Like last year at this time, Mystere, Cirque du Soleil's first permanent show, has a special offer for locals who buy tickets. For every regularly priced ticket purchased, you can get a second one for $13.

The offer runs now through Jan. 3, 2007 and there's a six-ticket limit.

To purchase, call (702) 796-9999 or visit the ticket office. Regular ticket prices valid for this offer are $75, and $95. There's a limit of six tickets per household, and the offer runs now through Jan. 3, 2007.

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

Station Casinos is experimenting with offering tableside service at Palace Station.

The first Las Vegas casino to offer food in the Pit, service will be introduced to the Pit 8 Asian gaming tables of mini-baccarat, pai gow poker, and pai gow tiles.

Between 6 p.m. and midnight nightly, a noodle menu will be available:

• Special Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup
  
• Wonton Noodle Soup
  
• Roast Duck Noodle Soup
  
• Seafood Noodle Soup
  
• Beef Noodle Soup
  
• Beef Chow Fun
  
• Yang Chow Fried Rice
  
• Singapore Pan Fried Rice Noodles
  
• Chicken Congee
  
• Mixed Beef Congee
  
• Bee Bim Bop

Along with drinks, the tableside noodle menu will be complimentary to qualified Boarding Pass members.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you haven't seen Larry G. Jones, you're missing out on one of the best impressionists in Las Vegas (take that, Danny and Gordie).

We laughed so hard our hernia poked out.

But seriously, ladies and germs, Fitzgeralds is once again the downtown home to The Man of 1002 voices. As well as songs -- Jones is just as likely to burst into a rendition of Neil Diamond as he is Cher.

Visit his website to hear clips of some of his impressions.

Through Dec. 25, you can get 2-for-1 tickets by showing a local ID at the box office.

If you're military, police, or a firefighter, you can see the show for free until Dec. 25 by flashing your service ID or badge. But then, if you have a badge you could probably get into any show for free.

No reservations for this special offer.

Larry G. Jones performs Thursdays through Mondays at 9 p.m. at the upstairs showroom. Regular ticket price is $22.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 9:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Golden Nugget has a year-end offer to stay at their classy downtown casino-hotel. This offer is open to everyone.

And don't forget that Golden Nugget recently remodeled their poker room (from the buffet to the cafe to a new area) to a comfortable room of 10 tables.

From now through Nov. 30, stay for $59 per night.

From Dec. 3-7, stay for $69 per night.

From Dec. 10-21, stay for $59 per night.

And, if you stay for two nights, you'll get the third for free.

All stays are for Sunday through Thursday only. For the stay-2-get-1 free offer, you must arrive Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday.

Along with the special rates, you'll also receive a funbook valued at over $200, two 2-for-1 buffet coupons, and a BOGO (what we affectionately call buy-one-get-one-free) for their new nightly show Simply Ballroom (a $29 value).

Book your reservation at 1-800-634-3454 or visit their website.

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

photo by William Mitchell

Will there be a Harrods mega-department store on the Las Vegas strip? Talk in the street is saying that an announcement of a pending partnership between Harrods of London owner, Mohamed al-Fayed, and a well known strip operator will detail plans for Harrods of Las Vegas. al-Fayed's master designer, world acclaimed artist, sculptor and building designer William Mitchell, has a mock-up of his design for the Las Vegas project on display at Harrods in London.

What a treat to shop at one of the world's most famous retail stores without having to hop across the pond. This addition of Harrods to the Las Vegas shopping options will enforce Vegas' identity as a world class shopping destination.

Posted by flipchipro at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you signed up to Excalibur's room rate special email list, you would have received an email offering a buy-1-get-1-free hotel room stay from now through Jan. 3, 2007.

Those special people would be staying Sunday-Thursday and would book before Dec. 6, with excluded dates Dec. 3-7, Dec. 10, and Dec. 24-Jan. 1.

Those people would also be calling 1-877-868-5464 to book their room.

Now we can't tell you that this offer will work for you if you haven't subscribed to their email list, so hey, sign up to get offers like these and more!

Posted by R.C. Clark at 2:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No, that's not a female Godzilla attacking the new Las Vegas.

Now on display at Bellagio is a full model of what the MGM Mirage Project CityCenter will soon look like.

Right now all that can be seen blocking the view is a 10-story, 5,300-space parking garage for MGM Mirage accessed from Industrial. But soon...

The $7+ billion, 76-acre mixed use project is on schedule to open in 2009 and will revolutionize architecture in Las Vegas. We can't wait.

For more photos of the reasonable facsimile, click below.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

The Las Vegas Strip is fast becoming the world's number one destination for shopping, especially Holiday shopping. While the city is known for offering a fantasy world of adult entetainment whose only limiter is the size of your bank account shoppers can also find trinkets that go for millions. If you can afford it, its for sale on the Las Vegas Strip. What happens here can indeed be carried, driven, flown, worn, eaten and even given away. Need an extremely rare Ferrari Enzo for a mill and a half? How about a 40 carat diamond ring for even more millions? Clothing so comfortable you'll never take it off. Whatever you desire its in Las Vegas and it has a price tag.

