Giant CityCenter Begins to Open, Padma's Jewelry Commercial

LAS VEGAS—This week, the massive, $8.5 billion CityCenter begins to open in stages on the Vegas strip. The first hotel to open is the Vdara, to be followed by the 500,000-square-foot Crystals on Thursday, the 392-room Mandarin Oriental (home to Pierre Gagnaire's Twist) on Saturday and the centerpiece of the project on December 16: Aria, which has 16 new restaurants from big name-chefs like Mina, Masa, and Jean-Georges. Oh, and the CityCenter website is a modest one, proclaiming it "the Capital of the New World." [EaterWire]

PADMAVERSE—The moment everyone has been waiting for: the video commercial for Padma Lakshmi's jewelry line is now up online, in raw form, on the Top Chef website. [Bravo]

'BUCKSWIRE—Harvard Business explains why Starbucks' new instant coffee thingy, VIA, isn't necessarily doomed to fail, and even goes to far as to suggest that it will be "shining example of an innovative product born from the 2008-2009 downturn." [HB]