Yep, it expires tonight, but what better way to end your gloomy Monday with a buy one, get one free mouthwatering pretzel by Auntie Anne's?

Better still, you can print multiple copies (click the above image for a high-res PDF version) and use 'em over and over.

Auntie Anne's in Vegas can be found at Sam's Town, Aladdin's Desert Passage, McCarran Airport, the Fashion Show Mall, and for you locals, the Galleria at Sunset (1300 Sunset Dr., Henderson).

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you have a hankerin' to shop for cheap at the Fashion Outlet mall in Primm, why rent a car or waste gas?

For $15, MGM offers a roundtrip shuttle bus, taking passengers to over 100 designer outlets in Primm, where you can find bargains up to 75 percent off retail. And if you're a guest of MGM Grand or New York New York (or you happen to have a room key from either hotel), the shuttle is free.

Pickup times are every day at 9:15 a.m., 10:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 1:15 p.m., and 2:15 p.m. Arrival times are 45 minutes after, give or take traffic. For your return, you have a choice of 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., or 6 p.m.

A few minutes before departure, passengers collect downstairs at MGM near the garage entrance (across from the magic shop) and are walked, er, escorted to the shuttle.

For more information and to make a reservation, call (702) 874-1400. Counter hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The shuttle also departs from Aladdin's Desert Passage near Z Gallerie at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

And lest you think you can get away without a coupon, here's one for $3 off your trip, bringing down your cost to $12 (and no, you won't receive $3 if you're a guest of MGM or NYNY).

Posted by R.C. Clark at 1:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

See Also -- Information on the 05/07/07 Luxor parking lot backpack bomb Explosion.

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

A big explosion in North Las Vegas within the last hour appears to be a propane gas store near Nellis Air Force Base. A series of major explosions in Las Vegas apparently was propane tanks stored at the business. A tank would explode then clusters would explode through sympathetic detonation. The end result was huge explosions with fireballs billowing into the night sky.

The unsubstantiated suspected cause of the explosion was a lighting strike; but local meteorologists respond with "What lighting?"

Posted by flipchipro at 4:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Stretch out those comp points!

For the remainder of this month, you can use your slot points at any Silverton restaurant and receive 20 percent off your total bill. Restaurants at Silverton are the new Seasons buffet, Mermaid restaurant and lounge, Sundnace Grill, Twin Creeks, and the Hootie & the Blowfish Shady Lounge.

At Sahara, your points are worth double at any restaurant on Sundays and Thursdays. Restaurants at Sahara are the buffet, House of Lords, Paco's Bar and Grill, the NASCAR Cafe, and the Caravan Cafe.

At both casinos, just present your card when paying for the bill, and your server will take off the appropriate amount. To find out how many points you have, visit the player's club booth.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 37th annual World Series of Poker has been going on for the last few weeks at the Rio Casino in the Amazon Room. Stop by and see your favorite poker pros and perhaps you might catch a celebrity sighting or two. Shannon Elizabeth, Wil Wheaton, James Woods, Norm MacDonald, and Mimi Rogers have been seen lurking the hallways of the convention center.

There are hordes of media at the WSOP this year which includes a crop of dedicated bloggers. Here's a list of the best of the best:

Flipchip's WSOP photos at Las Vegas & Poker Blog
Pauly (your hero) at the Tao of Poker
Otis and Wil at PokerStarsBlog
Dan Michalski at Pokerati
BJ Nemeth
PocketFives.com
Justin at Poker Pages
Spaceman at Bluff Radio
Foiled Coup at Pokerfolio
Lou Krieger at Hold'em Radio
Vanouver Jen at Poker Listings
Jen and Snoopy at Blonde Poker
CC at Quest of a Closet Poker Player
Storm and Jay Greenspan at Full Tilt Poker
Jen Leo & Amy Calistri at Breakfast Club Poker
Earl Burton, Steve Lavalli and Stephen Noh at Poker News
Chris Newton, Amy, Jen, Change100, April, Tuscaloosa Johnny at PokerBlog.com

Tao of Poker blogging on the Fringe at the 2006 WSOP

Posted by Dr. Pauly at 7:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are some amazing bands coming through town over the next two weeks. Here are some highlights for the rest of the month:

7.21.06 Friday: Rusted Root and Zox at House of Blues (Mandalay Bay)

7.22.06 Saturday: Steely Dan and Michael McDonald at Aladdin Theatre

7.25.06 Tuesday: 311 and The Wailers at The Joint @ Hard Rock Hotel

7.25.06 Tuesday: Nine Black Alps and Neon Trees at the Beauty Bar Vegas

7.29.06 Saturday: Santana at MGM Grand Garden

7.29.06 Saturday: Gipsy Kings at The Palms Hotel

7.31.06 Monday: State Radio and RX Bandits at House of Blues

Posted by Dr. Pauly at 7:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hail was reported in Henderson while wind damage was rampant throughout the Valley as many Las Vegas residents experienced power outages.

