Through Feb. 2, Bellagio's Jasmine cafe offers Cantonese cuisine and a Dim Sum Buffet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This season's Bellagio Conservatory pays tribute to the Chinese New Year (the Year of the Dog). The exhibit is 24 hours, free, and runs through Feb. 25.

Walking through the Conservatory is one of my favorite things to do in Vegas. A stroll through the foliage in the middle of the night soothes even the worst of poker bad beats.

If you can't yet be there to hear the sounds of traditional Chinese music and the dog barking (its tail wags, too) or smell the scents of the imported trees and flowers, I snapped some photos (click below) that might provide a reasonable substitute before you can experience it yourself.

Posted by Poker Grub at 3:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bellagio has $149 rooms for Feb. 5, 6, and 7.

Reserve at 1-866-460-0728 and mention offer code D1493E or click here to book online.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just in time for the Super Bowl, the new Hooters Casino-Hotel officially opens this Friday, Feb. 3, but you can get a sneak peek on Feb. 2 after 9 p.m.

Events scheduled around their grand opening include:

Feb. 3
Food and drink specials throughout the day
4 p.m. to 5 a.m., entertainment on three stages
7 p.m. to 9 p.m., celebrity blackjack tournament

Feb. 4
12 p.m. to 3 p.m., Pool Party and Pig Roast with live entertainment
3 p.m. to 4 p.m., Pre-Game Chalk Talk with sports handicapper Wayne Allyn Root
4 p.m. to 5 a.m., entertainment on three stages
7 p.m., introduction of the 2006 Hooters Calendar Girls and autographs

Feb. 5
Super Bowl
Food and drink specials throughout the day
2006 Hooters Calendar Girls selling and autographing calendars
8 p.m. to 5 a.m., entertainment on two stages

You can get your hands on a free calendar between Feb. 17-26 by getting a hand pay at a slot machine, making six passes in a row at craps, or earning 1,000 points on your player's card on your first visit.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since 1977, AAA has published its prestigious Diamond Awards. Every year, 65 full-time evaluators (66 if AAA is hiring, ahem) provide extensive inspections of almost 57,000 hotels and restaurants around the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Only 0.26 percent make AAA's highest rating -- the prestigious Five Diamond level.

A complete list of the hotels and restaurants are available online in PDF format.

This year, three hotels and three restaurants in Las Vegas made Five Diamond.

The three hotels: the Ritz-Carlton (Lake Las Vegas in Henderson), the Bellagio, and the Four Seasons.

The three restaurants: Alex (Wynn), Picasso (Bellagio), and Le Cirque (Bellagio).

Posted by R.C. Clark at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CNN reports that 14 people were arrested last night in a street brawl right on the Las Vegas Strip.

The fight began at the Hawaiian Marketplace and when police tried to break it up, the people began attacking them as well.

It was so bad that part of the Strip between MGM Grand and Bellagio was closed to traffic for 20 minutes, and as many as 80 officers came in to control the riot.

We were right there last night but inside the safe confines of the casino losing our money like any other good gambler. Figures we always miss out on the free fights.

So far none of the local news has picked up on the story...

Posted by R.C. Clark at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jan. 29 officially marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year, otherwise known as the Year of the Dog (we just hope we remember to write the year 4703 on our checks), and casinos will be celebrating in hopes of luring in more of the lucrative Chinese market.

Traditionally, the Chinese believe the New Year is a time to test one's luck -- if you you win a bet during this time, you'll be lucky the rest of the year. And that testing time will be over the next two weeks, which is one of the biggest gambling events in Las Vegas.

Many properties have added decorations to their lobbies and casinos emphasizing Chinese symbols of luck and prosperity -- gold coins, red lanterns, and orange trees.

Tomorrow (Jan. 28) at 4:30 p.m., The Venetian holds its annual dragon dance, with firecrackers, an eye painting ceremony, and traditional Chinese music.

You can then lion hop at three different casinos to see lion dances at Rio on Jan. 28 at 11 p.m., Bally's on Jan. 29 at 1 a.m., and Paris on Jan. 29 at 2 a.m.

On Feb. 1 at 7 p.m., the Fremont Street Experience hosts the Peking Acrobats, the first time they've been in town in 10 years. The Peking Acrobats perform stunts on top of a chair pagoda and are experts in gymnastics and wire-walking, defying gravity with their flexibility and contortion. They'll be accompanied by live musicians performing traditional Chinese music with high-tech special effects.

