As recently as last spring, Caesars Palace President Gary Selesner was attempting to pump life into the Roman Forum, Caesars’ outdoor-performance plaza. “Up ‘til now it’s been used quite sporadically,” Selesner told the Business Press last April. At the time, he was planning a summer 2006 relaunch of the Forum, with a concert series inaugurated by Peter Frampton.

Frampton may have come alive but the Forum did not, it seems. It now appears that Harrah’s Entertainment has thrown in the towel on efforts to revive the plaza, on the northwest corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road.

In a use-permit request that went before the Clark County Planning Commission on Nov. 20, Harrah’s announced that “the existing Roman Forum, an enclosed courtyard with a bar/lounge in the center, will be demolished” to be replaced with 37,000-plus square feet of additional casino floor, along with three times that amount of restaurants, retail, convention space and other commercial uses. The casino expansion will be augmented along the Strip with a “pedestrian promenade … featuring 14 small and large decorative fountain [sic] surrounded by landscaping.”

Underneath the promenade, Caesars will excavate a parking garage, with 389 valet-parking spaces. Meanwhile, on the southwest corner of the Caesars site, Harrah’s proposes a 295-foot-tall, 29-story, 1,017-room hotel tower. The as-yet-unnamed high rise will bring Caesars’ room total to 4,388. No timeline for construction was disclosed. Asked to elaborate on the planned expansion, Harrah’s declined comment.