Several stories have made headlines this week that make me think "only in Vegas". Most are kinda sad. It ends on a good note.

First is a pit bull attack...at a convenience store! The dog attacks people (including a child) at the gas pumps, then goes inside the store. A couple of very brave men held the dog down but the dog had the arm of one of the men in his mouth. Several minutes later the cops showed up and shot the dog. Animal rights activists say this can happen with any animal and it's not a pit bull thing. I will continue to watch the local news for a poodle, a goldfish, or a hamster that does this much damage in the valley. Also, unable to locate loving animal rights activist that raised the pit bull from a puppy, thinking it would be a nice dog.

Over to the Tropicana in the wee hours of the morning, a man is stabbed to death in a drug deal gone bad. As police rope off the crime scene, a guy opens up his car door near one of the offers and says, "okay, you caught me". The cop tells him to go away, they are busy. The guy says "no, really. I'm the guy you're looking for". He had to show them where the knife was before they would believe him.

Down the street at the Forum Shops, a dead body is found in the bushes. It had been there for a while. No witnesses, no video surveillance. The body was finally identified and was an off duty restaurant employee who dies from rocks to the head. 4 days later, police made an arrest. It was an ex employee of the same restaurant. There might be more to this story.

The worst story of them all. Just another screwed up family having an argument. Daughter kicks daddy in the jewels. Parents leave spoiled brat and go out. Daughter calls police screaming bloody murder child abuse. Police respond urgently. Unrelated man driving home after a few beers with the boys turns his truck left into his subdivision. Responding officer T-bones truck. Truck flips over, cop car is beyond recognition, both vehicles explode. Cop is dead. Drinking driver is not "legally drunk". Other cops arrive at house of spoiled brat, and princess changes her story. Parents arrive home and are bombarded with the story. They tell the daughter she caused some very bad events. Princess couldn't care less.

The good news. Summer is here. 100 degrees this weekend. Over 300 women in bikinis celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. They were bussed to the Fashion show mall, except for Holly Maddison who rode in a pink convertible Caddy. From there, they had a fashion show in the mall, marched out to the sidewalk and did all the overpasses to the Wynn, Pallazo, TI, and back to the mall. This should set the Guiness record for the largest bikini parade. The parade was followed by pool parties up and down the strip. The whole stunt was to celebrate summer and boost tourism some how. FWIW, the 300 girls were paid $100 each when they responded to a craigslist ad to participate. The swimsuits were styled from 50 years ago to today's designs.

JMT,
The pit bull thing is a real problem in almost every large town in America. What makes this story sad is, It doesn't have to be. I have seen many pit bull terriers that are sweet loving animals. Even Mastifs, can be a loving family pet.
Unfortunately, most of these animals are not raised to become sweet and loving pets. It seems it is a macho thing for young punks to have a mean dog that will kill anything. (it's a my dog can beat up your dog, mentality) Just ask Mike Vic! Oh don't give me, "oh it's my culture" because if your culture is to treat dogs badly so they become fighters, your culture is messed up. FIX IT, don't excuse it!

I'm not a dog owner, I have never been. Way too much commitment in time for me. Besides, nothing smells worse then a wet dog, except a wet dog that has been sprayed by a skunk!
M2C

We get about 5 high profile pit bull attacks a year here. Mostly they attack kids, strangers, and other pets. This is the first I've seen where one hits a gas station and convenience store at morning rush hour. It's always the same "lipstick on a pig" debate. You can take a hooker off of East Fremont St, clean her up, teach her some etiquette, and bring her home to mama. It goes against the grain and is not sustainable without a lot of hard work and desire, and it's still not a sure thing. Look at the idiots that try to keep a chimpanzee as a pet.

I have seen where a deer gets inside a store and does a lot of damage. That's just funny to everyone except the store owner and the deer.

I don't know what's going on this past week or so. I can look around and observe.

Cheap Trick does Sgt Pepper coming to the LV Hilton in September.

Rumors getting hotter for Garth Brooks coming to Encore Theater for extended stay.

Abbacadabra, an ABBA tribute band played the Hilton. I made a poor judgement move, I saw the show.

Hotel California, an Eagles tribute band played at the Suncoast. I was always an Eagles fan and I know much of their guitar licks were just simple country music chords. Either these guys were lame or Eagles music is lame, maybe both. I'm not normally impressed with 60s-70s-80s bands that still perform today, and less impressed with their imitators.

Steve Tyrell played the Gordie Brown theater. What a great crooner. Steve joined Burt Bacharach right out of high school and never stopped working with him.

María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Moquiere de les Esperades Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Najosa Rasten has her name on top of the Riviera sign on Paradise. Actually, it says Charo. I've seen her alot around town at various functions. She might have a home here.

Stop me if you've hear this before but the Tropicana has new owners promising big changes. Okay, I'll stop.

Trader Vics is still open. I hope it can stay open at least until Eric and Ellen get a Mai Tai.

Fremont Street Experience is catching on, I think. My last several visits found crowds were good. Even on Monday and Tuesday nights, they still get a good amount of people. I do like the back to the 60s theme. Is that why FSE seems less like a Jerry Springer black party? I still don't like the "artists" that go crazy with the spray paint making those cool glossy pictures that nobody buys. If the audience knew just how toxic that paint is, they wouldn't huddle around the guy and huff on the fumes. Maybe that's why it seems like a Jerry Springer Block Party in the first place. No, it wouldn't be fair to single out FSE when the whole town is crazy.

The Luxor is ugly. It has ugly wraps on it. 3 of them are some lame logo about seeing Las Vegas, the other looks like a Transformer. On top of that...literally,... is a lot of dust/dirt. The pyramid almost has a gold shade to it, not terribly different from it's next door neighbor, Mandalay Bay.

Maybe you haven't seen those secret planes that carry workers to Area 51. They are 737 aircraft. Maybe you have seen them when you heard a noise and looked up and saw them. You will now see even less of them. They have gotten rid of their old inefficent jets, and acquired newer "next generation" Boeing 737s. These planes still sport the same plane white paint job with a single red stripe down the side. But they have much quieter engines and electronic cockpits.

Has anyone seen summer? We had a little hot weather and it went away. High temps of 85-95 seem to be the norm. Lows are bone chilling. I went to the Sprint store a couple of Saturdays ago at 7am. It was downright cold, even with 3 shirts on. I was the first one out of the door with a new Palm Pre cell phone. No more iPhone for me, at least not for the next 2 years. This new phone has more potential than the newest iPhone due out in the next few weeks. Time will tell.

On a sad note, the mean people are out in force and seem to be focusing on 2 year old kids. A 2 year old girl was found in a dumpster. Her mom's boyfriend is charged with murder and sexual assault. Mom is a prostitute in Arizona and isn't being charged at this time.

A 2 year old and a 1 year old kid were found buckled in their car seats. The car seats were in the garage, not in the car. The kids were tied together with rope. The rope wrapped around their necks too. They had gags in their mouths, and hoods over their heads. Fortunately, they were found alive. Mom's boyfriend is being charged. He just wanted to watch the basketball game on TV instead of watching the kids. Mom was at work and is not being charged.

Another 2 year was found beaten and dead this week. Mom's boyfriend is a person of interest.

I wonder what will happen next week.

no more iPhone? Say it ain't so Joe!

I still have the device even though it is permanently in the airplane mode. So I pretty much have an iTouch with a camera.

The Pre is sweeeeet.

I am soooo Cirqued out that I thought I was gonna barf. I was walking down the sidewalk in front of the Bellagio. As I looked up at the entrance to Paris, I noticed the street sign at the Paris entrance is labeled Paris. The bad part was the road formerly known as Las Vegas Blvd. At this intersection (and who knows where else), the road is labeled Cirque Du Soliel Blvd.

Speaking of circus. The circus came to town. In a town where the king of jungle is relegated to sit in a glass container and watch drunk tourists play mechanical horse racing, Ringling Bros. just doesn't pack much punch.

Peepshow at the P-ho has new front girls. Mel B and Kelly Monoco are out. Holly Maddison and Shoshana Bean are in. Does anyone care?

What does President Obama, Santana, and Larry King have in common? None of these them can sell out a venue here of just a few thousand seats. I would like to see Santana again someday and see if it's like I remember from the early 70's. I've had several free offers and even had a free ticket given to me. It just wasn't convenient at the time. If/when I go, it will be on my terms when I want to go.

