Is a giant moon set to touch down in Las Vegas? Apparently, there's one in the pipeline.
Renderings have been released of an eye-opening Las Vegas resort that takes the form of a giant moon. Its name? 'Moon', naturally.
According to the Canadian entrepreneurs behind it, it would cost £3.6billion ($5billion) to build and, with a height of 224 metres (735ft), would become the joint-second-tallest building in Sin City with the JW Marriott, which is currently the second-loftiest structure behind the 350m- (1,149ft) tall Strat Observation Tower.
Renderings have been released of an eye-opening Las Vegas resort that takes the form of a giant moon
The celestial retreat – which would be the world's largest sphere - features 4,000 hotel rooms, a 'crater café', a spa, a casino, a lagoon and guests seeking a space-age adventure will be able to take a moon shuttle to a 'lunar colony'.
There's more.
Other attractions at the otherworldly resort would include an event centre for up to 5,000 attendees, a theatre for resident performers and touring acts, a piano bar, boutiques, several lounges and a convention centre.
The resort would also feature a nightclub that would sit under a giant model spaceship, with lights beaming down to the dancefloor.
A glass-bottomed 'Enviromax' walkway is pencilled in to offer simulated views of the earth's weather patterns, allowing guests to view 'the eye of the hurricane from within the eye'.
The celestial retreat – which would be the world's largest sphere - features 4,000 hotel rooms
Designed to replicate the surface of the moon, the 'active lunar colony' is the unique selling point for the ambitious resort.
To access the colony, which would be in the upper half of the sphere, guests would head to shuttle stations, to waiting moon shuttles. Designed like cars on a roller coaster ride, the shuttles, it's explained, will snake around the exterior of the hotel suites as they ferry guests upwards.
Once there, guests will spend 90 minutes exploring the 10-acre (4-hectare) space, whizzing over craters in a 'moon buggy'. The colony promises to 'precisely mimic those [lunar colonies] now under serious active planning by Nasa, ESA and many others'. Tickets would cost £361 ($500) a pop.
'Without question, when guests venture onto the lunar surface, for the first time in their lives, they will believe they are on the Moon,' explains Michael Henderson, who founded Moon World Resorts (MWR) with his business partner Sandra Matthews.
According to the Canadian entrepreneurs behind 'Moon', it would cost £3.6billion ($5billion) to build and, with a height of 224 metres (735ft), would become the joint-tallest building in Sin City. Pictured here is the 'tranquility spa'
The Piano Bar concept for 'Moon', a project dreamt up in the year 2000
The 'lunar colony' experience was intrinsic to the overall design. MWR's brand statement says: 'The burgeoning space tourism industry is literally blasting off. However, the price of entry is prohibitive!
'Moon delivers the critical "bridge" enabling a mass audience to actively and affordably participate in the excitement.'
Henderson and Matthews first decided to conceptualise a destination resort back in 2000.
How did they come up with the idea? 'In short, it was truly a classic "aha moment", greatly assisted by a full moon and a splash or two of Guinness,' says Henderson.
He adds: 'The objective was to develop an authentic, mega-scale reproduction of planet Earth's Moon, incorporating the world's largest sphere.'
The sphere diameter would be 198 meters (650ft), and would rest on a large disc 259 metres (850ft) in diameter. However, these measurements may vary depending on regional airspace and locally mandated height restrictions.
Made from concrete, steel, glass, aluminium and carbon fibre composite, it's estimated the resort would take five years to construct.
'Guests at Moon will enjoy a spectacular first-hand touch and feel preview of exactly what life will be like for humans' next habitable celestial body,' Henderson says.
Moon isn't in production yet, but Henderson and Matthews aim to work with major global corporations that already have all the funding required to fully develop the resort.
Moon World Resorts would license the design in four places - North America, Europe, the Middle East Gulf and Asia.
The 'active lunar colony' is the unique selling point for Moon. To access the colony, which would be in the upper half of the sphere, guests would head to shuttle stations, to waiting moon shuttles (pictured)
The plan is for guests to have access to a lunar colony feature for 90 minutes. 'Without question, when guests venture onto the lunar surface, for the first time in their lives, they will believe they are on the Moon,' explains Michael Henderson, who co-founded Moon World Resorts
The project was originally earmarked for Coachella, back in 2016
Henderson says MWR is in 'active discussions with potential regional licensees in various global locations'.
Where's the best site for Moon in Las Vegas? 'Currently, the best land option is owned by the highly acclaimed Wynn Resorts Corporation,' Henderson explains.
Another rendering of the breathtaking resort shows Moon in Dubai on the site of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper. The founders estimate each resort could generate £1.3billion ($1.8billion) annually once opened.
Looking to the future, Henderson says: 'Some 20 years after the first initial pencil scribbles began to develop, Moon is finally ready to break ground.'
If that's really the case, then it's one giant leap for tourism in Las Vegas.
However, some in the tourism sector have voiced scepticism over 'Moon'.
The project was originally earmarked for Coachella, California, back in 2016, as reported in the Desert Sun.
At the time Aftab Dada, the Hilton Palm Springs general manager, told the paper that Moon World Resort is 'impossible', adding 'if there was a word to supersede impossible, I'd use that'.
David Garcia, meanwhile, the then Coachella city manager, told Vice.com that it was 'hard to express any opinion about a project that exists only as poorly rendered graphic designs'. And Bob Rogers, founder of BRC Imagination Arts, which designs attractions for corporations and museums, told the website that he thought Moon was overly ambitious in scale.
And as for the Vegas iteration of Moon, Henderson still has his work cut out to turn opinion around.
Writer, podcaster and Vegas expert Michael Trager, who runs travel site TravelZork, told MailOnline Travel that he doesn't think there's a market for Moon.
He said: 'When someone mentions the moon, I immediately think of one of the legends of Las Vegas, Bob Stupak. Except Stupak's vision of the moon was displaying his lunar stones at the Moon Rock Cafe. Do people yearn for a moon-themed casino resort in Las Vegas? My quick answer is no. They desire integrated sports and entertainment venues like Stadium Swim at Circa and epic headliners like the line-up of performers at Resorts World Las Vegas.'
So is it all pie in the sky? Watch this space...
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