If you're Visa doesn't have an eight digit credit limit you can still enjoy the sights of something so valuable. A stroll through the Wynn's Esplanade is one of the class Vegas window shopping experience and if you're Daddy's rich go on in and help yourself. Some photos from a shopping pass through the Wynn Las Vegas follows.

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

Posted by flipchipro at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Britney Spears and Paris Hilton have been spotted all over town last week, seen at every major club before settling on the new Playboy Club, housed inside The Palms.

Spears is even starting a new trend by "forgetting" to wear pants. This is something Hilton could adopt the next time she can't wait to go to the women's restroom (as rumors have it).

The duo have been seen smokin', dancin', and strippin'. And that don't leave no time for babysittin'.

BritLo (she was hanging with Mario Lopez) is working on her new album at the Palms' recording studio. And Hilton, well, she's working on her next appearance.

This Saturday, BritLo turns 25. We hear she'd like to spend it at home with Sean Preston and Jayden James.

Oh wait, we were thinking this was The Bizarro World. Of course she won't stay out of the public eye. Maybe a couple of autographed postcards sent to the kids will do the trick.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I took a trip to Las Vegas last week, just in time to catch my favorite nonedible free thing to do: wander through the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

The harvest show closed Nov. 25, but fear not: I took pictures. For previous pictures, see the Chinese New Year Exhibit from Jan. 15-Feb. 25 and the Spring Celebration from March 5-May 13.

Now in the process of converting into a brand new winter theme, this show also marked the final apperance of the 120-year-old, 200,000-pound banyan tree that was dismantled in Miami, Fl., and painstakingly pieced back together in Las Vegas.

Every day, over 10,000 visitors make their way through Bellagio. If you're one of those people, treat yourself to a stroll through the beauty of the Conservatory. You'll be glad you did.

Click below for more photos.

Posted by Poker Grub at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Online Casino News:

The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino is hosting an Ultimate Blackjack Tour event.
The Venetian Invitational is taking place November 24-26 and includes a prize pool of over $100,000. The final six players at the Venetian Invitational receive round-trip airfare to Los Angeles in January to compete in a taped Ultimate Blackjack Tour event that will air on CBS in 2007. The winner of the event will also receive a $10,000 buy-in to Ultimate Blackjack Tour's year-end Tournament of Champions which boasts a $1 million guaranteed first prize and an estimated $2-3 million total prize pool.

Posted by Zounds Off at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Right before the Thanksgiving holiday, billionaire Kirk Kerkorian decided to sell 14 million shares ($462 million) in General Motors Corp. to increase his control in MGM Mirage, the company where he was already majority shareholder and where he was responsible for acquiring Mirage Resorts from Steve Wynn.

Kerkorian plans to purchase 15 million more shares ($825 million) of MGM Mirage to increase his holdings to over 60 percent of the company, opening the possibility of the company going private.

Interestingly, Kerkorian didn't jump ship entirely from General Motors. Selling 15 percent of his GM shares still keeps him with 7.4 percent of the company.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

Happy Holidays from the LasVegasVegas.com crew. Live from Las Vegas, a great place to spend the holiday honoring gluttony. In this town the traditional turkey feast can be had with an almost limitless variety of styles. No matter what you prefer, even your great aunt's stuffing that includes ingredients from the land, sea, air and Mars; you can find it on a menu in Las Vegas today.

The favorite Vegas Thanksgiving dinner is whatever they're serving at the snack bars in the Sports and Race Books. Thanksgiving is celebrated with not one, but two NFL football games. The crowd will fill the books early for the early game, a toss up between the host Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos then the late game between the 11 point favorite Dallas Cowboys hosting the Tampa Bay Bucs.

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

The ladies can spend the afternoon and evening shopping at any of the Las Vegas Strip shopping malls with most shops open Noon till Midnight. I'll watch the games for a while, probably nap a bit, hike through some of the strip joints and play a No-limit Hold'em tournament in the evening...just another day in Paradise. It's also the second anniversary of the day my LAD quit flowing. Have a safe and fun Thanksgiving Holiday.

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

Posted by flipchipro at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monte Weiner (56) and his son Eric (27), are both looking at 25 years in prison after a bust last week where District Attorney Richard Brown brought down the hammer on playwithal.com, an online sports betting site. Both quickly posted there 1 million dollar bail amounts, not a surprise considering that the operation was processing 3.3 Billion in bets a year and had over 500 million in assets seized during last weeks raid. I can't help but wonder which methods they will employ to ensure the prosecution fails in their efforts for a conviction. Whatever the methods used, I expect headlines will follow. [New York Post]

Posted by Zounds Off at 4:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Open only a few weeks, the new restaurant Hobos and Gypsy's (3111 W. Tropicana, next to Golden Palm, across from In 'n Out Burger) has a special $12 Thanksgiving special for industry locals who may not be able to spend time with their families.

