely found elsewhere. Notably:

--``Smart rooms'' with Internet/e-mail access and laptop computer hookups.

--Cordless phones in each of the rooms.

--An amplification ring that surrounds the property, making it easier for guests to use wireless phones anywhere in the casino or the 40-story hotel tower.

Before designing the rooms, the hotel-casino surveyed travel agents, meeting planners, convention attendees and others.

Guests will be impressed with one outgrowth of the work: ``We have some very cool bathrooms,'' said Debi Paige, Aladdin's vice president of leisure sales. That will include soaking tubs separate from the shower stalls, as well as separate water closets.

One neat feature is the way the bathrooms are situated in some of the rooms. It's possible to relax in the tub and watch television in the next room or enjoy a great view of the Las Vegas Strip through windows that stretch from the ceiling to the floor.

The new Aladdin literally picks up where the old Aladdin left off - the old hotel was imploded on the same site two years ago. The only thing that remains is the 24-year-old, 7,000-seat Theatre for the Performing Arts, and that has been changed considerably thanks to a $20 million renovation.

Perhaps the old Aladdin's biggest day came May 1, 1967 - about a year after the hotel/casino's opening - when Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu.

Other noteworthy pages from the past include four years of ownership by Las Vegas icon Wayne Newton in the early 1980s.

If there is a sure bet in Las Vegas, it may not get any safer than the potential for success of the new Aladdin. One of the reasons is that locations don't get any more prime than where the 35-acre property is situated: just south of Paris Las Vegas and across the Strip from Bellagio. Within one-half mile to the north and the south are some 50,000 rooms, so there will be plenty of potential visitors to join the 5,000-plus people booked nightly at the Aladdin.

``People who come to Las Vegas spend the bulk of their budget at the property they are staying at, but they will also visit three to four other properties within a half-mile,'' Goeglein said. ``We have the opportunity, without doing anything other than being in the right location, to welcome another 100,000 people every three days or so.''

With a few days to go before the opening, things are already looking good.

``The buzz about the Aladdin has been great,'' said Rob Powers, a spokesman with the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. ``Everything I hear is that it's going to be a hit - the restaurants, the retail, the theater. It fits with other new properties in Las Vegas being more of an entertainment complex than just a hotel/casino.''

With all that the Aladdin has going for it, Goeglein is still bracing for something to go wrong opening weekend. But it's unlikely to be major, like forgetting to put pillows on the beds or not filling the pools with water. All those bases have been covered.

``None of these properties ever open without a hitch,'' he said. ``The only problem is you never know what it is until it happens.''

The opening of the Aladdin brings to a close the recent frenzy of mega resort construction in Las Vegas.

Starting with the debut of the 3,005-room Bellagio in October 1998, seven major properties have opened in the area (including the 21-acre Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort, about 17 miles from the Strip at Henderson), adding more than 17,000 rooms.

Somewhat surprisingly, in that time the occupancy rate has actually increased, according to the Convention & Visitors Authority.

IF YOU GO

Aladdin's debut is set for Thursday. It will start with a street procession at 6:30 p.m. featuring camels, genies and a magic lamp. At 10:30 p.m., there will be a nine-minute fireworks show with pyrotechnics shot off the roof of the hotel tower. Enrique Iglesias will inaugurate the renovated, 7,000-seat Theatre for the Performing Arts with a concert Saturday. Ticket information for the Iglesias concert: [phone] or [phone]. Hotel information and reservations: [phone] or www.aladdincasino.com.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo: (1 -- 3 -- color) The new $1.4 billion Aladdin Resort & Casino features 2,567 rooms and authentic architectural details, above, while the interior hosts a 36-foot magic lamp on the main casino floor, left. The hotel's rooms, below, are anything but standard with fine furnishings and a spacious floor plan.

Box: If you go (see text)