Rao's at Caesars Palace

   Caesars Palace has reached an agreement with principals of the Rao's Restaurant Group, LLC, to bring to Las Vegas the one-and-only Rao's, the 110-year-old, 10-table, East Harlem Italian restaurant that is the ultimate New York dinner reservation "get." Slated to open in late 2006, Rao's will move into the space formerly occupied by Terrazza at Caesars Palace and will be re-created by the Engstrom Design Group of San Rafael, Calif., to capture the intimate, convivial, speak-easy style of the original, located at 455 East 114th Street. The announcement was made today by Rao's principals Frank Pellegrino, Sr., Frank Pellegrino, Jr., and Ron Straci, with Gary Selesner, the president of Caesars Palace, and Caesars Palace General Manager John Unwin.br>
Rao's is a culinary national treasure. Widely acclaimed for its authentic, southern Neapolitan Italian cooking and its home-style family ambiance, Rao's was honored with a pinnacle three stars from New York Times restaurant critic Mimi Sheraton, who describes the cuisine, "exquisitely simple Italian cooking."

   Rao's is believed one of the country's oldest family-owned-and-run restaurants in its original location, and its southern Italian cuisine sings with freshness, authenticity, flavor and love.

   Rao's serves and satiates some of the most powerful appetites in the world. Legions of politicians, sports figures and matinee idols have jockeyed for a reservation. Indeed, there is a reason why the only way to get a seat at this legendary restaurant is if you are a regular and have "table rights" or if you're lucky enough to be invited as a guest by someone who does. Regulars at Rao's read like the "who's who" of New York cognoscenti, including Woody Allen, Billy Crystal, Rob Reiner, Nicholas Pileggi and Danny Aiello.