The Grand Bazaar Shops ~ Ballys, Las Vegas

The Bally’s Casino Resort has been a landmark since 1986. This resort broke ground shortly after a fire damaged the previous MGM Casino on this same property. The Bally’s Casino Resort has been revamped and remodeled many times through the years and all of the changes have prevented this resort from becoming a relic of the past, which is easy to become in the fast paced arena of the Las Vegas Strip. The one thing that the older refurbished casinos do best is they retain the feel of classic Las Vegas. The long time visitors of Las Vegas do like the familiarity and the level of comfort that the older casino resorts have to offer. This is the niche that Bally’s fulfills on the Las Vegas Strip in this modern age!

Bally’s has recently been modernized once again, yet this classic casino is still very easy to navigate. One does not exactly need a compass and map to find their way around the casino floor!  For those who seek the nostalgic feeling of old fashioned Las Vegas style comfort, Bally’s still offers that kind of relaxed pace.   

There are plenty of new sights to see on the Las Vegas Strip and many changes are being made each day. Las Vegas casino resorts constantly upgrade their facilities to keep ahead of the times. During the last few years, many entirely new resort themes have been adapted and several of the old casino brand names have changed. The Cromwell took the place of Bill’s Gambling Hall and the old Imperial Palace became The Quad for a short time before finally being renamed as The Linq. The Monte Carlo is now the Park MGM and several of the upscale towers at other resorts on The Strip were rebranded too. Names that were once thought of as being trendy, like “The Hotel,” were no longer en vogue and resorts crafted new signature hotel brand names to lure in new crowds. Meanwhile, the ancient Bally’s Casino Resort stands out as a long lasting brand name that many visitors identify with, especially if they are fatigued by the constant whimsical rebranding that only adds confusion to the experience.

Shopping is now a strong running theme at the resort properties on the Las Vegas Strip. Gigantic drug stores are popping up on casino properties in place of longtime entertainment venues. Some say that the Vegas Strip was never really meant to be a typical main street area with a national brand drug store on every corner, while others say that visitors need a place to purchase incidentals. Personally, I do not go to The Strip to hang out at a drug store and many people criticize the new endless shopping mall theme of the Las Vegas Strip for similar reasons. 

On the other hand, the better casino resort shopping area designs do offer something exciting and new to experience, if you happen to have some disposable money to spare. The Las Vegas Strip has evolved into a shopping mecca of fine fashion, jewelry and unique trendy items that the modern Las Vegas visitors seek. For the time being, the Las Vegas Strip is now a world famous shopping destination and in 2015 the old Bally’s Casino Resort jumped into the modern shopping plaza game with the introduction of the all new Grand Bazaar Shops!

The newest trendy shopping area on the Las Vegas Strip just happens to be located at the old landmark Bally’s Casino Resort. This modern shopping and entertainment plaza has replaced the lengthy “people mover” walkway in the Bally’s Courtyard that once brought guests from the boulevard into the hotel lobby. This new addition to Bally’s is quite a sight to see because it retained part of the ultra futuristic look of the old entranceway.

The Grand Bazaar Shops offers a wide ranging venue of stores, bars and eateries. Every shop has a cool, trendy unique theme. A few of the new trendsetting store brand names are, MIXX, Bettie Page Las Vegas, Republic Of Couture, Swarovski, Crazy Legs, Swatch and Bling Co. Many more great shopping destinations are listed at the Bally’s Grand Bazaar Shops Website.  

Foodies will marvel over the gourmet street vendor style eateries in The Grand Bazaar Shops.  Del’s Lobster Rolls & Gourmet Finger Food, Sandwich Haven, Fuel Bar, Island Time Floats, Tipsy Truffles, Honolulu Cookie Company and the Waffle Bar are just to name a few. This is an awesome munch venue for serious foodie shoppers and all that I can say is the liquor infused truffles at Tipsy Truffles are a decadent way to elevate the mood when partying on The Strip!  

I have not been back to Bally’s since The Grand Bazaar Shops first opened, so I am sure that many shops in this plaza have changed names since then, which is the burden of opting for high rent real estate. The continual changes of the Las Vegas Strip are reflected in the ever changing local shopping venue, which now sets modern mall design trends that all others follow. If you want to experience the future of mall shopping, there is no better place to start than the open air Grand Bazaar Shops at Bally’s on The Strip!