Designing traffic patterns for guests to flow into the areas you want (e.g. the casino) is an art. Shopping malls, and casinos too, can be more or less successful, depending on their design & flow. Many casinos have been added on in stages, so the design is rarely done from scratch (Caesars, Stardust, Tropicana, many others), though the Steve Wynn designed properties (Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio) and some of the other newer places were master-planned from the start. Even places like MGM Grand and Luxor, with experienced management, made some goofs that needed multi-million dollar redesigns to get it right.

Regarding the Aladdin -- I think the original design flaw was keeping the Performing Arts theatre in the center of the complex, instead of imploding it with the rest of the old Aladdin. That structure forced the design of the casino to be "scrunched" up front, with the hotel entrance one level below grade, and the walk-in front entrance to be elevated above LV Strip level. A casual, passing pedestrian has to make an effort to climb the stairs to get into the casino. Also, the Desert Passage shopping entrances on either side siphon off pedestrians before getting to the center casino entrance. The parking location is too far from the casino, the shopping circulation is a bit complex for first-time tourists to handle, the London Club tucked away upstairs was a mistake, and the flow is not optimized.

The average LV tourist is not like us chippers. We're poking around into every nook & cranny, checking out all the tables for different kinds of chips. The typical tourist needs to be lured (or at least guided) into experiencing the casino floor and leaving some money behind.

Contrast it to Paris or Venetian, built in the same era, for their focus on pulling visitors onto the casino floor.

If you're interested in casino design, there's a neat book by Bill Friedman -- "Designing Casinos to Dominate the Competition". Unfortunately, its $150 !! But there's a browse copy at Gambler's Book Club, if you want to check it out sometime when in Vegas. See the book at:
http://www.gamblersbook.com/cgi/shop/cashcart.cgi?ACTION=thispage&thispage=460202.htm&ORDER_ID=191165400