The first day of Summer came around on Saturday. Up to this point we have only had 1 day of 100 degree weather.

Railroad Pass casino in Henderson was honored as the longest operating casino in Nevada. It opened in 1931 with casino gaming license #4.

The state finally passed the final budget for this session. Museums take a big hit. We already lost our art museum. All state funded museums are now open just 4 days a week and the employees are now part time. There were funds to allow the completion of the new state museum in the Springs Preserve. However, there are no funds to staff it.

Senator John Ensign in deep water over an affair with his best friends wife. You know that story isn't over. Our wonderful governor who is going through his own sloppy divorce gives him advice in the public media. These people are in charge of the state of my state.

It's official. The pinball museum will be moving from near Trop and Pecos, to near Trop and Maryland Pkwy. It could take a few months to get the new place remodeled and the machines moved.

The Gamblers Book Store has moved too. From it's once questionable location on the seedy edge of downtown to a less seedy location near Trop and Spencer.

That's all I know.

I wouldn't mind seeing Peepshow or Santana.
<PeepShow> Didn't know the old girls, and don't know the new girls, so what changed? LOL
Doesn't Carlos Santana live somewhere in or around Vegas?

Good old Carlos used to live down the road a bit from us in San Rafael. He had a beautiful home smack dab on the SF Bay with a beautiful view. I understand he sold is recently due to a recent divorce or something like that (if there is anything like that!).

For some unknown reason I can never pay for a ticket to see a singer or a musician when I can simply buy a record or turn on the radio.

But I don't have that problem seeing a impersonator such as Mr Fator.

Lee, re: Peepshow, one of the out's was a Spice Girl. One of the ins was a skank that hung around with Chris Angel, and might have been in Playboy. I'd probably see the show on a free ticket.

I have very nice memories of the band Santana, and I worry about seeing yet another old rocker on stage trying to scratch out a living. My ideal way of seeing Carlos would be a jazz fusion jam with people from Weather Report, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, BB King, and other greats from his prime. This way expectations are not high for anyone in particular. In defense of Carlos, he does sell out some performances.

Tahiti Village lays off dozens of employees. (insert joke here)

Encore in hot water? Not on Saturday when the boilers quit working. Guests experienced cold showers unless they went to the Wynn spa. Steve Wynn offered the guests a $50 voucher for future use.

Carrot Top signed a new 6 year deal with the Luxor. It's a good gig if you can get it. Just ask Lance Burton. He was about to expire too and got a deal.

The 100 degree temps are here. Long live the 100s.

Orbitz rates Las Vegas as the top holiday destination. Whether you want a party, fireworks, or celebrate the true meaning of the holiday, Las Vegas has it all. Here is a tiny sample of what you could participate in. As for me, WORK.

The BullRing at LVMS. Fireworks after a long night of racing of SuperModifieds, Bombers, Late Models, and more. Gates open at 5. Fireworks about 9:30. Admission $15.

North Las Vegas, Seastrand Park. 6-9:30pm. Free.

July 2&3 Las Vegas 51s Baseball with fireworks after the game. $14.

July 3-5 Faux Fireworks at FSE.

All weekend. Beer bash on the bridge, NYNY.

July 4 Boulder City Damboree. All day event. Fireworks at 6pm

July 4 Summerlin Patriotic Parade 9am. free

July 4 Henderson Events Plaza. 6-9pm. Music and fireworks.

July 4 Springs Preserve. 6pm Philharmonic Star Spangled Spectacular and Laser Light Show. $17.50-82.50.

July 4 Lake Las Vegas BBQ, music, and fireworks at 10pm free

July 4 BBQ and Fireworks Rio 7-10pm. $50

July 4 Mandalay Bay. fireworks at 9, followed by music. $20

July 4 Caesars rooftop fireworks at 9pm following private party.

July 4 fireworks at Stations Casinos by Grucci. free

July 4 LV Hilton fireworks after dark. free

Last Tuesday was the start of flood season. Yes we do have an "official" flood season. Even with less than a half of an inch of rain per month, the storms pop up quick and the rain comes down much quicker than it can soak in...hence the flooding.

Trains are back in the news. There is a regular choo-choo proposal that will link Vegas and Victorville. And there's a maglev train proposal to link Las Vegas to Anaheim. Senate majority leader Harry Reid backs the Victorville project. There's about 8 billion dollars of free Obama money to whichever project gets the green light.

LV Sands lays off about 200 Las Vegas employees in various positions. There were about 300 in April.

North Las Vegas Fire Department Captain makes about $97k per year. He burns his own car in the desert for insurance reasons, to pay off the Toyota Sequoia at $35k and $12k in negative equity.

City Council awards 11 million to finish the Mob Museum. It could open next year, but a contractor dispute could tie up progress in court.

New laws effective July 1.

*8.1 sales tax

*New business license fee doubles to $200, business tax on payroll will double to 1.17%.

*Businesses can not print full credit card number on receipts.

*Special licensing required for foreclosure and loan modification consultants

*Increased fines for copper (and other metal) thieves

*New DMV fees.

*Homeowners facing foreclosure can request mediation. Mediation run by Nevada Supreme Court with court appointed mediator. Lender must have representative with authority to modify loan.

*You can NOT cross a solid white line on the freeway entrance or most other streets. You must wait for the stripes/dots. You can cross a solid white line if it is at an exit or you are making an immediate right turn. I think there is an exception for the HOV lane.

*You MUST yeild to tow trucks doing their job just as you would to other emergency vehicles.

*...and almost 200 legal other items.


4th of July came and went. I was at work at the airport....which is an excellent vantage point. I'm sure it was a blast for tourists on the strip and downtown. OTOH, compared to the more spectacular fireworks events of the past, this holiday was a little lame. The only strip show was at Caesars. Looking out towards Henderson, there were fireworks everywhere. You could easily tell where Stations casinos were as the Green Valley Ranch Station and Sunset Station fireworks were in a different league than the others. Downtown Henderson was almost up to par with Stations, but not quite. LV Hilton did a pretty good job.

Magicians can't get good help these days. Steve Wyrick was all set to perform a stunt on the strip on Saturday night. He was going to climb in a box, a curtain would cover it and the box would be destoryed by picking it up and dropping it on spikes. Well, the curtain came down and immediately caught fire. The huge blaze injured one of his workers(who was in the box). But when the fire was put out, Steve was gone...leaving audiences to know that he was out by the time the curtain came down and would never be lifted or dropped onto the spikes. Earlier this year, David Copperfield was preparing to walk through a rotating industrial fan when an assistant fell through it, injuring the assistant.

Mayor Oscar Goodman is pressuring California based CIM Group to clean up their property and get on with construction projects slated for the old Lady Luck. As downtown slowly develops, this once thriving area has become an embarrassing eye sore. Previous eye sores near the Lady Luck are looking much better.

You aren't kidding about the flood season. About 6 pm on the Wednesday a spectacular thunderstorm went through the strip. The wind was strong enough to blow open the fresh air vents on our windows. It poured for about 20 minutes.

Eddie Mekka, aka Carmine "The Big Ragoo" Ragusa from the Laverne and Shirley show was arrested for DUI after wrecking his car near Trop and I-215.

Eiseblo Aguilar was arrested near Boulder Highway and Twain for suspicion of DUI when police pulled his car over and found him in the passenger seat. He faces more severe charges because police also found his 11 year old son in the drivers seat. The man knew he was too drunk to drive and forced his son to drive him home.

Bestrestroomdotcom has the Venetian's Zeffrino Risorante in the top running for the best restroom in the country. It features custom mosaic tile artwork, Carra marble floors, Venetian plaster, Murano glass chandelliers and wash basins, a limestone water fountain, and private restroom suites. Have you voted?

The top prospects to take over the 80% completed Fountainbleu complex include Wynn and Harrah's.

Project Link is the name of the Harrah's vision to build a winding corridor between Oshea's and the Flamingo resort. It may or may not be a 2 story district with around 20 shops and restaurants and might terminate near the monorail where there could be a huge ferris wheel sorta like the London Eye.

A fisherman in Sunset Park caught a 3 1/2 foot alligator on his hook. 99.999% that it was an abandoned pet. You can keep tigers and lions at your home. You can have dogs that bark all day and night. You can have disease carrying pigeons stroll through your patio restaurant. Alligators are illegal to keep as a pet.