Tonight and tomorrow, food specials include turkey and ham, stuffing, green bean gratin, and cranberries.

An extra $5 will add in dessert from a selection of pies, or the traditional pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream.

Open from 6 p.m. to noon every day, Hobos and Gypsy's caters to the Las Vegas industry professional, shuffling normal duties such as getting their DJs to cook for you.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Happy birthday to the Las Vegas Weekly. Like many big cities, the free weekly rag is the place to go to find unbiased news, thoughtful reviews, and no-holds-barred criticism of the very city it exalts.

The Las Vegas Weekly is no exception. We remember being mailed articles before moving out to our fine neon city, wondering if there was enough culture out here to support our wandering attention deficit.

Well okay, there isn't, but that didn't prevent the Weekly from seeking it out every week and assigning a reporter to cover it, and cover it smartly.

With the Weekly's 8th birthday comes color. On every page, we're treated to a surprising dose of color that vibrantly leaps off the page, making the paper it's printed on seem whiter and the cold desert winter nights seem warmer.

More changes to the magazine will be unveiled in the near feature, including a small redesign.

But we like 'em just the way they are.

Pictured above is Playboy Bunny Katie Putnam, who helped celebrate their birthday party this past Sunday at the Playboy Club. Putnam also posed for Las Vegas Weekly's 8th cover, though we prefer the above pictured photo of her from the sci-fi TV show "Atomic City."

Posted by R.C. Clark at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The sudden death of CEO Craig Neilsen last night pushed shares of Ameristar up 11.5 percent at today's close. During the day, the price increased to an all-time high.

Neilsen, 65, died in his sleep and owned 55.4 percent (31.4 million shares) of Ameristar.

With almost any casino company being sought after by private equity firms these days, Ameristar is now ripe for a takeover. While alive, Neilsen was against any potential buyouts.

Ameristar's headquarters are in Las Vegas, though they have yet to establish a presence on the Strip (they own seven casinos in Nevada and used to own what is now the Fiesta Henderson). They were one of the early bidders on Aztar, which owns the Tropicana.

Last week, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved the $2.75 billion purchase of Aztar to Columbia Entertainment. Ameristar dropped out after bidding $1.7 billion.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In July, a controversial city ordinance passed that prohibited feeding the homeless.

The law, which specifically spelled out it's illegal to feed any of the 12,000 "indigent" in Las Vegas, did not apply to the Strip and focused on parks and public spaces. Locals increasingly complained about the number of homeless people that hung around parks because of groups handing out meals.

The feeding fines were up to $1,000 and/or a jail sentence of up to six months. Not to mention a misdemeanor.

But how exactly does one define an indigent person? Does feeding a child (who has no job) or unemployed person in a park break the law?

With several cases pending and judges already throwing out misdemeanor charges, earlier today a federal judge ruled against the unconstitutionally vague law.

So it's now legal to feed the homeless in parks... at least until our lawmakers go back and define what exactly they mean.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Your movie's number 1 two weeks in a row, it's made $67.8 million in 10 days and it's expected to soon pass $100 million. How much do you charge a Las Vegas casino for a New Year's Eve appearance?

Borat, the make-believe son of glorious nation Kazakhstan (and character of Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan), has set his fee at $3 million.

That's almost 20 percent of the budget of the entire $18 million movie.

Put in perspective, $3 million is the amount Rod Stewart was ordered to return to Harrah's after his own no-show New Year's Eve appearance fetched him an advance of $2 million.

Audience demand and casinos' desires to sign an exclusive may increase the bidding for the Eastern European reporter.

And if he gets $3 million? High five!

Posted by R.C. Clark at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On display in front of Silverton's jumbo fishtank and in front of Bass Pro Shops is a mouthwatering bike custom-built by the Orange County Choppers.

Tomorrow, Nov. 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Paul Senior, Junior, and Mikey Teutul (from "American Chopper" on the Discovery Channel) will sign autographs and, if you're nice and wearing a bikini, may take you for a quick spin around the casino.

Who knows, you may even end up winning the bike (and a share of $150,000). Playing slots and table games earns you drawing tickets, and drawings are Nov. 18, Nov. 25, Dec. 2, and Dec. 9.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Win a copy of Cutting the Wire for writing a review of Roll the Bones

As the Wall Street Journal puts it

Schwartz seems almost destined to write this book...by the end of this expansive work, he leaves you utterly persuaded that the yearning to gamble is a near-universal human trait. He has written a fascinating book.

And I agree.

So, what you need to do, from David's Amazon Blog:

1. Buy a copy of Roll the Bones, or, if you really need the thirty bucks for something more important like medicine, food, or rent, borrow a copy.