Officials at Nevada Power said that they never experienced a more powerful storm. All of their employees were shifted off of their construction assignments to help make repairs after the storm hit.

The storm also knocked out 32 large transmission lines near Nellis Air Force Base, which lost power temporarily.

Posted by Dr. Pauly at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You've found the Sin City scuttlebutt. Here you'll see unofficial, off-the-record reports, obtained from fairly reliable insider information.

In other words: overheard in Harrah's Diamond Lounges.

Pssst... Contrary to R.C. Clark's report yesterday about Harrah's not yet gobbling up Barbary Coast, it does seem that that is indeed the rumor and that it was sold last week.

And if that's the case, Boyd Gaming, currently developing Echelon Place, must be very happy cash campers indeed. They knew what kind of gold mine Barbary Coast was to the Harrah's empire, and they weren't going to give it up without a fight. Not even with Strip land fetching $20 million per acre.

But not having BC as part of Harrah's Monopoly board would be a thorn in their side, forcing them to build around it.

Last month, Harrah's purchased a Koval Lane apartment complex direclty behind their main casino. That space adds 20 acres to their current 160.

If the rumor is true, this means Harrah's can finally rest easy and announce plans for what they intend to do with that entire East Strip stretch, all now owned by the H man.

Any over/unders on when a West (MGM Mirage) vs. East Strip (Harrah's) civil war will take place?

Got a rumor to pass on? Your secret is not safe, but your identity is. Email pokergrub@lasvegasvegas.com.

Posted by Poker Grub at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The past couple months, the weekly magazine What's On has been running a coupon for a free Krispy Kreme doughnut (pictured above, but you can't print and use it).

It expires Sept. 15 and is good only at Excalibur's upstairs food court, but isn't Krispy Kreme worth the trip?

Free copies of What's On can be found in your hotel room or the front desk area. At Excalibur, they're right at check-in.

The full-page ad tends to hop around the magazine, but it's always on the right-hand side. In this week's What's On, it's page 41.

No comment on whether I or a LasVegasVegas representative clipped more than one coupon to use at different times. Suffice to say my doughnut-eating the past couple weeks was all part of research.

Sometimes you can redeem the coupon for any doughnut of your choice (this works especially well while purchasing something else). Other times they make you go with glazed only.

But like my momma always said, free is free.

Posted by Poker Grub at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Harrah's hasn't bought them yet (yep, we heard the rumored swap of Rio for Barbary, but so far they're just rumors and we doubt Harrah's would actually entertain the idea).

Barbary Coast offers summer special room rates of $60 from Aug. 6 to Sept. 21 (not including Aug. 13-17). Sundays through Thursdays only.

Each reservation comes with a funbook, containing coupons worth $170.

Use code EDE0806 when booking online or at 1-888-227-2279.

Many Las Vegas hotels and rental car companies can be had on the cheap during these hot summer months.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Noted poker authority Ed Miller will reveal his new "Queer Eye for a Straight Guy" makeover this Saturday, July 22 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

He'll also sign his books Getting Started in Hold'em, Small Stakes Hold'em: Winning Big with Expert Play (with David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth), and his latest No Limit Hold’em: Theory and Practice (with Sklansky). All will be available for purchase.

Here's your chance to ask him how to play The Hammer (72o) from early position.

Meet Miller at the B. Dalton at Boulevard Mall, 3680 S. Maryland Parkway (off Twain, between Flamingo and Desert Inn).

For directions and more information, call (702) 735-0008.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

I was wandering through the election links for Nevada over on the Democratic Underground site http://www.democraticunderground.com/ and I got curious about just who was running for Governor.
Our candidates really need to try harder, I mean, they simply can't compete with that guy Jacobs, up in Utah who says, Satan is causing him not to have enough money to advertise at will, evidently the Devil has taken a personal interest in his business affairs.
Anyway, I made up a list of sites and a brief comment. My comments are strictly my own and in no way reflect the opinions or views of anyone else, living, dead, real or imagined, much less sane or sober.