Mad chefs at the M Resort. In an alleged effort to become more efficient, the M Resort has decided to outsource the control of kitchen workers to a separate management company. This means that CURRENT employees will have to reapply for jobs they already have with an equal opportunity of being replaced from someone off the street. It also means a loss of benefits and pay. They have union protection that kicks in once they have 6 months seniority. The M has only been open 4 months.

The Riviera missed another interest payment. On June 30, the Riv failed to pay $245 million dollars in interest. They are talking with creditors and investors about options.

Police had to revise their report on the 10th shooting by a Metro officer this year. It still says they were after an accused child molester. It still says a high speed car chase turned to a foot chase. It still says the tazer had no effect to the resistance. However, the part that says officers were forced to shoot the victim in the chest, now says they shot him in the back.

I noticed that the Riviera buffet only serves breakfast and lunch...NO dinner.

Also at the Riv, Scarlett. What was once Scarlett, the Princess of Magic, turning hankies into doves for kids at the V theater, is now billed as Scarlett, Abbra Ca Sexy, the topless show.

The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute is already taking patients even though the exterior appears incomplete.

Planet Hollywood to pay $750,000 because of troubles inside the nightclub Prive, which is owned by The Opium Group, who leases the property from Planet Hollywood. Some of the charges include allowing minors inside, prostitution, employees sexually assaulting customers, drunks being thrown onto the casino floor, and customers being involved in other crimes after leaving Prive. Emergency crews were getting more than 1 call per week to the nightclub since it opened in 2006. Several other big name nightclubs are also under investigation, which may change the future of casino nightclubs.

Mayor wants to chop of the head of the person that defaced the Welcome To Las Vegas sign with graffiti. He only wanted the thumbs cut off of vandals that spray painted a tortoise statue in his own jurisdiction.

The man who faced 52 charges after he opened fire in the NYNY casino is officially guilty of 51 of those charges. Steven Zegrean was found not guilty on one the charges of attempted murder as the jury could not identify exactly who his target was. His defense is that he wanted to be killed in suicide by cop with no intention of hurting people. The prosecution points out that he had about 250 rounds of ammo in several clips, and took recent training and target practice prior to the crime. He could receive life in prison.

7 kids have drowned in pools so far this year, tied with the 2008 total. I'm betting the over. There is no law in Nevada requiring a safety fence around the pool. I know that some of the drownings this year did have fences.

Holy Cow! The former Holy Cow has been bought and a new casino is promised. Expect a 100 ft high def TV screen out front.

I know of something else the mayor could chop off that would be very effective and keep the person from reproducing, more little hoodlums!

I notice that the guy shooting off rounds of ammo in the nyny might get life, but the spray painter gets his head chopped off? NICE!

Besides the pool drownings, how many childern are left in a parked car with the windows rolled up each year in LV?

The mayor clarified his remarks today that he doesn't really want to chop things off, but he is in favor of making examples of the offenders through public humiliation. He doesn't realize that maybe these were kids that were just trying to express themselves or may have been forced to eat their broccoli when they were younger.

There was a recent child molester (named Chester) that argued he got a worse penalty than a murderer. He video himself raping a 3 year old.

I have an entire bingo card that includes the number of police shootings, children left in cars, children drowning, people killed with unloaded guns, and pet attacts. And I have a wild card space for those items that just leave you speechless. It's summer time and that's when crazy stuff happens.

Madame Tussauds is 10 years old on the Las Vegas Strip.

The World Series Of Poker has winded down at the Rio and now there are just 9 finalists who will come back to town November 7th. The winner will be determined on Nov 10.

Mayor Oscar Goodman turns 70 years old on July 26. Party to follow on Friday July 31 at the Golden Nugget. Don't know what to the buy the mayor for his birthday? A bottle of Sapphire Gin would be nice. Expect lots of free martinis and DUIs that weekend.

Rich Natole's show, Voices Of A Generation has cancelled his next several shows. Some say his afternoon show at the Harmon Theater is gone for good.

Free tix for The Magic and Tigers of Rick Thomas have been popping up around town. I guess they are trying to get word out that he is playing at the Sahara.

Ex-NBA star Antoine Walker was arrested at Harrah's in Tahoe for passing almost a million dollars in bad checks at Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, and Red Rock.

This weekend had temps about 10 degrees above average around 115. Then monsoon season with storms, some rain, and more lightning than I've seen in a long time. Lightning sparked about 30 fires in area mountains.

Wayne Newton is in financial trouble again....or still. Just this week he has been sued over $32,000 for hay to support his Arabian Horses and $37,000 for a 2005 Escalade that he leased. And if that isn't enough, he is about to be sued by his pilot who is almost $500,000 behind in salary.

The historic Boulder Hotel/museum closed on July 11 due to lack of funding. Reports of a generous quarter million dollar gift will allow it to reopen.

5 year old boy was shot in the head. Reports say he shot himself. The boy was in dad's car. The dad was in the car at the Walgreens drive thru. Boy was driven to the hospital and dropped off at the hospital drive thru. The boy died. No word if the dad was on the cell phone at the time of the shooting.

North Las Vegas police kill another out of control pit bull. Police were called to the scene where the dog attacked a cat and was threatening humans. Police ran over the dog with the squad car, then shot it. Then the dog ran off and the police shot it several more times.

Bad car crash sends 2 people to hospital. The car they were in ran into a cement block wall around a guys house. 5 years ago, the guy had a chain link fence. A car crashed into it. So he got a brick wall and gets hit too. The wall has been struck by a car 5 times in 5 years.

Please keep these headlines coming. They are fun information.

Thanks for the imfo. I guess my invite to the Mayors BD party is still in the mail.

Thanks Ed, I'm glad I'm not talking to myself.

And you are invited to the Golden Nugget for Oscar's Party. Everyone is.

I'm amazed everytime I read about a celebrity in financial trouble. I just don't get it. Especially someone like Wayne Newton. He's been around for years, has performed probably thousands of shows. He's a legend - and is having financial trouble??!!??

<<The historic Boulder Hotel/museum closed on July 11 due to lack of funding. Reports of a generous quarter million dollar gift will allow it to reopen.>>>

I hope it wasn't from: Ex-NBA star Antoine Walker!

LOL

Stratosphere is offering weddings on 9-9-09 for $99. They did the same thing last year on 8-8-08.

New owners of the Tropicana don't really own it? They bought the property out of bankruptcy, but the owner has failed to release the brand name, Tropicana. OTOH, they are willing to sell the name rights to the new owners.

Posters all over town says, Join Harrah's rewards club and get $5 of free gaming. Often, an adjacent Hooters ad says $100.

Local crime down more than 25% from last year. Even car theft is down 19%.

Prive and another leased space club in Planet Hollywood have been operating under a temporary liquor license that will not be renewed after it expires this week.

35 days of 100+ degrees so far. This last week had monsoonal flow that lowered temps a little. 100s are back for now. The yearly average is 73 days of 100+ according to one source.

Unlucky Lady. The Lady Luck is being smacked with a wrecking ball. At least one unmaintained building out back. The Lady Luck closed in 2006 and the new owner promised major positive changes that were not followed up on. Recently, Mayor Oscar got onto the owners for having an eyesore and urged inspectors to look for code violations. There was a sweetheart deal where the city could give the owners city owned land around the Mob Museum if construction was started by December. Is the current demolition a way to clean up the eyesore or early phases of making the Lady Luck a boutique destination? BTW, no word on any improvements to the old casino area or the two main towers.

From the "It takes a license to drive a textmobile, but anyone can roll the dice in raising kids." department, an innocent 8 year old crossing the street was caught in the middle of a gang shoot out.
Also, a 4 year old shot and killed his 2 year old sister.
As a follow up to the 5 year old that shot himself in the head while dad sat next to him the car at the drugstore drive thru, the father has a few skeletons. He does have a string of previous arrests. When he was evicted from their previous home 5 months ago, they left a huge mess of the house and lawn. Neighbors say the father was difficult to get along with and had "concerns". And oh by the way, they left 4 pit bulls in the back yard when they moved. The man's career as a hip-hop DJ will be put on hold as he faces charges related to the death of his son.

From the "Celebrity Overdose" department, UGLY rumors of moving Neverland Ranch to Vegas. Someone please make this rumor go away.

"Prive and another leased space club in Planet Hollywood have been operating under a temporary liquor license that will not be renewed after it expires this week."

JMT, interesting to note that there is no sign of the Prive closing down as of Thursday midnight. In fact there are three posters in the casino at the base of the escalators leading up to the night-club advertising forthcoming "celebrity" parties and an after-party for the upcoming GI Joe premiere that will be appearing there.