2. Read the book, then post a review amazon.com.



3. Once the review is posted, send David an emailwith your name, where you bought the book, and where you heard about the contest, and I'll enter you into the drawing to win a free autographed copy of my previous book, Cutting the Wire.

Posted by pokerprof at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From a Queens County Press Release:

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced the indictment of twenty-seven individuals and three corporations on charges of unlawfully operating a highly sophisticated online gambling operation in Playwithal Sportsbook that booked more than $3.3 billion in wagers over a 28-month period on a wide variety of sporting events including horse-racing, football, baseball, basketball and hockey to NASCAR, Golf and more.

The District Attorney stated, "The defendants are accused of running a tightly knit and an incredibly lucrative – and illegal – global gambling operation. It is alleged that they were as savvy and adept in the use of computer technology as they were proficient in the art of secreting and laundering untold millions of dollars in unlawfully earned proceeds through casinos, shell corporations and bank accounts in a variety of locations around the globe, including Central America, the Caribbean, Switzerland, Hong Kong and elsewhere."

Two Las Vegans are included in the indictments:
Monte Weiner, 56, of 300 East 40th Street in Manhattan and 2503 Turtle Head Peak Drive in Las Vegas, and,
Nicola Cavacini, 40, of 9470 Peace 231 Way in Las Vegas.

Posted by Zounds Off at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The new Hooters 2007 calendar is now on sale at the Hooters Casino, your local bookstore, and online.

Fourteen Hooters Casino girls are featured in the calendar, with a month of their very own devoted to them. Other months include Miss Hooters International 2006 Michelle Nunes and Aimee (pictured above).

The calendar contains a two-sided poster you can pull out, and we trust that's not the only thing you pull out...

...your wallet to pay for the calendar, silly. What were you thinking?

Posted by R.C. Clark at 1:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

photo by FlipChip/LasVegasVegas.com

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to announce a change in the departure path out of the Las Vegas McCarran Airport, a move required to continue support the rapid growth of the Las Vegas metropolis by allowing more flights to service Las Vegas. The route has become a major issue with those neighborhoods that will be located within the audio foot print of the jet airliners passing overhead.

The flight change proposals created considerable controversy between the homeowners in the affected northwest Vegas neighborhoods and the FAA. Even though most of the affected home owners lobbied hard against the flight path change, at the end of the day the Federal airport people opted for higher passenger numbers, therefore the "right turn" departure out of McCarran International.

I'll be watching the North West Vegas real estate trends watching for the noticeable decline in property values predicted by the homeowners if the change was adopted. Combine this noise huisance with the national economy fueled downturn in the real estate market and we could see northwest homeowners getting hit with a double whammy. Not only will the airplanes be flying by, they'll be flying by in record numbers. Of course, altitude filters out sound, so hope they're high.

Posted by flipchipro at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Growing larger by the year, the CineVegas film festival has expanded to offer other events throughout the year, all giving a taste of independent movies true to the CineVegas style with movies you may not ordinarily be able to see except for perhaps the Regal Village Square on Sahara, which is usually good for an arthouse flick or two.

Last weekend, they showed Shortbus, John Cameron Mitchell's racy and unrated followup to Hedwig and the Angry Inch, so you know the type of movies they're interested in.

Check out CineVegas' Art House website for the latest screening.

All take place at The Palms' Brenden Theatres for one weekend, and all tickets are $10.

Upcoming events include the Can Film Festival, short films by college students that feature a can of Red Bull.

The 9th annual CineVegas festival will be June 8-16, 2007.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 2:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight on "Late Show with David Letterman," you can see our very own impressionist Gordie Brown taking the stage.

Mayor Oscar Goodman declared Aug. 3 "Downtown Gordie Brown Day," and we're still searching for the appropriate Hallmark card. Brown played two years at the Golden Nugget.

Currently, Brown is in residence at The Venetian. Tickets run $64 and $74, and can be purchased at their website.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Associated Press reported last week that Steve Wynn has received the bill to fix the damage he made to his $139 million Picasso. Final tally: $85,000.

"Le Reve," his favorite painting (and what Wynn Las Vegas was originally called) was damaged when an accidental gesture by his own elbow poked through a silver dollar-sized hole.

Wynn was this close to signing it away for a record amount of any sold painting, when he accidentally damaged it while showing it to friends in town, including Barbara Walters, Nora Ephron, and Nick Pileggi.

Again, Wynn told the AP that he was glad he did the damage himself.

We have suspicions about what really happened. Art canvases are sturdy enough to withstand an elbow or even a knee. We speculate something more was done in order to cause a hole like that. If it were really an elbow, wouldn't there be a much larger tear?

The group Wynn was with was sworn to secrecy until The New Yorker broke the story a month after it happened... from someone in that group spilling the beans.