On Feb. 4, Caesars Palace will have a painting of the eye ceremony.

Through Feb. 25, Bellagio's Conservatory & Botanical Gardens transforms into a Chinese New Year spectacular.

Local restaurants are also getting into the swing of things. The Satay Malaysian Grill (3755 Spring Mountain Rd.) offers free champagne and appetizers, a martial arts demonstration, and a traditional dragon dance today at 5 p.m.

All events are free.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the Las Vegas Hilton's Hilton Center on Jan. 28 from 3 to 7 p.m., Southern Nevada Public Television station KLVX puts on its 17th annual benefit Splendor in the Glass Wine & Beer Tasting.

Sample wines and beer from over 65 wineries and breweries, enjoy a jazz combo, and participate in a live wine auction and silent auction.

Tickets are $50 in advance, $60 at the door, and can be purchased at this link.

Proceeds benefit Channel 10 Public Television.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Through Feb. 9, use the below coupon for a three-course $55 prix fixe meal at Bouchon at The Venetian.

Thomas Keller's classic French bistro Bouchon was modeled after the bouchons of Lyon and is overseen by executive chef Jeff Cerciello.

Advance reservations are required, and the coupon is limited to four guests between 5 and 6:30 p.m.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 2:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take a hop off-Strip to Summerlin and check out the musical Chess, with music by Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus (half of ABBA), lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Richard Nelson. "One Night in Bangkok" came from this show, but don't judge it for that.

Chess is a love story that parallels relations between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, all centered around a chess match.

Performed by Stage Door Entertainment, tickets are $15 to $18 and performed at the Summerlin Library Performing Arts Center, 1771 Inner Circle Dr., Summerlin (map).

Remaining performances are tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 29 at 2 p.m., Feb. 2-4 at 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 5 at 2 p.m.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier today, Ultimate Sports Entertainment held a press conference announcing plans for a proposed $4 billion sports-themed hotel and casino with 5,500 hotel rooms, 10 nightclubs, a 26,000-seat arena, an aquatic center, and two casinos, one of which is to be nonsmoking. Centered around sports, it will also include indoor tennis courts, swimming pool, dive center, and air-conditioned driving range.

The Ultimate Sports Resort would be located eight miles north of the Strip (I-215) in North Las Vegas, near the Speedway casino.

California developer Matt Rose hopes to lure amateur and Olympic sporting events to his resort. He's already secured $93 million in escrow for 116 acres, and though it's still a far cry from the big money he'll need for the project to go forward, perhaps he's also trying to lure one of the gaming companies not already building megaresorts to help fund the idea.

Still, Rose hopes to break ground by the summer and open in 2009.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Has the Vegas condo boom already jumped the shark before the first tower's been completed?

Much talk has been made of the "Manhattanization" of Vegas, with Broadway shows, cityscapes, and luxury towers moving in to create a very different landscape of the Las Vegas Strip just 10 years from now.

With properties attached to high-profile personalities from Michael Jordan to Ivana Trump to George Clooney already folded, postponed, or being altered in scope, the residential real estate market is now looking more like a brush fire than an explosion.

The past two years, more than 70 towers were planned or in development, with condos going for $500 to $1,000 per square foot (in New York City, luxury apartments run double that). The flurry of initial buying (with hopeful fast turnaround profits) has slowed, while construction costs and interest rates have increased.

And as infectious as the buying was, the not buying is just as fast. The number of condo towers planned is now down to 18, and experts predict more to drop before the first luxury brick is mortared.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 8:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With construction crews dominating pit areas as they make the switch to Planet Hollywood while remaining in operation, Aladdin offers $59 nights on selected weeknights through April. Their "Springtime Early Bird Room Special" is just a coincidence, but we do warn you that you'll be dodging sudden walls that weren't there before.

Along with the special rate, you'll get $10 in free slotplay (with $20 coin-in), a 2-for-1 breakfast buffet, and two free passes to the Elemis Spa.

Click here to see dates available.

To reserve, use the code CSPRG6 and call 1-877-333-9474 or book online

Posted by R.C. Clark at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For the rest of January, Clark County will tap into their $50,000 pet sterilization fund and hand out 1,500 vouchers (including 500 set aside just for seniors) to spay or neuter your pet for free or minimal cost with a nearby veterinarian.