Looks like someone is not taking this too seriously or they have some unannounced agreement with the powers that be in the works, or maybe some legal shenanigans underway..

I believe that the Games Commission/Liquor Commission is a tough cookie to argue with, but time will tell I guess.

All the high class night clubs are watching closely because they could be next in line to suffer possible consequences,

And I believe that Mr Wynn is in some form of discussion with the company who "owns' and manages XS and Tryst within the Wynn complex. Have you heard what that is all about?

Have you seen the XS operation? Very beautiful inside that joint and it opens up to the outdoor pool at the rear of the Encore. A spectacular setting.

Interesting to note that many nicely suited Wynn security guards are lined up every twenty feet or so up and down that hallway leading to the XS nightclub. I don't know why so many "guards" are needed there and all I see them doing is just keeping everyone moving along. You cannot congregate there unless you are standing politely in line waiting to enter the club.

I think we'll be seeing a lot of big management changes along the Strip these next few months.

Steve Wyrick has filed law suit against a pyrotechnic company in regards to a stunt that went terribly long out on the Las Vegas Strip on July 4. The explosions and flashes went off earlier than anticipated and one assistant was sent to the hospital for burns. Steve was not injured.

Donnie and Marie just signed a deal to keep playing at The Flamingo through Oct 2012.

Vinnie Favorito said he recently signed a 3 year deal with the Flamingo.

The Consumer Electronics Show is downsizing. In it's peak, exhibitors were complaining of too many lookers and the venues were spread out all over the city. This January, CES will be only at the Convention Center and the LV Hilton. In this day and age where a new product can get internet publicity, the "need" for a convention to showcase a new product has been reduced greatly. The "porn convention" which just happened to be at the same time and share the Sands Expo venue with CES will be alone at the Sands.

#8 child drowning this year. A 2 year old in Henderson drowned while parents were busy not being parents.

Only 1 police involved shooting reported by Metro. 'Tis the 11th of the year. An officer shot himself "in his lower extremities" at a practice range. No word on why the officer was practicing shooting himself in his lower extremities.

Only 1 report of loose tiger roaming the neighborhood this week. The owner was taking the white tiger for a walk and "something spooked it", so it ran. The tiger was captured later than night. 3 tigers, 2 panthers, and 1 lion live on the property. A warning on the front fence of the property says, "Beware of Dog".

The Hoover Dam bypass bridge reached a milestone. The Arizona and Nevada sides are connected to each other. This is the structure part which is an arch that will be below the roadway when completed. Concrete is poured and set all the way across except for about 6 or 7 feet in the center that will be gradually filled in. The forms are set and metal is in place connected the two sections. When completed late in 2010, getting through will be much faster than crossing the dam. There will also be a pedestrian walkway across the bridge that promises a breathtaking view of the dam and the river. The $240 million project is on budget.

As reported, Prive, the nightclub in Planet Hollywood lost it's temporary liquor license and was forced to close. The Florida owner used a loophole that would allow Prive and one other nightclub to stay open during appeals. The county denied that particular loophole. The doors remain closed, even as Planet Hollywood offered to operate it. There will be more discussions today, 04AUG09,

The Hard Rock opened it's new tower on Friday with over 500 rooms and lots of convention space. This is part of the expansion plans that included the new Joint. By the end of the year, the casino will undergo a major expansion and the pool area will double in size. Another new tower "appears" about ready.

Lots of jobs here for "industry" workers, believe it or not. It seems there are job fairs every week or two. Currently hiring in July include McCarran Airport, Allegiant Air, old Hard Rock with new hotel tower, new Hard Rock Cafe on the strip, Planet Hollywood Towers, Luxor, and various operations in City Center. Even Kohl's is ready to hire over 400 people.

Sapphire, the topless pool at the Rio shut down. Rio and Harrah's asked Metro to check their topless pool for integrity. Metro found lots of prostitution and drug sales. Rio tried requiring tops for a day or two and then shut the whole thing down.

Las Vegas has lost 38% of it's millionaires since the economic downturn. The source was FOX 5 news.

Nevada Supreme Court is hearing from lawyers representing OJ Simpson and CJ Stewart requesting bail while they await Supreme Court appeals. A decision could take hours or weeks.

The media is on a tear (again) to put pressure on the Las Vegas Zoo and force it to close or do MAJOR work.

LA City Council wants a Cirque show and may load $30 million modify the Kodak Theater to house a permanent show.

Mob Museum news today. I'll be downtown to investigate.

<<Only 1 report of loose tiger roaming the neighborhood this week. >>

This gave me a great laugh - thanks - I needed it!

For what it's worth, I really enjoy reading these headlines. Thanks!

Green limos at City Center? The 26 limousines serving the resorts at City Center will be powered by CNG. Compressed Natural Gas is supposed to produce about 90% less greenhouse gas than gasoline models.

The LA city council approved improvements to the Kodak Theater in preperation for a Cirque show. While the city council is willing to loan the money, the US government must approve the loan, because it is their money. We probably have a show they could borrow.

Bally's sports book has been remodeled and will reopen later this month.

The owners of Prive and Living Room at the Planet Hollywood have requested a delay in their appeal for a liquor license while they "reorganize". The next meeting will be on Aug 18. Prive and Living Room will remain closed.

IED explodes in north Las Vegas. An Improvised Explosive Device exploded on a construction vehicle late Tuesday night. No word of threats against the company or anyone in the area. Police are puzzled but investigating and the Feds are very interested too. It is the 3rd pipe bomb of the year.

Elvis arrives for City Center. The 75 members of the Elvis themed Cirque began arriving in Las Vegas on Saturday, greeted by other Cirque cast members from up and down the strip.

Does it seem like you hear a lot of ambulance sirens in Las Vegas? Here's a clue. A study of emergency responses to 911 calls found alleged "super users" One person was transported in an ambulance to the hospital 57 times in a six month period. Another made 22 trips in 30 days. There were 277 people singled out that that took 2100 trips in the last six months of 2008. The stats bring up amazing numbers such as over 50% are involved with drugs and/or alcohol, 39% were homeless, and more than 60% were underinsured. Most of the $1.8 million of ambulance charges went unpaid. Were the people really sick? 90% had stable vital signs and 95% were alert enough to identify themselves and describe their "issues". It just goes on and on, and includes the dangers of lights and sirens as well as deaths and injuries from accidents of the ambulance and the public who overreacts or under-reacts to emergency vehicles.

Ever been to the Ruth's Chris steakhouse on Flamingo, near the Palms hotel. It was a famous hangout since it was open 'till 3am. It served it's last meal on Sunday night and is now closed down. The owner will continue to pay rent a while longer in hopes of an economic recovery. He blames President Obama for reducing conventions and slowing his business.

The strong winds that brought us record cool weather over the weekend with 4 days below 100 degrees also brought 4 foot waves to Lake Mead. That capsized some boats and brought some drama to lake goers. Temps under 100 might happen again this coming weekend.

Harmon St closed down at the strip. It's that road between Planet Hollywood and the Harley Davidson Cafe. As part of the City Center mess, car traffic as well as pedestrians can pretend Harmon never existed. Hopefully all will be golden sometime in November. In the mean time, police are watching for jaywalkers who think that's a good place for pedestrians to cross the strip. Pedestrians should cross further up near the Bellagio or further down towards the Hawaiian Marketplace.

Binion's is on borrowed time because it sits on leased land. The current owner is holding back lease payments in hopes of renegotiating for a lower lease. The previous owner promised lease payments would be made as part of the sales deal to the current owners. Now the land owner is going to the previous owner for lease payments...since they guaranteed the lease.

You people aren't doing a good job of making the Neverland Ranch moving to Las Vegas rumor go away. I cringe at the term Neverland Station.

Holy Cow. The former Holy Cow site at the corner of Sahara and the Strip will become a combination casino/drug store. It was supposed to feature a 500 ft sign. The Las Vegas City Council approved the sign to be only 98 feet tall. It was supposed to have the worlds largest TV screen on the outside. Ah, the priorities of a good business model.

Hot rumors of rigged/bogus/fake ATMs at the Riv and Rio have been cooled down. Maybe it didn't really happen after all.

The energy crisis is being solved here in Las Vegas. Harry Reid, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore are here trying to solve the energy crisis at the National Clean Energy Summit 2.0.

