The topping off ceremony included the finishing placement of rolled steel on the bridge, followed by the creation of time capsule memorabilia by state and city officials, guests and local media.
    
Scheduled to open in November 2002, the 350-room Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas is the centerpiece of Lake Las Vegas Resort's newest community, MonteLago Village, a 1,370-acre, $500 million resort and upscale commercial village complex also set to open by year-end on the north shore of Lake Las Vegas. Set on 50 acres of lakefront property, the European-style village will also include a 40,000-square-foot casino, luxury condominiums, office space, retail shopping, restaurants and pedestrian promenades.
    
"We are very pleased to commemorate the topping off of The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas at MonteLago Village as part of our commitment to the hotel and travel industry, which is the lifeblood of Nevada's economy," says Ron Boedekker, chairman and president of Transcontinental Corporation, developer of Lake Las Vegas Resort. "Since construction on the project began in
December 2000, more than 300 jobs have been created. By November an additional 1,200 positions will be created, including 600 at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, 300 at The Casino at MonteLago, 200 at the MonteLago Village shops and restaurants and 100 at The Falls, a Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course."

The nine-story, 360,000-square-ft. Ritz-Carlton is designed in an old-world, Mediterranean theme, with unique architectural details such as vine-covered trellises and balconies, balustrades, shaded loggias and ornate bridges in a garden-like setting with water features. As part of the hotel, a Florentine-style bridge built on three levels will span 375 feet across the lake's inner harbor and feature 67 Ritz-Carlton guest rooms, plus a pedestrian promenade and retail shopping area. The first level of the bridge is an esplanade with upscale retail boutiques, waterside restaurants and outdoor cafes, where guests will walk across the harbor from one side of the bridge to the other. Levels two and three will house the hotel's 67 bridge guestrooms.
    
The remaining 283 guestrooms are located in the main hotel and include 44 suites and two Ritz-Carlton Suites. In addition, the hotel will feature 25,200 square feet of meeting and banquet space, including a 12,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom, and a 30,000-square-ft. spa offering a full menu of spa services, including a fitness center and two heated swimming pools.
    
Hotel guests will also be able to enjoy golfing at two championship-designed courses -- The Falls, an 18-hole, Tom Weiskopf-designed course, which opens in May at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas and Reflection Bay Golf Club, an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed course which opened in 1998 at Lake Las Vegas Resort.

The master plan for MonteLago Village is designed by Eldon Beck Associates of Mill Valley, Calif.; Barry Berkus of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and Glover Smith Bodie Architects of Oklahoma City, Okla. The architect for The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas is Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo and interior design is by Texeira Interior Architectural & Design. Hotel construction is by Perini
Building Company of Las Vegas.

Situated on a privately owned, 320-acre lake 17 miles from the Las Vegas Strip, Lake Las Vegas Resort is a premiere 2,600-acre residential and resort community developed by Transcontinental Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Transcontinental Corporation, a privately held real estate development and investment company. The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas is managed by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, L.L.C., in partnership with CIRI, an Alaska Native regional corporation and Transcontinental Properties, Inc.