No phone requests will be accepted. Pick up your voucher at one of the following places:

• Cambridge Recreation Center, 3930 Cambridge, 89109
  
• Cora Coleman Sunrise Sr Center. 2100 Bonnie Lane, 89156
  
• Desert Breeze Community Center, 8275 Spring Mountain Rd., 89117
  
• Paradise Community Center, 4775 S. McLeod, 89121
  
• Helen Meyer Community Center, 4525 New Forest Dr., 89147
  
• Hollywood Recreation Center, 1650 S. Hollywood, 89142
  
• Parkdale Community Center, 3200 Ferndale, 89121
  
• Sunrise Community Center, 2240 Linn Lane, 89156
  
• Senior Advocate Cambridge Community Center, 3900 Cambridge St., Suite 105, 89119
  
• Sunset Park Administration Bldg., 2610 E. Sunset Rd., 89120
  
• West Flamingo Senior Center, 6255 W. Flamingo Rd., 89103
  
• Whitney Center, 5712 E. Missouri Ave., 89122
  
• Walnut Community Center, 3075 N. Walnut Ave., 89115
  
• Winchester Community Center, 3130 S. McLeod, 89121
  
• Sandy Valley Community Center, 650 Quartz 89019
  
• Mountain Crest Community Center, 4701 N. Durango, 89129
  

Posted by R.C. Clark at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did you know January is National Soup Month?

We didn't either, and we're shuddering at the catching up we have to do with five days remaining.

Mon Ami Gabi (at Paris Las Vegas) will help out with specially prepared soup flights for $6.95 each.

Arranged like wine flights, each contains three small versions of the French restaurant's specialty soups.

That's a relief. We already missed National Gazpacho Day (Dec. 6) and were about to celebrate with chicken noodle at the buffet.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LasVegasVegas.com is proud to introduce and welcome Richard. Richard is a Las Vegas native, having lived in Las Vegas all of his life. He has witnessed first-hand the spectacular growth of a dusty desert town with a hand full of gambling joints and one high school morph into the two million metropolis of multi-billion dollar resorts and high rise living. Richard will be adding his unique (and sometimes slanted) take on all things Vegas, now, then and tomorrow.-Editor

Shopping in Las Vegas is fascinating, we have shops in the hotels along Las Vegas Blvd. aka "the Strip", that consider Christian Dior to be mid-range, and at the same time they're building another Walmart super store at the corner of Harmon and the Boulder Highway.
If you don't live here you absolutely have to see this place to believe it, in addition to the shows, the gambling and the bars there's some of the finest shopping in the world.
In Las Vegas, you can buy a Ferrari, a princess cut diamond, set in white gold and a hamburger made with pate and black truffles, all without leaving your hotel.

We have the Fashion Show mall on some of the most valuable land in the world, right at the corner of Spring Mountain Road and the Las Vegas Strip, that's where you'll find stores like Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales, while just down the strip you'll find Ceasars Forum Shops with 175,000 sq ft of shopping it's no longer just small exclusive shops, you can find the Banana Republic, Brookstone and Magnet Maximus, but you can still find shops like Gucci, Bernini and Louis Vuitton.

Along the Las Vegas Strip you can find anything from the traditional "I Lost my shirt in Las Vegas" t-shirt to a pink diamond to match J. Lo's.
Trust me, you may not see it in the case, but if you want it and can pay for it they can get it.
I admit I don't go into the Forum Shops at Ceaser's Palace to shop, but I do sometimes wander through and window shop, not to mention, it's a great place to people watch.

Las Vegas is the quintessential tourist town, it runs 24/7 and, for enough money, Vegas, will provide you with pretty much anything your little ol' heart desires, you just have to be careful who you ask for some of the more "exotic" items.

If you're coming to Las Vegas to shop, try the new joints along the strip, like the Wynn, and you'll find shops where the rent is more than most of us paid for our car, you'll also find out why people come to Vegas just to shop.
I was looking at a list of shops in the Wynn, they included Brioni, Cartier, Chanel, Christian Dior, Ferrari Maserati, Gizmos, Graff, Jo Malone, John Paul Gaultier, Judith Lieber, JLa Flirt, Louis Vuitton, Manolo Blahnik, Oscar de la Renta, W.Ink and Wynn & Co. Watches and this is just one of the hotels on the Las Vegas strip.