Las Vegas has an entry into the new United Football League. Our UFL team is the Locomotives. Mag-Lev and Monorails were names that were suggested and rejected. Expect the nickname Locos to become popular. All we need now is a mascot.

While in town, Bill Clinton dined at Craftsteak. Wild rumors say he had a $240 Wagu NY Strip. The head chef is on record for saying he had a nice rib eye and french fries. The rumor probably had something to do with Steve Bing being there. I kinda knew who Bing was. Someone had to tie the ends together for me with Steve and Bill having similar moral values, and the irony of being in a Kerkorian property.

Las Vegas visitor numbers dropped for the sixth straight month this year. The numbers for the first half of the year are down 6.8% from the first half of last year. I'm sure that means a lot to businesses that operate on a tight margin. As I visit the tourist areas, when I see 100 people, if 6 or 7 of them are missing, I don't notice it. Gambling numbers for June are down 13%. Again, a stat only the bean counters notice.

Speeding through Pahrump. The speed limit in Pahrump is 25 mph on dirt roads and 45 on paved roads. It's the law. There are signs around town that say anywhere from 15-40. Those signs are not enforceable because those signs are illegal. You just can't post signs around town without an engineering study. And those studies were never done. The Sheriff has advised the DA to dismiss most cases. You can't drive like an idiot. But it is okay to safely drive up to 45 mph on paved roads.

The homeless tent city at Main and Owens was cleared out on Tuesday. (it's actually Foremaster Ln between Main and Las Vegas Blvd, but it would not be in the best interest of the city to say Las Vegas Blvd) It was rows and rows of small camping tents all compacted into an area near the outreach centers. It was a horrible site with drugs, dead animals, human waste, and even trash. It is my unqualified guess that it is an attempt to move the eyesore away from the newly planned corridor that will extend from the Neon Museum, down towards the Old Mormon Fort. There are huge plans to redevelop this area with bigger sidewalks, lots of neon, and make it an inviting cultural corridor. Homeless lifestyles aren't part of the plan.

Only 3 helicopters fell from the sky this week. Fortunately, only one pilot suffered a few cuts. On Wednesday, a police helicopter suffered an engine failure and made a safe landing near the intersection of Lindell and Twain. Mechanics came out and worked on it for about an hour and got it running ok again. Two days earlier, a Maverick Tours helicopter suffered a bird strike and the injured pilot landed on a bike trail near Lake Mead. And Thursday, the trifecta was reached as a Sundance Tours helicopter made an emergency landing near Lake Mead when the craft suffered a major electrical problem.

Interstate 11 to Phoenix? Officials in Las Vegas and Phoenix have chattered positively about an Interstate Highway that would connect the two cities. With the completion of the Hoover Dam bypass bridge, that proposal is a step closer to reality.

Terry Fator has a new DVD due out in the stores on Sept 1. He is actually selling it at his shows now. It will have Terry's old Michael Jackson skit that makes fun of Michael as it was recorded just hours before Michael's death. Much of the DVD is the same as in the show that will air on CMT on Aug 28.

The 20 year old rumor of the rock band KISS doing a Las Vegas production show are getting closer. This time it has a name, Kiss: Carnival of Souls. Details are sketchy, but it will have a Cirque TYPE aspect to it.

The new 1900 sq ft Pinks Hot Dogs is set to open near the southwest corner of Planet Hollywood this month. They will have a liquor license and will have indoor and outdoor seating facing the strip.

Vegas Rocks magazine celebrated it's 5th year in business. They tried to gather as many guitar players as possible to play Viva Las Vegas under the Welcome To Las Vegas sign, and get that in the Guiness Book of World Records.

Time for Las Vegas? Time Magazine is featuring Las Vegas on the cover it's latest edition that went to the news stands on Monday. You can pick up your copy now and/or catch the on line version. They are using a catch phrase Less Vegas. The tourist promoters see this as a positive because the same hotels, same restaurants, and same shows are here for less money and that seems inviting.

Louie Anderson is suing the company he works for. Louie is suing the restaurant Manchu Wok in the Excalibur, because a waiter dropped something, he slipped in it and fell. He is suing for $10,000 in damages. Louie performs his show, Larger Than Life, at the Excalibur...for now.

ESPN and World Series of Poker to be partners until 2017. ESPN currently shows about 32 hours of the event and is expected to at least match that number in coming years. The WSOP event began in July, narrowed down to the final table and will conclude in November.

Almost two weeks ago, a local man pulled his Toyota pick up truck into the Welcome To Las Vegas sign parking lot. His truck had special commemorative license plates that feature the sign. The man shot himself and died. It's a pretty open and shut case except for one thing. They can't find a next of kin. Authorities know his name, know the trailer park he lived in for over 10 years, know his job, etc. They are hoping to find his next of kin before they release his name. If no kin is found, his body will be cremated, and a snippet will be in the local paper. The coroner hopes that his life will be a bigger story than his last act.

A stealth earthquake shook northern Nevada on Sunday morning. The Nevada Seismological Laboratory reported a 4.2 quake near the Idaho line. The US Geological Survey and and a nearby Utah reporting station have no record of this quake.

Pinks Hot Dogs had a soft opening this week. The grand opening will come soon.

A coroners inquest ruled that the detective that shot a suspect last month was justified. If you've lived in this town long enough, you are jaded to assume any police shooting is justified. If you remember from my report, the report was changed from being shot point blank in the chest, to being shot in the back. The jury heard a story that the man scuffled with police, got one of their tasers, and threatened to shoot a detective with it. As the threatened detective pulled his pistol to shoot the man, the man "mysteriously" turned around just as the detective pulled the trigger. So that's what the official record will say to show the shooting was justified.

Do you watch Dancing With The Stars? Next season, which starts soon will include Las Vegas locals. Expect to see entertainer Donny Osmond and fighter Chuck Lidell in the line up.

The Prive club at Planet Hollywood has applied for a temporary 90 day liquor license and may reopen as early as this week. They claim new ownership and lots of other promises.

There have been 49 days of at least 100 degrees in this years seemingly cool summer.

Steve and Elaine's divorce is expected to be expensive. So much that they sold some stock. A lot of stock. Almost 10% of their Wynn stock. That's about 2 million shares.

Prive Nightclub and the Living Room lounge have been granted a 30 day temporary liquor license and will be able to open up as soon as inspections and verifications are completed.

The Bureau of Land Management, aka BLM, wants to raise the prices to go through Red Rock Canyon. They are accepting e-mails and letters asking guests what their opinions are. The current rates for a car is $5 and the new proposed rate would be $7. The year long option would go from $20 to $30.

Mandarin Hotel in Las Vegas already has a wrap that says We "fan symbol" Las Vegas.

Hard Rock Cafe on the strip, on schedule for a Sept 4 grand opening.

The Greek Isles foreclosure is complete. It was bought in July of 2007 with hopes to make it a boutique hotel in good financial times. But times changed and the new owners couldn't make it happen. The investors behind the previous owners have taken over and are quoted as saying, "we want to make it clear that ownership is committed to keeping the Greek Isles Hotel and Casino open for business."

Frank Caliendo just signed a 10 year deal to headline at the Monte Carlo.

Max Baer Jr's Hillbilly casino has approval in a construction project that has stalled. He is now looking at a location of closed casino in Sparks, a suburb of Reno. The Sliver Club closed down some time ago, and Max has been talking to the city fathers about the possibilities. Max has not contacted the current owner yet.

Dinner in the sky is an event where you strap in to your seat and a crane lifts you high in the sky to eat your meal with a breathtakng view. It is currently located near the Palms and is easily mobile to other locations. They were interested in moving onto the strip near the Fashion Show Mall. Steve Wynn, stepped in and used his political influence to deny the crane across from his property saying it is equal to a carnival ride.

David Copperfield still being sued for sexual assault...again. The woman says he forced himself on her multiple times. David says she is a liar. I think they are both right.

70 year old Frank Fertitta Jr died on Friday. He started his Las Vegas casino operation with the Bingo Palace, now known as Palace Station. He was one of the first in Las Vegas with the vision of full service locals casinos.

Top executives at MGM Mirage lied about the resort's finances in the past two years and dumped $91 million in stock sales that were "unusual and suspicious in timing and amount", a class action lawsuit claims.

The Clark County Inspector who "failed to properly devote the time and attention" necessary to ensure the safety of a "place of public accommodations," and lost his job 11 months ago after a botched inspection at The Rio, got his job back along with more than $97,000 in back pay. His inspection of a whistle-blowers allegations of faulty work show that he spent a total of 38 minutes at the property to do the inspection where he claims he inspected 37 rooms.