Jim Gibson;s site is slick, obviously professionaly produced and has an animated cartoon called the "Dina show", subtitled "a return to the dark side", on his site, the whole thing about the $2000 she took from Enron that he says she refuses to explain.

On her site, Dina Titus accuses Gibson of dodging the growth debate and as a highlight it has a picture of her holding a save Redrock Canyon sign.

On Leola McConnell's site she is using Nevada's infrastructure as a cause and is talking about the neo-con/Project for a New American Century aka PNAC members and their apparent conspiracy to take over the world. Here's a partial quote from her site:
" Their disastrous policies have led us into an ever expanding war in the Middle East (with future plans of attacking Iran, North Korea, Syria and possibly Venezuela) with no end in the foreseeable future while deaths of American soldiers (nearly 2,600) and innocent Iraqi civilian, etc."
For a conspiracy theory, it's terribly boring.

On Bob Beers site He has an old fashion editorial page style cartoon attacking Nevada'a big government and blaming Jim Gibbons for not supporting TASC.
It looks like the old fashion politics I'm used to, not to mention, as mudslinging goes, it's a lot cheaper than Gibson's site.

Jim Gibbons' site is plain, but well designed, unfortunately, it's just the usual, we're ahead in the polls, now give us money or volunteer to help and here's a bunch of political signs if you want them.

Melody Damayo has a bunch of new photos, but, when I cruised her site, I was unable to find any links to her old nudes. DAMN!
BTW, I'm voting for her, if I can't find someone I want to vote for, I might as well vote for the D cups.

Lorraine Hunt's site is really boring, all she's doing is bragging about what she did as Lt. Gov.and she also needs a new picture, I don't think the one she's using is very flattering, even the guys she's running against look better.
I could be wrong, but, I didn't know the Lieutenant Governor did anything besides, cutting ribbons and parroting whatever the Governor just said.

Stanleigh Harold; Lusak's site design is boring beyond belief, but, as a janitor and former postal worker, he's going to singlehandedly restore the Constitution and save us all.
Maybe we should all vote for him, just for the entertainment value.

Craig Bergland's site features a picture of him on his moped, with him bragging about many miles to a gallon it gets and how soon it paid for itself .
He wants "A Polite and Civilized Driving Culture", if I rode a moped in a world full of SUVs I'd want that too, although a cop at every major intersection, doesn't sound very cost effective.
He's the Green Party candidate, nuff said.

Christopher Hansen doesn't have a website that I could find, but he says he's a computer consultant and anti-tax advocate.
If you think about it, he's not a bad choice. He isn't asking for money and he doesn't have a platform, beyond some sort of no tax scheme. This makes him pretty much harmless, I like that in a politician.

Posted by Richard at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fiction imitates life, and sometimes, life imitates fiction. CSI scripts don't get much better then this. A dirty politician (or "a diva" if you ask our Governor), two mysterious deaths and an attemped suicide, with the ending yet to be written.

Kathy Augustine, impeached Nevada State politician, discribed as fit and healthy died of a sudden heart attack a couple of weeks ago. Now, the coronor in Reno isn't releasing the result of the autoposy. It turns out her current husband, Chaz Higgs, was a Nurse in the hospital where her second husband was being treated when he died of a massive stroke, Higgs and Augstine were married within a month.
The Las Vegas Review Journal reports:

"A longtime friend of hers, who requested anonymity, said Charles Augustine had left his wife their Las Vegas home and had a $1 million life insurance policy."

Now, Third Husband Chaz Higgs, has attempted suicide amid the rumors surrounding the unexpected death of his wife and the ever expanding investigation.

Sources:

Kathy Augustine-A Diva

Suicide Try Spurs Inquiry

Kathy Augustine-God's gift to the sheeple of the world, bow before her glory

Kathy Augustine-A convicted crook

SUSPICIONS SURFACE: Augustine husband slits wrists

Posted by pokerprof at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. today, $90 will get you in to the Actor's Expo, taking place at UNLV's Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History.

The Actor's Expo is a one-day interactive workshop seminar where speakers provide hands-on experience.

Guest speakers include director Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger), producer Kia Jam (Lucky Number Slevin), actor Mario Lopez (pictured above), actor Victor Webster ("Sex and the City") and others.

Subjects include how to fulfill the director's vision, how to meet a producer's standards, how to make it in the industry, and more.

