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A Titanic-themed Resort Almost Opened in Vegas — and That's Not Even the Craziest Failed Project

Las Vegas has long been the place where your wildest fantasies can be turned into reality. However, it turns out, some dreams were simply too big even for this desert oasis.

Viva Lost Vegas is digging into the city's architectural past and sharing all of the designs for resorts that were too big and too grand to ever come to life.

"Las Vegas is America's playground and the home of extravagance, from the indulgent buffets and residences to the luxurious themed resorts and hotels that line the Strip," Viva Lost Vegas shares on its website. "Many resorts have risen over the decades, many have seen the wrecking ball. But what about the resorts and casinos that never made it past the planning stage?"

Renderings of failed Las Vegas resorts
Renderings of failed Las Vegas resorts

Courtesy of Betvictor

Beyond sharing the resorts that never were, the website also shows a reimagined Las Vegas Strip and what it "might look today had some of the more ambitious and interesting projects broke ground and opened their opulent doors."

This includes the Titanic Hotel, a 1,200-room hotel that would have cost an astounding 1.2 billion to create. The design included "both the 'unsinkable' ship and the iceberg that sank it," along with a 400-foot ship that was meant to become a massive attraction and included a casino, theater, an amusement park, and even a zoo.

Renderings of failed Las Vegas resorts
Renderings of failed Las Vegas resorts

Courtesy of Betvictor

It also includes the Desert Kingdom, a 3,500-room hotel that, according to Viva Lost Vegas, "should be one of the most iconic hotel resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, and at the time, would have revolutionized Sin City."

Set to open in 1997, the hotel would have cost $750 million to construct. Its plans included a theme park, hotel, and 135,000-square-foot casino. It was also meant to include a riverboat ride straight under the casino."It wasn't to be though, and the plans were ditched soon after the hotel chain bought Caesars Palace and instead, invested heavily in the existing Vegas resort."

Renderings of failed Las Vegas resorts
Renderings of failed Las Vegas resorts

Courtesy of Betvictor

Today, the website explains, the site of the Desert Kingdom is occupied by the Wynn and Encore resorts.

Want to see more imaginative Vegas designs? Check out the map in all its nostalgic detail here.