Could something else have happened? For Wynn to continue emphasizing that he was glad he was the one who did it, could he be taking the blame for someone else for insurance purposes or to save someone's drunken reputation? Yes, we're talking about you, Barbara Walters.

No, we're just kidding. But we do have to wonder about how an unarmed elbow could rip a hole in a painting.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 1:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to voters last week, minimum wage earners in Nevada will have an extra $1 per hour to play with beginning Nov. 28.

However, the new law allows employers to continue paying $5.15 per hour if they give their employees and dependents health insurance valued at up to 10 percent of the employee's income. This could lead to some employers finding it cheaper to tack on $1 to an employee's hourly rather than pay for the more expensive health insurance.

In addition, as of Nov. 28, overtime will be considered any hours worked above 8 hours per day (as opposed to 40 per week) for employees earning less than $7.73 an hour (with health insurance) or less than $9.23 an hour (without health insurance).

For many workers in Nevada, this boost is a welcome one (and an even better welcome for Las Vegan casino workers who live off tips).

The minimum wage in Nevada has not increased past $5.15 since October 1997. Over 100,000 workers in Nevada were earning less than $6.15 an hour.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, Stardust (we still can't believe it's gone after 48 years) will begin auctioning off items from their casino.

This week will be the viewing, with a 5-day auction beginning Nov. 17 at 11 a.m.

Items offered include gaming tables, TVs, neon signs, casino signs (like the one pictured above), artwork, antiques, room furnishings, restaurant equipment, vehicles, office furniture, computer equipment, and more memorabilia.

Different items will be on the block each of the five days. The auction will be live at Stardust, with a live simulcast via web podcast.

Click here to download the brochure with more information and photos of auction items.

Or click here to view the images separately.

Or click here to see which may be the next casino to go.

Payment can be made in cash, cashier's check, and credit cards. No deposit is required to bid.

For more information, visit the auction site or call Heidi Reager at (818) 884-3737 ext. 340.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 1:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight marks the first week of a series of open bar nights hosted by Spy on Vegas, a restaurant, and a liquor sponsor.

Open to anyone but designed for singles with a penchant for free drinking without gambling, each open house runs from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at locations all around Las Vegas.

Tonight, meet at Stack (The Mirage) and come up with a drink concoction using sponsor Belvedere Vodka.

Here's your schedule for the rest of the week:

Nov. 14, Firefly, Cruzan Rum
Nov. 15, Rouge (MGM Grand), Grey Goose L'Orange
Nov. 16, Steiner's, Pyramid Hefe Weizen
Nov. 17, Kennedy's, Level Vodka

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tomorrow, the Coast Casinos offers their annual complimentary Veterans' Day buffet for all military personnel.

All active, inactive, and retired military can choose the buffet of their choice at any of the Coast Casinos (The Orleans, Suncoast, or Gold Coast). Yep, that includes the weekend brunch.

You must have a Club Coast card and show your military ID or DD-214.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 3:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In past Decembers, Penn & Teller would give away two free tickets to their show to people who donated blood.

We suspect that might be the case this year as well.

But if you happen to be at Rio anyway to check out Prince or have an aversion to bloodletting and really want to see Penn & Teller, use the coupon above for $10 off your ticket.

Or click here for direct access from Rio's site.

The coupon expires Dec. 30 and there's a maximum of two tickets per coupon, but hey it's the Internet and you can just print more.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In 2002, 14 Las Vegas strippers faced misdemeanor charges for breaking a Nevada ordinance for erotically touching customers and vice versa.

Clark County District Judge Sally Loehrer ruled the code unconstitutional, saying the writing was vague and not encorceable. Loehrer stated the terms "caress" and "fondle" were unclear.

Citing precedence 20 years ago from similar wording used in a Washington state federal circuit court of appeals, that ordinance was declared consitutional today by the Nevada Supreme Court.

While we don't think Las Vegas is yet trading the "sin" in Sin City for "puritan," we're prepared to travel to Montreal for our exotic dancing needs.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're as saddened as you to see the marriages of Reese Witherspoon and Britney Spears dissolve, but heartened by the resurfaced rumor in World Entertainment News Network suggesting Spears could make her comeback, beginning in Las Vegas.

Thought to be one of the main causes of strife between Spears and husband Kevin Federline, the city would be an ironic choice for Spears, considering K-Fed's Vegas partying ways helped lead to parting ways.

Long talked about as a possibility for Spears, Vegas or any tour was set aside to concentrate on her family. But now that her two sons are 1 year old and 1 1/2 months old, what better time than to start a tour next year?

World Entertainment News says Spears has met with people to discuss a long-term deal in Vegas similar to Celine Dion, and The Palms has that brand new 2,5000-seat theater...

Posted by R.C. Clark at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At today's close, Station Casinos' stock was up 7.82 percent (up $4.73 to $65.23), the highest since early July.

Just last week, Station fell short of expectations for the Sept. 30th-ended quarter, after beating Wall Street's estimates for 18 quarters in a row.