For more information, call (702) 258-4222. For directions: (702) 895-3381.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you're in a summer fine-dining kinda mood, AJ's Steakhouse at Hard Rock Casino & Hotel is offering two coupons, good through the end of July.

One is $25 off any meal that's $50 or over (one per party). Must be seated before 6:30 p.m.

The other is 20 percent off any food purchase $50 or over.

Here's the link to a better version.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Avoid flight delays with avoiddelays.com.

We discovered all sorts of interesting statistics from this new website, launched today by the Federal Aviation Administration. Not only does it show currently delayed flights, it also predicts flights that have a tendency to be delayed.

Yesterday, the FAA reported over 3,000 flight delays.

Last year at this time, Delta flight 2061 from New York's JFK to Las Vegas was delayed over 90 percent of the time, with an average departure delay of 58 minutes and average arrival delay of 66 minutes.

We're going to stay away from Delta 2061.

At McCarran International Airport, the smallest percentage of flight delays appears to be in the 7 a.m. hour, with the highest percentage in the 8 p.m. hour.

We need our beauty rest from having combed through Avoid Delays all night, so we'll risk it.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Morgans Hotel Group, newlywed owners of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, has enlisted Golden Gaming, Inc. to run the gaming side of its new property.

Known for its 43 local PT's taverns as well as casinos in Black Hawk, Colo., Golden Gaming oversees more than 2,500 slot machines around 200 locations in Las Vegas.

This move will enable Morgans, a boutique hotel company, to focus on the hotel side while not requiring them to apply for a gambling license.

Golden Gaming was founded in 2001 by Blake Sartini, former chief operating officer of Station Casinos, and still one of Station's largest shareholders.

As part of its terms, Golden Gaming will be able to invest $100 million into Hard Rock. They will hold the gaming contract for two years after Morgans takes over.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Johnny Depp's waxy likeness can now be seen at Madame Tussauds wax museum in Amersterdam (pictured above), London, New York, and Las Vegas (at the Venetian).

Depp is posed as Capt. Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, perfect for photographic opportunities when you can't have the real thing.

And unlike most celebrities, their wax figures love the paparazzi.

Hunter S. Thompson would be proud.

Tickets to Madame Tussauds in Vegas are $22.95 for adults, $14.95 for students/seniors, and $12.95 for children 6-12.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 6:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you visit the World Series of Poker store in the main casino of Rio (upstairs near the VooDoo Lounge entrance) and purchase at least $25 of merchandise, you get a bottled water.

Absolutely free.

That's 16 oz.

And it has a WSOP logo on it.

Well, what did you expect, a keychain?

We checked eBay and no one is selling these babies, so they're just ripe for the biddin'!

Posted by R.C. Clark at 6:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Tuesdays, House of Blues offers 2-for-1 tickets to selected upcoming shows.

On the two-for-Tuesday list today is David Lee Roth, who will be in town performing July 20.

Regular ticket price is $30, but if you visit this link, you can bring a guest for free.

House of Blues is located inside Mandalay Bay.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ever want to learn how to dance like the strippers? Oh come on, yes you do!

Vegas producer David Saxe puts the strip in Strip Mall (or takes the strip out of Strip Mall) with Stripper 101, a new class offered in the Desert Passage Mall at Aladdin. The one-hour. low-impact aerobic class teaches regular women over 25 sexy floor moves performed by the pros at strip clubs. Choreography is also taught, with props including chairs, boas, and the ubiquitous pole.

At the end of the class, you'll get a genuine certificate to show you've completed the course, certifying you as a "Genuine Las Vegas Stripper."

As seen on "Oprah" and with accolades from Teri Hatcher, Pamela Anderson, and Carmen Electra, there's no nudity in the striptease cardio program.

Class dates are Thursdays through Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and take place above the V Theater in the Desert Passage Mall. Cost is $25.

And no, guys, you can't pay to watch.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a little tip to scoring tickets to concerts and shows, not just in Las Vegas but anywhere.

Radio station giveaways!

They must be flooded with entries, you may think, but the typical response rate is actually a small percentage of their actual listeners.

No time to listen? Many stations offer online contests. Just enter your name, address, and email, then sit back and wait to see if you're a winner.

A quick check at KXPT 97.1 shows tickets being given away online for upcoming Santana (MGM, July 29), Cats (Aladdin, July 27), Steely Dan & Michael McDonald (Aladdin, July 22), the original ASIA (House of Blues, Sept. 21), and the campy play Shag with a Twist (Aladdin).

