AC Now: Luxuries: Chihuly Chandeliers

Vegas may have Picassos at the Bellagio and Légers at the Venetian, but phooey on that — we’ve got the exquisite Dale Chihuly chandeliers at the Borgata. The Seattle-based artist’s blown-glass sculptures hang above the casino lobby like green and yellow clouds; as you enter the building, orange flames of Chihuly glass rise from the floor. They’re so beautiful that they tend to inspire obsession: Bloggers fixate on them; players pause amid the crowd to gape at them; and everyone — no matter how lucky (or unlucky) a time they had at the tables — remembers them long after they’ve skipped town. And that’s exactly what Borgata executives had in mind when they asked the artist to create them, and why we’re still hoping — unrealistically, we know — that one of these days the Borgata dreams up a “win a Chihuly” slot machine.