After that news, Station's shares then fell 2.72 percent to close at $59.70.

So what accounts for today's almost 8 percent increase?

With no new announcements, perhaps private equity firms have now targeted Station has a potential takeover.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With Harrah's gift point redemption dates approaching (we're looking forward to redeeming our points next week) and to answer questions brought up when grubby mentioned this, we thought we'd revisit this promotion and clear up some things.

To catch you up to date, Harrah's has been awarding gift points to players in addition to regular reward credits. It's a never-before-offered extra benefit for players who've played at any of Harrah's six Las Vegas casinos since Jan. 1 of this year. Those casinos are all the ones that have converted to Total Rewards: Bally's, Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Harrah's, Paris, and Rio.

Every time you earn 1 credit ($5 playthrough in slots), you earn 1 gift point.

Though there is no dollar value per point, they can be estimated at roughly half a cent each.

Gift points can now be viewed online at their updated website by entering your Total Rewards number. You can also find out how many points you have by visiting a Total Rewards booth or by calling the casino.

You do not need to stay at one of their hotels to select your gifts, but you do need to be there in person. We plan to make a quick trip to the Strip next week and will report back if encountering anything out of the ordinary.

Points can only be redeemed during two specific times: between Nov. 13-19 at Harrah's and between Dec. 11-17 at Caesars Palace. Viewing times for both are Monday-Thursday noon to 6 p.m., Friday-Saturday 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Merchandise will be shipped for free to the address of your choice and will expect to be delivered to U.S. addresses by Christmas.

If you won't be in town during those times, you're unfortunately out of luck. Gift points are not transferable, your host won't be able to help you, and points expire Dec. 16, the last day of the promotion.

We picked a random item from each category to show a sample of what's offered. Gifts include an iPod 2g Nano (49,400 gift points), Bodum Granos espresso machine (95,100 points), Coleman patio heater (like the ones Rio uses on the roof at VooDoo Lounge, 132,300 points), Broyhill gas fireplace (295,500 points), Olhausen pool table (911,400 points), and a BMW 530i sedan (12,325,800 points).

The BMW would have cost you $61,629,000 playthrough in slots and would also have netted you $123,325 in comps (meaning you could buy his and hers and baby's BMWs), not to mention free suites anywhere and anytime you wanted, full RFB, plus a private jet and limo transportation to get you there.

Now assuming a 90 percent payback in slots, with the money you would've lost, you would've been able to purchase over 1,200 BMWs on your own.

It never pays to chase comps.

And now you know. End of public service announcement.

That said, we can't wait to pick up our iPod.

For more information, call 1-800-939-5961 or visit Great Gift Wrap Up.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Sunday, Nov. 26 at 1 a.m. (that would be late Saturday night), Liza Minnelli will perform Gypsy for free, but only for one night and only for her fellow Las Vegas performers and crew.

Tickets will be given away by Luxor, where Minnelli will be performing Thanksgiving weekend at 8 p.m., Nov. 23-25. Those tickets will be $55, $75, and $90 and can be purchased at 1-800-557-7428 or by visiting their website.

She previously played Luxor Oct. 12-14 and is part of their new Spotlight Series, revolving headline acts on the old Hairspray stage, which also includes Nick Lachey, Olivia Newton-John, The Go-Gos, the Beach Boys, and Styx.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's hard to impress us hardened and tanned Las Vegas locals. We have billion-dollar monoliths being constructed daily, with the best technology, the best architects, and the best restaurants (well, the best restaurants imported from other cities).

So we were skeptical about Microsoft's new online mapping interface called Virtual Earth 3D.

What better to test it out than on our fine neon city?

We installed the software via our browser, clicked 3D, then zeroed in on Nevada, then Vegas, then zoomed in to Ellis Island (see below post).

The amazing trick is holding the CTRL key and tilting the view.

That's when we lost it. And that's in a good way.

The 3D map was so realistic that we thought we were in one of those movies where they zero in on the exact location of someone from space.

The terrain around Ellis Island unfortunately comes in flat (as does where we live), but you can see the new Platinum Hotel looming above it.

We hung a left turn and moused over to the west, taking a virtual tour up the Las Vegas Strip. Without traffic. We came up with the screen shot pictured above, current enough to show Wynn Las Vegas (in the upper right).

Other 3D models are already available for San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit, Phoenix, Houston, Baltimore, Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, and Fort Worth. With more to come.

We may never ask for directions again.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While you're doing your patriotic duty and voting today, hold onto that "I Voted!" sticker for tonight (or this afternoon, we won't say anything).

Today only, Ellis Island is giving away a free microbrewed beer for everyone who's voted. Obviously, you must be 21 or over.

If you don't drink, maybe you can talk them into a root beer, which they also have on tap.

If you happen to eat in the cafe, placemats contain $5 matchplays for blackjack.

