The ravages of the recession are visible in this gambling city, but one of the largest privately financed developments in the United States — an $8.5 billion city within a city called CityCenter — claims to be on schedule to open this year.The 67-acre development on the Strip consists of six towers with 2,392 apartments, as many as 5,900 hotel rooms, a casino, and a shopping center and entertainment complex. Some of the world’s renowned architects have designed buildings for the project. Envisioned as a self-contained community, it will have its own fire department and power plant.

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