CONSTRUCTION ZONE: STRIP IN MIDST OF BUILDING BOOM.

Byline: - Rob Lowman

LAS VEGAS - As you walk down the Las Vegas Strip during the day, you might notice that the musical jingling of casino slot machines mixes with the clatter of jackhammers and roar of dump trucks- telltale signs that there is another construction wave in progress.

It might be more accurate to say, however, that Vegas is always in some rebuilding stage. Robert Stewart of Park Place Entertainment, which owns Caesars Palace, describes the casino as being under construction since it opened in 1966.

But now, after earlier this year adding the Colosseum - the 4,100-seat, $90-million-plus state-of-the-art theater that houses Celine Dion's new show - Caesars is in full building mode, adding a slew of restaurants, gaming areas and shops that will extend the resort out to the boulevard.

Of course, everyone is looking to the north end of the Strip, where Steve Wynn's new resort, Le Reve, is under construction.

``I think Le Reve is going to be a benchmark resort,'' said Erika Brandvik of the Las Vegas News Bureau. ``Steve Wynn has always shaken things up since he came on the scene with the Mirage and then the Bellagio. The Bellagio sort of set the stage for this new type of luxury resort emphasis that Las Vegas has seen in the past several years.''

The $2 billion Le Reve, which is due to open in April 2005, will have the Strip's only 18-hole golf course, a 111,000-square-foot casino, 18 restaurants and, of course, a gallery displaying Wynn's art collection of works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Cezanne and Matisse. Recently, Wynn bought a self-portrait by Cezanne for $17.3 million and Renoir's ``In the Roses (Madame Leon Clapisson)'' for $23.5 million to enhance his collection.

All this may be part of his attempt to top himself, which he admits is getting more difficult. Earlier this year, Wynn told a Vegas convention audience that ``the challenge to create a better mousetrap is ever more daunting than it was before.''

But, Stewart noted, ``Every time there's a new kid on the block, it puts the last new kid on the block back in the pool.''

And nobody likes to be in the pool. So, besides Caesars, many of the other resorts are looking to upgrade or expand.

In May, the Venetian announced that it would break ground on a new resort in the space between that casino and Le Reve, noting that Wynn's project adds value to their project. The Venetian is also scheduled to open a new tower this month, adding some 1,000 rooms.

Meanwhile, Mandalay Bay's $225 million, 1,125-suite tower is set to open in November. In May, the Bellagio began work on its $375 million Spa Tower, which will add 925 rooms; it is scheduled to open in December 2004.

Vegas hasn't overexpanded, Brandvik insisted. ``In the late '90s, we had analysts say we were setting ourselves up for a fall because we were building too many rooms,'' she said, ``but these new properties generated a lot of publicity and interest and visitors.''