Exercise your rights as a citizen, drink for free, and have a chance to get lucky. What a day.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Perfect 10 (adult content at that website, don't click at work) magazine is conducting an 80-city search to find the world's most beautiful natural woman. The winner will receive a Perfect 10 pictorial, roundtrip airfare for two to Los Angeles, and $10,000 cash.

The search comes to Las Vegas on Nov. 16 at the Tao nightclub (at The Venetian), beginning at 9 p.m.

Cash and prizes will be awarded.

We're thinking why not pop by and try for a chance to be discovered?

Register online at their website, and you don't even have to list weight or measurements.

The winner will be announced in April 2007.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since opening in 2002, Neonopolis in downtown Vegas has been struggling.

Combining a movie theater, restaurants, and shops, it failed to catch on with consumers. Still, it's one of our favorite places to go to get away from wall-to-wall gambling and take in a cheap flick with free underground parking (three-hour parking passes are available at the box office).

This past June, a new owner purchased the $99 million project for $25 million, kicking out a few of the few remaining tenants.

Rohit Joshi plans to renovate the area, first by adding new tenants with short-term leases, and then by changing Neonopolis into something themed, with concepts including The Great Wave, The Gardens of Babylon, and Roof Garden. One set of drawings has patrons walking around a half-sunken Titanic.

Joshi also drew up designs for turning Neonopolis into a theater district simliar to Times Square.

If all fails, there's always implosion and installing a hotel-casino... that is, if they can get the area rezoned.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From bankers involved, we hear a rumor that MGM Mirage is eyeing a possible buyout of online gaming site PartyGaming.

PartyGaming, which runs PartyPoker, recently closed accounts to United States players as a result of President Bush signing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

PartyGaming is in talks of its own to merge with 888 Holdings, operator of Pacific Poker, which also shut out U.S. players.

Five years ago, MGM Mirage was in development with WagerWorks for online casino content (excluding online poker) to test games for an eventual pay online casino site. Games were free to play and awarded points that could be traded in for prizes such as free rooms, buffets, and shows (we played those online slots to snag our first free rooms at New York New York). MGM Mirage has since let go of WagerWorks to slot manufacturer IGT.

Whether this takeover actually goes through is still to be determined. One thing's for sure: we wouldn't discount Harrah's from the running.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Fremont Street Experience is going nationwide for New Year's Eve.

Spanning from Neonopolis to The Plaza, all of Fremont Street's four blocks will be cordoned off to host a party to rival New York's Times Square. Last year, an estimated 300,000 visitors celebrated New Year's Eve in Vegas.

Bringing in the new year will be live musical acts appearing on two stages, including Chicago, Five for Fighting, Smash Mouth, All American Rejects, Rockstar: Supernova, and OK Go.

Synchronized fireworks will also be launched from nine rooftops across the Strip. New Year's fireworks in Vegas are much more spectacular than July 4th.

DIRECTV will broadcast live on channel 101 and cover end-of-the-year festivities across all four time zones (New York, Austin, Denver, and Vegas) over a 4 1/2 hour broadcast.

On Fremont, the 1,500-foot Vista Vision canopy screen will show it all.

Tickets are $80 and can be purchased at www.VegasExperience.com.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everyone's favorite "Knight Rider" and "Baywatch" lifeguard David Hasselhoff, joins The Producers at Paris Las Vegas (yeah, that's not really him pictured above, but we didn't want to spoil your breakfast).

More beloved in Germany as a singer, Hasselhoff will play flamboyantly gay director Roger DiBris.

And yep, that means you'll get to see the Hoff in drag.

Too bad Harrah's couldn't have quickly built a German-themed casino to feature the hairy chested one.

The show is still planned to be a truncated 90 minutes of its Broadway counterpart, making it 44 minutes shorter than the movie version of the musical with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.

Tickets run $75.50 to $143.50 and are on sale now for performances beginning February 2007 at 1-888-727-4758. (Ticketmaster shows tickets through the end of April.)

Posted by R.C. Clark at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Flamingo continues to reinvent itself with events appealing to a younger crowd. Over the summer, they teamed with VH1 for a rock'n'roll celebrity poker tournament, and they're back again.

At Flamingo's Second City Theatre today, rockers take on poker pros for charity.

It's VH1 and UltimateBet's "VH1 Classic Rock'n'Roll Poker Tournament" that pits such musicians as Dusty Hill (ZZ Top), Sully Erna (Godsmack), Ace Frehley (KISS), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Vinnie Paul (Pantera) against poker pros Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Hellmuth, and Annie Duke.

Matt Savage is the tournament director and Mark Tenner provides commentary.

We'd rather watch rockers play poker than poker players play instruments.

The winner receives $25,000 to the charity of his choice plus a $10,000 seat into UltimateBet's Aruba tourney.

