"CSI: The Experience" opened Saturday night at MGM Grand. I am interested in this attraction primarily because there have been few new attractions in Vegas for years. And I thought space consuming attractions had finished being much of a value to the resorts. "Titanic" and "Bodies" opened at Luxor but they moved there from Tropicana. Meanwhile, "Star Trek: The Experience" closed at Las Vegas Hilton. The last major attraction I can remember opening was the "Shark Reef" at Mandalay Bay years ago. Anyway, in more recent times, the resorts have tended to offer available space to shopping, nightclubs or headliners. The recession may have changed that equation. But, if so, I was unable to get the MGM executive I interviewed to admit that a major attraction opening in Vegas was particularly special right now. But I think this choice of attraction entertainment offerings at this time (and I was told this was put together only in the last six months), intentional or not, will be an interesting experiment if exhibits are going to enjoy a rebirth in Vegas as other forms of entertainment struggle in the current economy.

I do not mean to short "CSI." I am simply ignorant. I do not watch television, but the popularity of "CSI" was clear from the screams that greeted the cast at the opening Saturday. Even as security tried to keep fans away with frequent requests to "Move along." This could have been just like a crime scene if the humorless security guards at MGM Grand had followed my instructions and added, "Nothing to see here." Of course, there was something to see: the cast of "CSI."

I spoke briefly to Marg Helgenberger (she got the most screams) about the show that is set here yet not really of Vegas. According to Helgenberger, "We come once or twice a year [to Vegas]. We were here about a month ago." According to all involved, "CSI: The Experience" is like the television show's version of a crime scene investigation, and that set bears little resemblance to the actual Las Vegas investigative facilities and locations. But, of course, fantasy and not reality is what the Strip and television drama are meant to offer. That perhaps is why Vegas was the first setting for the television franchise. 

Still, Helgenberger thinks one of the great values in the show and of this exhibit is that they are educational: "When I shot the pilot, I would have never guessed it would get this much attention and that there would be a museum exhibit that traveled the world. But the thing I am most proud of about the show is the impact it has had on kids. It is very educational. Kids want a career in this. But the exhibit is much more sanitized than an actual crime scene. There are a lot of kids here so you are going to have less blood and gore."

This points to another interesting aspect of this exhibit compared with "Shark Reef." It has toured (and so is not a Vegas creation), though this version of "CSI: The Experience" has been customized for Vegas. And this is the attraction's first permanent placement. According to an MGM executive and the creators of the exhibit, both are aiming for a five-year run here for "CSI: The Experience." At this point that would beat the lifespan of many shows and restaurants. Considering the amount of entertainment that goes on every weekend in Vegas (including this weekend a series of Mariah Carey concerts) the opening of "CSI: The Experience" received a surprising amount of attention (though maybe not surprising if you are a fan of the show) from local media including a front page story in the Sunday Review-Journal. That story looked at the details of how the attraction works where visitors attempt to solve crimes.

(Photos: Sarah Gerke)