When you talk to insiders about what 2009 has in store for Las Vegas, most answers are given a significant caveat: "All else being equal." Therein lies a problem: No one knows how Vegas will be able to return to business as usual given the troubled economy and the debt and plunging stock values of the companies that own the tourist corridor's resorts. So, although in years past I could offer a preview of the coming year's highlights with relative certainty, this time I must hedge with a cliché: These are the best-laid plans for Vegas in 2009. By far the most anticipated project of the year is CityCenter, a massive six-tower resort being built as a partnership between MGM Mirage and Dubai World. This morning, CityCenter will start accepting job applications at CityCenterCareers.com for the 12,000 positions it hopes to fill. In October, the first tower, the 57-story, 1,495-suite Vdara, designed by Rafael Viñoly, should open. Vdara will be connected to Bellagio but will stand out because it will not have any gambling and -- shocking for Vegas -- no smoking in the tower.

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