The tournament will be taped for broadcast on VH1 sometime next year.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's official -- last month we'd reported that Prince had hinted at the possibility on his website, and now he's on his way to becoming the next Elvis of Las Vegas.

Beginning Nov. 10, Prince moves into his new purple digs at Rio, replacing Club Rio with the 3121 nightclub. He'll perform every Friday and Saturday for $125.

You can even plan a weekend around your Prince show. Special dinner and show packages are available for $312.10 per person at the new 3121 Jazz Cuisine, run by Prince's chef, Lena Morgan. Bottle service and VIP tickets are included. And if you arrive early, Wednesday night at the club will guest friends of Prince, and Thursday night will be labido night.

Now that his second wife filed for divorce a few months ago, what better way to celebrate his new singledom than to move to Vegas? (Even better, we hear Harrah's is shacking him up at the swanky Palazzo suites, the building of which we mere mortals can't even enter.)

Tickets can be purchased at the Rio box office, by calling (702) 777-7776, or at Ticketmaster.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Gibbons and Trepp

I simply can't believe how deep Jim Gibbons is sinking, and I've just now read the Wall Street Journal article[Subscription Required] plus this article that offers a summary on Gibbons sending multi-million dollar sweetheart deals to a buddy under the guise of 'Defense Contracts'. I'm disgusted...seriously and horribly disgusted.

The buddy, Warren Trepp, is the buyer of this alleged influence peddling, buying Gibbon's favors with luxury ocean cruises, $100K in campaign contributions, racks of casino chips and plenty of good old fashion cash money. In addition, a lobbyist with a shady past, Letitia White, started lobbing of behalf of Trepp's company eTreppid.

Gibbons, you had my vote*...

Strike 1-

Strike 2 -

Strike 3 -

That's it, You're out, I'm gone!

I saw this poll on Las Vegas Gleaner that puts Gibbons ahead by only 4 points, and I don't think it takes into account some of this latest latest information; the details of which we should have within the next six days before the polls open. Six days... I wonder what other skeletons are in the campaign contribution closet... I also wonder if the Wall Street Journal has an agenda here.

I suspect Gibbons nemesis is very, very happy right about now.

If this turns out to be what prima fascia evidence suggests, then I will most certainly vote for Titus simply because I can't see her making this kind of a mistake.

I look forward to seeing the spin.

*This cracks me up, they disabled video embedding, so that the only pro Gibbons video is a hyper-link, talk about shooting yourself in the foot!

Read the Prof's thoughts on "Chopper Jerry" wanting to be Sheriff over at the Las Vegas Business/Politics News Blog.

Posted by pokerprof at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lately, MGM Mirage has been on a roll unloading some of their casinos outside of Las Vegas.

Two weeks ago, they sold the Colorado Belle and Edgewater (both neighboring casinos in Laughlin) for $200 million to Anthony Marnell III and Sher Gaming. MGM Mirage acquired both as part of their Mandalay Resort Group purchase.

Marnel is working on the proposed $1.8 billion M Resort in Henderson.
He and his family have been instrumental in the Las Vegas construction business, building Rio, Bellagio, and Wynn Las Vegas.

Now, MGM Mirage is cutting loose its three Primm hotel-casinos, located 40 miles south of Las Vegas and a regular hub for California visitors.

Primm Valley (but not Primm Valley Golf Club), Whiskey Pete's, and Buffalo Bill's will be sold for $400 million to Herbst Gaming Inc., operators of one of the largest slot routes in Nevada, as well owners of the Terrible's casino at Flamingo and Paradise.

These casino sales will likely pay down debt on various projects including MGM Mirage's $7 billion Project CityCenter.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Could it be we have another young wealthy heir who's adopted Vegas as her party and photo opportunity town?

Ivanka Trump, daughter of The Donald (who'd joked that if they weren't related, she'd be the type of person he'd date), has been seen quite a lot these days. This past weekend, she celebrated her 25th birthday at PURE at Caesars Palace.

People magazine reports that Trump was spotted cuddling with Topher Grace of "That '70s Show." Trump was previously linked with Lance Armstrong, but maintains they're "just friends." We guess that's better than "just bike buddies."

Trump and Grace enjoyed dinner on the balcony at Social House (Treasure Island) before heading to PURE and drawing curtains around their table for 30 minutes. That's twice as much as Andy Warhol would've expected.

Posted by R.C. Clark at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Halloween night in Las Vegas is about like every other town in America with many kids in costumes carrying bags of treats collected from family friends and trusted streets. Most people are unaware of the number of kids in Las Vegas over the age of twenty-something. Take a hike through the Fremont Experience on Halloween night and you're in a sea of over age kids in costume having the time of their lives.

A couple of circuits through the partying crowds filled a flash card with images, a few of which are presented here. Come along for some scenes from my Halloween evening in downtown Las Vegas. Oh yeah, Happy Birthday Nevada! 1864-2006...142 years old today.

Posted by flipchipro at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)