Oh, by the way, if you're staying at the Wynn everything in your room is for sale and is listed on the price brochure they leave you. Welcome to Las Vegas

As a side note: This afternoon I stopped at Walmart to buy some socks and as I was standing in line to check out, I saw an older lady wearing a hat and pearls with a nicely taylored womans business suit, the person in line directly ahead of me was a very butch female in her thirties with spiked black hair, a nose ring, several ear piercings and a Harley shirt, I am not making this up, these people really exist, and nobody but me seemed to notice that the woman was wearing pearls in the middle of the day. As the saying goes, "only in Las Vegas".

photos......Flipchip '06

Posted by Richard at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another Broadway show makes its way to the Strip. Hairspray, winner of Best 2003 Musical and seven other Tony Awards, premieres in Vegas at Luxor next month.

Based on the John Waters film, Hairspray tells the story of a Baltimore big girl with big hair who longs to dance on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand." For the first twelve weeks, Harvey Fierstein and Dick Latessa will recreate their original Broadway roles.

Performances begin Feb. 17 and ticket prices are $71.50 and $93.50.

However, previews are Feb. 6-14, where all tickets are $55.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The 2006 winners of Light Group's Las Vegas Nighties awards (best night spots) were announced last week by Jeff Beacher and his Beacher's Madhouse Babies.

If you missed the awards ceremony at the newly christened JET Nightclub (so new, the website isn't up yet) here's The List. We especially like the winner of Best Tanning Salon because we're comforted by the fact that we can get a tan 24 hours a day.

Best Dance Club: Tao
Best Lounge: Foundation Room
Best Weekly Party: Worship Thursdays at Tao
Best Dining with a Scene: N9NE
Best Burlesque: Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce
Best Local Resident DJ: Scotty Boy
Best Gentleman's Club: Spearmint Rhino
Best Local Bar: Double Down Saloon
Best Nightclub Shopping: Bebe
Best Tanning Salon: The Tan Factory
Best Hair Salon: Globe Salon
Best Local Modeling Agency: Envy Models

Posted by R.C. Clark at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A recent flier from Luxor's VP of Marketing Brad Goldberg mentions he's "thrilled to have Carrot Top appearing here at the Luxor and look forward to him entertaining you for many years to come" (emphasis ours).

We're quite frightened at the prospect of having the great orange-headed one in our midst for multiple years in 40-week chunks, but we feel it only fair to mention his show just this one time and then go back to hiding behind the wooden pharoah statue.

Comedian Carrot Top has been described (by himself) as a cross between George Carlin, Steven Wright, and Gallagher.

Add in Jack LaLanne with this photo and we'll make room for you behind King Tut:

Never have we been so thankful for a belt.

Carrot Top with all his props and pecs performs Sunday-Monday and Wednesday-Friday at 8 p.m., as well as Saturday at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. His show is dark on Tuesday.

Cost is $49.50 plus $3 service charge at Luxor.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Jan. 26 to Jan. 28, Imperial Palace hosts the Poker Pigskin Challenge, a no-limit tournament with no fee and with a guaranteed first prize of $100,000.

Cost is $500, which comes with tournament entry, a reception, and a welcome gift.

I.P. also offers casino room rates of $49 Sunday-Thursday and $69 Friday-Saturday.

Players begin with 2,000 chips with an optional $25 dealer bonus for $500 additional chips.

Prizes are awarded through 30th place, with your $500 buy-in refunded for last place, and four drawings for $500:

First Place $100,000
Second Place $50,000
Third Place $25,000
Fourth Place $12,500
Fifth Place $10,000
Sixth Place $7,500
Seventh Place $6,250
Eighth Place $5,000
Ninth Place $3,750
Tenth Place $2,500
11th-20th Place $1,500
21st-30th Place $1,000
Last Place $500
Lucky Losers (four total) $500

Schedule:

Thursday, January 26
1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Tournament Registration
Gift Distribution
Draw for Playing Assignments

Friday, January 27
10 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. Flight One/Day One
3:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Flight Two/Day One

Saturday, January 28
11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Championship Round Play Begins
Lucky Loser Drawing/Final Table Play
Awards Presentation

To reserve your space, call 1-800-634-6441, ext. 2 or email events@imperialpalace.com.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Las Vegas Hilton (3000 Paradise Rd.) hosts monthly $20,000 freerolls in their poker room for anyone playing 40 hours of poker the previous month.

Hours are doubled between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Freerolls take place at 10 a.m. the first Wednesday of every month with a guaranteed $10,000 for first place.

Players accruing 40 hours begin with 800 tournament chips. With 50 hours, players start with 1000 chips. With 60 hours, 1,200 chips.

Comps are $1 per hour, which can be put toward any of Hilton's restaurants.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)