51 days of 100 or more degrees this year

No pit bull attacks, no loose tigers, no police shooting perps in the back, must be a slow week in Vegas news! LOL

There was a big stink in parking lot of the WalMart on Eastern, near Sunset.

A lady was found in the trunk of her car after being there about 2 weeks.

They do find bodies in trunks here, but it's usually in a strip club parking lot. And the body is usually someone who thinks the mob doesn't exist anymore.

Big stink.....you crack me up!
That would do it, two weeks in 100 degree summer. WOW
Probably killed the resale value on that car too!

traded in as a clunker and sent off to mexico

As summer ends the craziness of activities is slowing down. Politicians the same. The crazies are the same. The intensity is slowing.

Henderson teenager gives birth to baby in bathtub, then killed the baby. Wait, first she delivered the baby, cut the cord with sterilized scissors, then went to the store and bought baby supplies and brought them home. Then she suffocated the baby. She was afraid her parents would be mad. As if they weren't mad when she did the same thing in 2006 when she put her new born in a dumpster at The Mirage. At that time, she was set free because there was not enough evidence to show cause of death because they could not determine the cause or manner of death. The first one was believed to have been stillborn.

Boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr goes to skating rink on Boulder Highway (yes, that skating rink) and gets in argument with people and leaves with his handlers. Shots were fired in the parking lot from his car. Smoking gun found in Floyd's house. Fingers are pointing to a handler as the trigger man.

Two illegal immigrants were found guilty of the car bomb at the Luxor that killed a man in 2007. The guilty men come from Nicaragua and Guatemala where there is no death penalty. This bombing does qualify for the death penalty, though it is unlikely to happen.

Palms shows some class. While driving to work on Saturday morning, workers were completing the marquee announcement at the Palms, which they often do about this time. On Friday, the Palms lost their resident DJ at the nightclub who survived a plane crash about a year ago, DJ AM. On Saturday night, the Palms would host a celebration of the life of Michael Jackson on what would be Michael's birthday with stars from all over the city and country. The big letters on the sign read, Thank You Mr Fertitta.

I need to visit the Sahara again. It has gone from the classiest joint on the strip, to the lonely place on the end of the strip, to the redneck capital for NASCAR, and is on it way to becoming a biker bar. I might wait until after the biker convention.

California wildfires are having a strong impact here. The smoke is horrible. Sometimes you can't see the mountains just a few miles away. Poor air quality warnings are popping up daily. It blocks the views, it stinks, and it can't be healthy. On the plus side, the sunrise views are amazing. In addition to the smoke and smell, there are tons of ash all over everything.

The cultural corridor modifications are in progress. The Bow and Arrow Motel sign from the Neon Museum is up, the Horseshoe goes up today, and the Silver Slipper is not far behind. I've read few trip reports that cover the area these signs are going in to. It's on LV Blvd, north of downtown. The long term plans call for a total of 17 signs that will come on in to the downtown area and south to Sahara.

Heidi Fliess comes to Las Vegas. Las Vegas will be quick to point out that she came to Henderson. She has opened a dog grooming business at Sandhill and Sunset. Since her laundromat has the name Dirty Laundry, she chose Dirty Dog for the dog bath. But if for some reason you are looking for the place, it still has the previous owners name on it, Little Buddy Bath.

Stuff happened and I didn't get to read the news as much as usual. I did find a few interesting tidbits.

Only one major gunfire event. A house on the lesser side of town catches fire and creates a huge blaze. Fire department responds and get shot at while trying to fight the fire. They back off and call police. Police are met with gunfire. One officer injured. The bad guy was shot dead. Of course, the story will die too even though it shouldn't.

Prive nightclub was denied a 90 day permit, forcing them to continue on the existing 30 day permit.

The two men found guilty of the car bombing at the Luxor have been sentenced to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

Times are hard for Bette Midler. Her tickets are now showing up on my freebie list.

My favorite BBQ joint, CJ's Texas BBQ is now closed. Turns out the owner is on Florida's Most Wanted List. He was operating under an alias.

New Hard Rock Cafe opened on the Strip, near the big Coke Bottle opened on Sat. 42,000 sq ft of fun with lots of interactive screens on the walls, in the booths, and on various tables. 500 people were hired for this restaurant.

Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid is officially an idiot. Unfortunately, we've had to listen to him often as we watch local news. I understand his comment on wanting the Las Vegas newspaper LVRJ to go out of business is national news.

A book titled The Glory And The Pain which will describe the life and times of drug addict and entertainer Danny Gans is due out in October. Fans of Danny may enjoy knowing how he suffered and made people smile.

If you want proof that the Nevada Supreme Court is not stupid, OJ Simpson and CJ Stewart were denied bail while they appeal their convictions of kidnapping and armed robbery.

Heidi Fleiss stays in the news as her purchase of the dog grooming business Dirty Dog, was a dirty deal. It seems the previous owner was in the middle of a divorce, and Fleiss (and her crew of misfits) arranged a deal. The gal that sold the shop to Heidi was to get a job managing a new reality show as she was hiding the sale of the shop from her husband and the divorce court.

Undercover cops attended Rehab at the Hard Rock and busted 8 people on charges of prostitution and drugs. The reason that cops focused on Rehab is because of the number of ambulance transports from the event for drug overdose and intoxication.

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte will pay approx 35 million dollars to fly into space on a Russian space craft and spend time on the International Space Station. He hopes the flight will inspire his creativity.

9-9-09 was a big day for weddings, especially at 9:09pm. I had a VIP invitation to one wedding at 6pm that I attended. Mayor Oscar Goodman renewed his vows to his wife of 47 years. It was a really fun wedding on the FSE and they were married by an Elvis impersonator. The invitations said to throw rice and dice. We were also given bubbles, VIP lanyards, poker chips with wedding info, martini glasses, and other swag. Not many Nevada politicians in the media eye can claim a happy marriage.

4 casino workers at Planet Hollywood were arrested for claiming false jackpots and pocketing the money. It happened in the Planet Hollywood poker room. The only tie this week to put Harrah's in the bad news is that they are buying up debt from the Planet Hollywood and may eventually buy them out.

Out of 3 murder/suicide events this week, only one completed. 2 of the events ended in suicide chumps who survived shooting themselves after killing their female victim.

Boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr thinks bad news is better than no news at all. He bought a Mercedes valued at a half million dollars. Actually he financed over $400,000 of it. After a year of payments of $9000+ each, he stopped paying and the car was repossessed and sold. Floyd is being sued for the outstanding balance of $167,000. He is also scheduled to fight this weekend and stands to make millions from the event.

Not to be outdone, OJ Simpson is being sued by Bruce Fromong. Now that OJ is guilty of armed robbery, Bruce claims the 4 heart attacks he suffered since then were brought on by that robbery. Fromong is seeking unspecified damages.

Back in July, Metro police raided the topless Sapphire pool at the Rio hotel and made several arrests for drugs and prostitution. The pool was shut down shortly afterwards. The local DA has dropped charges on two of the women arrested in that raid. At least 6 other women will appear in court later this month.

Fire at the Hard Rock. A small electrical fire on a second story air conditioner forced the evacuation of the Hard Rock hotel and casino on Sunday. Some guests were awaken in their hotel rooms with alarms and messages to evacuate immediately. Most people report the evacuation went smooth. Damage was minimal and only 2 people suffered minor smoke inhalation.

On Friday night, two Metro bicycle officers stopped a car on the strip. The driver was upset and decided to run over one the cops, grazing one of them with his SUV. After the police fired several shots, the car drove off and was stopped later by a Metro patrol car. Two men in their twenties were taken into custody.

Wanna be in CSI Las Vegas? You can. The MGM has an "attraction" where a staged crime is set up and you can help solve it...provided you have $30 for the first session and $26 for each session thereafter. You look at the crime scene take notes and put it all together by going to different terminals to evaluate blood spatter, analyze fibers, and get a report from the coroner. There are 3 crimes set up in the CSI Experience, set up in the MGM Grand's Studio Walk.

Charo's show at the Riv has been cancelled until she recovers from an ankle injury she suffered backstage during the MDA Telethon.

There is a big stink at the Plaza. Part of it comes from the new buffet. The other part is when Sandy Hacket, who plays Joey Bishop was fired. Sandy countered with a cease and desist letter to stop the show because he owns much of the script and is one of the co-producers.