At KSNE 106.5 and KWNR 95.5, you can enter online to win a Panasonic Home Theater System and a Philips RealFlat 27” TV, Failure to Launch and Eight Below DVDs, The 4400 seasons 1 & 2 DVDs and an Xbox 360, a Sanyo Tapeless CameraCorder, and a Daisy guitar.

Other stations that usually have contests (but didn't when we checked): KLUC 98.5, KMXB 94.1, and KKLZ 96.3.

You do need to be over 21 and a Las Vegas resident, but rules vary per station. Most require you to pick up your prize at the station, so if you're able to do that, you may not have to reside in Vegas.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a matchup of where the current Cirque du Soleil shows are playing, by order of premiere:

Mystere -- Treasure Island
O -- Bellagio
Zumanity -- New York New York
KA -- MGM
LOVE -- Mirage

As mentioned last week, Luxor is rumored to be getting a magic-themed Cirque show. And that show could be fronted by illusionist Criss Angel, who's been in town much more than his A&E show "Mindfreak" should allow him. He has an office in front of the Aladdin casino mall entrance, but it's more for tickets to his "Mindfreak" events.

Also mentioned was the Elvis-themed Cirque show at Project CityCenter.

We now hear there may be two more Cirque du Soleil extravaganzas in the works -- a kid-friendly show at Excalibur (can't wait to see knights in shining armor do backflips) and a show at Mandalay Bay once the popularity of Mamma Mia! wanes (though it's currently showing no signs of slowing).

That makes nine Cirque du Soleil shows. All at MGM Mirage. Coincidence? Hmm...

We have to use all our fingers to count the remaining MGM Mirage properties, which leaves two that are still Cirque-less: Circus Circus and Monte Carlo.

A Cirque show at Circus Circus might be counter-intuitive, so that's out. And though magician Lance Burton's record-setting contract will end in a couple years, we expect Monte Carlo to re-up for another multi-year, nine-figure deal.

All this resulting in the conclusion that the Cirque du Soleil is washed up until MGM Mirage builds another casino.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We remember fondly the 27-acre aquatic amusement park Wet 'n Wild (pictured above in happier times), which shut down a couple years ago after almost 20 years in the water biz. Archon Corp., which has owned the site since October, had sketched out plans for a 3,000+ room resort, but it never materialized.

A recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows that Archon plans to sell the site for $450 million ($16.7 million per acre), and new owners LVTI (a limited liability Delaware company) plan to build a $4 billion, 4,500-suite megaresort. This compares with nearby Boyd Gaming's Echelon Place, also at $4 billion.

Construction is expected to begin early winter 2007 for a fall 2010 or spring 2011 opening.

Archon currently owns and operates Laughlin-based Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the rip-roaring success of Cirque du Soleil's Beatles LOVE show at the Mirage, the Canadian troupe that can do no wrong is working on another music-themed show, this time centered around Elvis. Planned for MGM Mirage's Project CityCenter, we don't know how Cirque du Elvis will pan out against billionaire Robert F.X. Sillerman and his 85 percent stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises (he now owns all rights to Elvis impersonators), but perhaps we'll have an Elvis show without (shudder) Elvis impersonators.

Cirque is also planning yet another show in their and MGM Mirage's planned world domination, with a new magic-themed show in the recently vacated theater at Luxor. Soon they'll run out of space and will stage shows in your backyard.

Speaking of Luxor and that vacated theater, that would be the Hairspray space that just might have been successful if they had a $5 million chandelier fall on the audience.

Until the new Cirque show, however, the theater will be used to showcase a revolving series of singers... including Liza Minnelli.

Minnelli was last seen belting out "New York, New York" in New York at the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 6:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Editor's Note: The shuttle service linking the Hard Rock with the Strip has been discontinued. (added 07.06.09)

Photo by METRO Magazine

Did you know Hard Rock Hotel & Casino offers a free shuttle to the Strip?

Every day between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., the 14-passenger, black-and-magenta shuttle bus picks up at Hard Rock's valet area and makes round trips on the hour to Caesars Forum Shops, Harley Davidson Cafe (across Aladdin/Planet Hollywood), Marriott's Grand Chateau (center Strip), and Marriott's Fairfield Inn (near the airport).

The bus contains a flat-screen DVD and rockin' surround sound stereo.

We won't begrudge the free ride, but how can we have a brew bus that shuts down at 6 p.m.? (The shuttle used to run later.)

Posted by R.C. Clark at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)