ent001159-043

*Eoflflngf!tfl'Cfmttf FRL. JAN.26,1968-Fgrt 1 If A-CITY WITHIN ITSELF ?? " . ' l??l.??l,i??,..M^??,>.O.Il.l.Mrl..l...l,i.,i..|.l... ii. i. .hi 1 n Ml II I I ?╟÷ l&fughes Will ,argesi Hotel in Las yegss Excfysiv* H Tfca T!m*s from s Staff V/riter ir., IS: ;ir : LAS VEGAS?╟÷Industrialist. Howard Hughes said Thursday he will build the world's Ingest resort hotel! In Las Vegas as an addition to the Sands and at a cost of nearly $150 million. A reliable source, who refused to be identified, estimated that the structure might be from 40 to 50 Stories high. ; . The 4,000-room a d d i t i o n (the Sands now has 729 guest rooms) ; wouM bring the Hughes investment} in the" area to nearly $250 million. >: ,.The construction timetable was not announced. In a statement handwritten by Hughes and released by his staff, ,;Hughes said that the tremendous , undertaking would be "a complete city within itself." ?╟?<-*it.would include an entire Hoof devoted to stores open 24 hours a ?╟≤?╟≤?╟≤; day, one entire floor devoted to^ f a m i 1 y recreation?╟÷including "the ?╟≤ ] largest bowling alley and billiard*1 and pool facility in any hotel in the- . world," an ice skating rink, gained; rooms and a theater for first-run, k\ unreleased motion pictures. . ?╟≤' ;i T should, not have devoted so': much time to these novelties which ' will soon be commonplace, but I'; wanted to make clear that this is an ambitious undertaking?╟÷aimed at providing, the most complete vaca-/ lion and pleasure complex anywhere in the world," Hughes said, adding: / ','':" "A, resort, so carefully planned and :" magnificently designed that any guest will simply, have to make a' i.,_ _ : ._ ........_ 4 "supreme effort if lie wants to be bored, whether he is s sophisticated VIP or jet- set type, or one of the children of a family spend-, ing their vacation with us." . Hughes said that the structure "is designed so that there is no patchwork. AU the additional .space is contained in new ?╟≤buildings. They are not the same architecture as the. present buildings but do not result in an un- pleasing conflict," an indication that the new hotel ,?╟≤-would be on the same '-adjoining property. In the release Hughes did not indicate that the addition would include a ?╟≤casino. Hughes said-the decision^ to go ahead with the i .expansion was made last 1 ?╟≤August because "thou- j iBands of people were] :?√ß turned away each month. j ?√ßV':' "I maintain* that a hotel ] . can be big and still keep the degree of service and 4 luxurious treatment which has made Las Vegas famous. Anyway, this is the objective of all our careful planning," Hughes said. ?√ß;?√ß ?√ß ' ' Hughes is going strong ;?·or electronic computerization of the Sands.. He 'said the new hotel wili'i 'include indoor and night- >time golf "so carefully designed that the shots -Will feel just like outdoors, ahd the spin of the ball in a, slice or hook is even ,'. m e a sured electronically .and indicated to the player." ?╟≤ j Last year, a team of Hughes personnel announced that they were working ofi the computerisation of the check-in reservations and credit sys- ' terns at the Sands, with ?╟≤; the locks in- the guest-room dogr^being^pemted .by^jBletSronically coded 'edit cards, Hughes said, "We obtained the results of a survey which ' indicated that the 'Sands Hotel Las Vegas' was a name known over an amazingly wide portion of the earth, and it possessed an extremely high 'w'ant-to-see' value." mi i?╜ Jill Street JOURNAL o