Also on the entertainment front, Earl Turner is out of the Voices show at the Shimmer Cabaret in the Hilton. Lani Misalucha is on her own. Personally, I think Clint Holmes could just step right in and take over, but his goals are much higher than that.

Tix4Tonight has opened a 7th location in Casino Royale.

Mexican Independence Day comes as the Southpoint features Bloodless Bull Fighting. Animal rights advocates claim the bulls are stabbed and beaten.

11th Clark County victim of Swine Flu died this week. It was an otherwise healthy woman.

The gunman who opened fire in the NewYorkNewYork casino was found guilty on 51 counts, including attempted murder and battery. His public defender says the Steven Segrean is remorseful and wants closure. He was to be sentenced on Wednesday, but the defense wants time to try and get the lesser charges, including the battery charges dropped.

Heidi Fleiss got lucky and was spared prison time when she was sentenced to 3 years probation on drug charges from when she was arrested in Pahrump. In another effort to go to prison, a judge has ordered that her Dirty Dog shop be closed pending an investigation on the illegal sale of the shop to Heidi.

Children's Health Magazine rated 100 best places to raise a family. Las Vegas came in at 92.

The Melting Pot, a popular fondue restaurant that closed in the hard economic times has reopened. It is located on West Charleston.

I saw a new Hooters sign on Rainbow, south of I-215. I can only assume that it will be a typical Hooters restaurant.

With City Center nearing completion, hundreds of people are officially hired, and over ten thousand positions are up for applications and interviews. 3 of the 4 hotel complexes will open this year.

Elizabeth Halverson was a judge in Las Vegas in 2007, whose short career included, sexually harasing her staff, talking to jurors illegally, falling asleep on the bench, and humiliating her staff in a number of ways. Recognized on local TV as a moo-moo wrapped around an electric scooter with oxygen up her nose, she gained little to no public sympathy when her husband nearly beat her to death with a frying pan a year ago. The husband got 3 years, the frying pan is undergoing therapy. Anyway, Elizabeth failed to show up at least 3 times for a lawsuit filed by a former assistant charging her with defamation and other charges. She will now face monetary damages. Elizabeths countersuit was dismissed.

If you were in town and noticed a big crowd at the Venetian, It's the new Phantom convention for fans of Phantom of The Opera.


Train Wars continue. The MagLev train to Disneyland from Las Vegas got a $45 million boost from the Obama administration. This is bad news for Senator Harry Reid, who is pushing for a locomotive to Victorville Ca. Actually Harry's objective is to get a train near his hometown of Searchlight, where his family owns 2 mobile home trailers.

The expansion of the Trop is in full swing and will include 2 new restaurants. The JavaJava coffee bar is to be renamed, and a new Italian joint is now open. And for some unknown reason, the Trop is still trying to hire Wayne Newton as a headliner.

Cockfighting ring busted in Las Vegas. Over 200 roosters were taken into protective custody. The ring was busted due to the gambling, drugs, and alcohol associated with event. Apparently these busts go down every 3 or 4 months.

Hog Wild. Wanna be cool on a Harley? Meet up at Hogs and Hefers downtown on Thursday nights and ride along with your peers to the Hard Rock or Wednesday nights to Feelgoods.

The Silver Slipper sign is installed and shining bright on Las Vegas Blvd where it will be seen by more homeless than tourists. At least until the city completes modifications to the Cultural Corridor and does something with the homeless that thrive in that area north of downtown.

Speaking of doing something with the homeless, one homeless advocate pitched an idea to the city to build the first homeless community on over 600 acres, about 29 miles north of Las Vegas. Huge "pavilion style homes" would be built to house the homeless and train them to become productive members of society. Many of the homeless in town are in favor of moving out of town. I think it's a great idea. Catch me in person for details.<g>

The weather has cooled off a little and the REALLY crazy people are starting to take their meds. Expect the extremely wild stories to drop off a little.

Bike Fest kicks off on Oct 1 at The Sahara. Everything you are expecting will be there...and more. Is it a coincidence that "The Biggest Tattoo Show On Earth" will happen that same week?

Worlds largest helium balloon to fly over the strip. A 75 foot balloon was inflated on Wednesday night for a test run on a new attraction. The ballon is expected to carry 30 passengers and cost about $22. The two ton ballon called Cloud 9 will carry you about 500 feet in the air for about 10 minutes. The attraction will open to the public on Oct 3 and be located directly across from Mandalay Bay. I saw it go up to where the passengers would be about as high as the top of the Luxor pyramid, and the ballon itself was higher than the Mandalay Bay.

Wayne Newton did it. The Tropicana signed him to headline the showroom in a show called "Once Before I Go". The Trop acknowledges that Wayne isn't much of a singer these days and never was. He is an entertainer, and that's what the show is about. The show opens on October 14.

CineVegas, the local film festival started in the year 2000. After 9 years, it has become relatively popular. Due to the poor economy, they have decided to cancel the event for the year 2010.

The new Elvis themed Cirque show will not be cluttered with Elvis impersonators, except for one that gets squashed by a blue suede show.

Celine Dion is working on a plan to return to Caesars Palace on New Years Eve, 2010.

The Platters, Coasters, and Marvelettes will move from the Sahara to the Steve Wyrick Theater on Oct 12.

Rumor has it that a romantic comedy movie based on the music of Barry Manilow is in the works. Sources suggest Mandalay Bay is involved. Note, when I saw Barry's show a couple of weeks ago, there was a suspicious lack of Manilow posters, cards, and any other promo within the Hilton.

If you ever hear the name Vocal Soup playing locally, that is Susan Anton, Clint Holmes, and Domenick Allen. If you are a Nascar fan, maybe you saw them sing the National Anthem here at the Truck race on Saturday night.

Clint Holmes' wife, Kelly Clinton will present Shades Of Sinatra at the Suncoast on Oct 2-4

Pole Position Raceway, and indoor go-cart racing venue has a location next to the Palms and will soon open another track in Summerlin.

September was the hottest September on record. I woke up on Oct 1 with temps in the 50s. Buh Bye warmth.

Bobby Slayton, Rich Natole, and a Beatles tribute band have left the Tropicana.

Echelon Place got the official word that it would NOT resume construction anytime in the foreseeable future.

Fontainbleau appears to be heading to liquidation.

Metro cops shoot and kill another teenager. The teen was a high school honor student. BTW, the teenager had a choke hold on his mother and was holding a huge knife to her throat. Now mom says she wasn't in danger and cops acted too quick. Next day, same part of town, kid kills dad and mom with knife and escapes before cops arrive.

Nevada Highway Patrol is on a campaign to ticket car drivers that drive aggressive near big rig trucks.

New laws went into effect on Oct 1. Domestic partners have state legal rights. DMV fines $1000 if you move here and don't register your car in 30 days. Renters allowed 60 days notice if their property faces foreclosure. State insect, Vivid Dancer Damselfly becomes official. You can't chain your dog up for more than 14 hours per day.

City Center drops prices of condos about 30% to get people to the closing booth. I think I heard it affects all of the condos.

It really is a pleasant time for local news as the temps drop and the tempers cool down. The biggest local story is some cat mutilations which have going on for about a year have escalated.

Boy we are dumb. Las Vegas would be the dumbest city in the country if it wasn't for Fresno California, according to a recent study by The Daily Beast, which sounds like a really intellectual media. I would like to think I had something to do with this rating. Really, I would like to think that I drove the numbers down. Somehow I doubt that is the case.

Prive night club has been granted a temporary 90 day liquor license.

UFL, the newest football league has begun. The Las Vegas Locomotives defeated the California Redwoods 30-17.

It looks like Garth Brooks will come out of retirement and replace Danny Gans. Steve Wynn has been wining and dining Garth and family for the last several months, so this is not huge news. Expect the contract to be signed on Thursday.

Peepshow has taken out their live band and now use canned music.

As many have suspected, Barry Manilow will end his 5 year run at the Hilton soon. Signs, posters, and ads for his show have been disappearing for a while. There is still the wrap across the tower. Barry will end this run on Dec 30 and rumors say he is looking for another Vegas venue. The Paris hotel is the most obvious choice for his new digs. Barry lives in the Palm Springs area and flies in a private jet to and from Las Vegas for his shows. He almost never visits his HUGE top floor suite on the Hilton tower.

Nevada Public Radio, KNPR, features food talk once a month in a segment, Eat It or Beat It. This features two local food critics that visit the same restaurant and review it. Listeners are invited to weigh in via phone calls or e-mail to add to the discussion.


Wayne Newtons show, Once Before I Go, starts tomorrow. Wayne says he will change the show up for the holidays with his own Christmas Spectacular. When asked about his voice, Wayne said in part..“Frankly, I was going through real vocal problems. I was hoarse all the time. I went to UCLA and did tests. And, on a scale of 1-10 my vocal chords were burned to 9. So, it took me about two years to get back to where I could sing and didn’t sound hoarse. It was an uphill battle, but it has been won now!

It's been a slow news week. There is some entertainment, most of which I'll save for later. Here's the main news.

Gath did sign with Wynn on Thursday. After Garth told Steve Wynn on more than one occasion that Steve couldn't afford him, Steve proved him wrong. The deal includes a private jet to fly Garth to do shows on Fri, Sat, and Sun, and still have him home in time to take his kids to school on Monday morning. Garth will play 15 weeks a year (that Garth chooses based on family schedules) for 5 years. The ticket structure is aimed to deter scalping. Garth has an "I quit" clause if he stops having fun doing the show.

Mayor Oscar Goodman wants a new zoo downtown. He is working with the family from the late Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter. The family owns/runs a big zoo in Australia and wants to model the new Las Vegas zoo after it. It will not have the typical zoo animals. It will have crocodiles, platypuses, koala bears, wombats, etc. The new zoo will be shaped like a crocodile and feature crocodile wrestling. No word if the zoo will have sting rays.

Next door to the new zoo, the mayor wants a new childrens hospital. He thinks the zoo will take some of the edge off of the children suffering.

Steven Zegrean, the man who opened fire inside the New York New York resort in July 2007 received a sentence of 26-90 years in prison. The 53 year old man has already served 2 years.

A 19 year old boy won the Monopoly World Championship in Las Vegas. He beat a 25 year old Russian in the final round which lasted 45 minutes. The Russian landed on Pacific then North Carolina to drive him to bankruptcy. The winner won $20,580, which is the total amount of money in a Monopoly game. The losers got what every Monopoly dreams of....Free Parking.

The 12th murder/sucide of the year in Las Vegas occurred this week when neighbors in the gated community reported a natural gas smell. That when authorities discovered the house had had the stove gas turned on for over 24 hours and found the bodies. The 75 year old woman had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her 80 year old husband and 46 year old son were also found dead in the house.

The shopping mall in City Center has been certified as energy efficient. It is the 4th building in the project to get LEED certification

For the first time in 15 years, Dr Lonnie Hammargren will not open his house to the public on Nevada Day this year. The main reason is that his wife, Sandy, just had knee surgery and is not getting around very well. Lonnie also has several obligations around the country around this time and doesn't have the time to properly prepare. And there's the case of complaints from neighbors regarding code violations that Lonnie is addressing. Nevada Day is October 30.

The WynnDot web sites and phones were indeed busy with traffic for concert tickets Saturday morning. The phone lines took about 141,934 calls before the system reached maximum capacity and callers received a busy signal. The web site received more than 5.4 million page views with up to 40,000 people waiting in an online queue at any given time. They tried very hard to make the system work and plan on making it even better next time.

Clint Holmes has a new CD titled Clint Holmes Re-Imagined. that includes singing with his wife Kelly Clinton, his 6 year old granddaughter, and other close friends and family. Clint's son, Brent designed the cover for the album. He still has his eyes on Broadway.

Rumors suggest Society of Seven will pop up at the Gold Coast for an extended run starting on Nov 6, only playing weekends.

Erich Bergen has left Jersey Boys, where he played Bob Gaudio, and played it quite well.

JNT, will Eric Bergen perform as a solo in LV? I think he did so very successfully at the South Point recently.

I knew the original Society of Seven (the present group's uncles, I believe) many years ago when they appeared at the Outrigger Hotel on Waikiki Beach.

They are one singing act I really do enjoy. I forget the lady's name that appeared with them on the Strip recently but she was one of the best singers I've ever heard.

Was it "Lani"?

Anyone recall her name?

I highly recommend the Society of Seven.

It is very unclear in the entertainment circles what Erich is planning to do. He has an excellent fan base here, so one would assume he will stay.

I guess it's official now, so I can say the Society of Seven will be joined by season three American Idol finalist Jasmine Trias. SOS is scheduled to appear Friday-Sunday with shows at 3:30 and 7 p.m. Tickets start at $29.95 plus tax. I don't know how many originals are still in the show. Judging by their style, I don't think a few personnel changes will affect show quality.

The SOS gal you are thinking of is Lani Misalucha. She has her own show at the LV Hilton in the Shimmer Cabaret theater. Her show is called Voices. It started as a show with Earl Turner. Earl is gone now and Lani is doing the show by herself. I've had plenty of freebies to check it out, but haven't gotten around to it. It is my understanding that she carries the show very well by herself. You should check it out 'cause the girl has talent.

Boyd Gaming says it doesn't expect Echeolon Place to resume construction for at least 3-5 years.

Red Rock Canyon has a brand new visitors center.

USAirways is cutting back their Las Vegas schedule again, down from 64 to about 30. They will eliminate the crew base and maintenance in Las Vegas.

Wayne Newton opened at the Tropicana in a run that will take him through April. At that point he will evaluate if entertainment interferes with raising his 7 year old daughter. I strongly suspect Tropicana will evaluate if ticket sales interfere with their quest to turn a profit.

City Center unveiled their new uniform shop which has started making some 200,000 uniforms pieces for it's 12,000 employees. One feature of the uniforms will me a RF (radio frequency) chip to identify a given uniform to a certain employee. They did not elaborate on just how much the RF tag will be used to track the employee.

The Las Vegas Zoo came under fire this summer for poor conditions. They have secured $15,000 in support to improve conditions.

Mayor Oscar Goodman opened the possibility for a new sports arena. He will meet with designers next week. Underlying factors include his push for a new City Hall, because the current City Hall is in the area that he wants to put the arena in. There's also the issue that we would need a professional team to play in the arena. The NHL seems to be the easiest option.

Speaking of Mayor, local attention whore Holly Maddison thinks she might run for mayor. She is working on a reality show to gain a little more publicity.

Turning to the economy, sales tax figures are down 24% in August, Las Vegas is still #1 in foreclosures. and the average credit score for a Nevada resident is 655. the second lowest in the country.

Josette's Bistro, an authentic French birsto on Flamingo will be closing it's doors as she prepares to open a new Las Vegas history themed restaurant downton with her boyfriend and TV entertainer Tony Sacca.

Bette Midler will finish her contract on Jan 31, 2010 and will leave Las Vegas

George Wallace has signed for 3 more years at the Flamingo.

Viva Elvis will be opening soon and the Cirque website has videos of the director telling what the show is about. Ticket sales have not started yet.

DejaVu strip club has a new form of live advertising on the strip. They take a delivery truck, put big windows on the two sides and back of the box, cranked up the tunes, added some lights and a stripper pole, and topped it off with some pretty girls. The girls wear bikinis so it's technically a PG act. They only travel between 10pm and 2am. So far, it's a big hit.

Bette Midler will close at Caesars in January after her two year commitment is over.

Steve Dacri, one of the finest close up magicians in town will open his new show at the Shimmer Cabaret in the Hilton in January. The official announcement should come soon. If you like magic, this will be a must see show. I've met Steve several times. He was a regular at Jeff McBrides magician gatherings.

Joe Cada, a 21 year old from Michigan won the World Series of Poker and over $8.5 million on Monday night.

Just one bomb explosion so far this week. Two men built themselves a homemade bomb and took it out to a new housing development to see how powerful Darwins theory really is. Darwin's theory rang loud and clear over the neighborhood as the bomb exploded unexpectedly. The 44 year old bomb maker is dead and the injured 17 year old faces many felony charges including possession of an explosive device and murder.

Another glow in the sky was set off by Mayor Oscar Goodman as he flipped the switch that lit the Silver Slipper sign and Bow and Arrow Motel sign. Las Vegas Blvd between Sahara and Washington was recently designated a National Scenic Byway which is another step in securing funds for LV Blvd and the cultural corridor.

Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Show debuted in The Congo Room on Thursday, November 19. You might remember Sandy's work on Rat Pack shows which debuted here in the Congo Room over 10 years ago. It was previously at The Plaza, The Greek Isles as well as road shows. If you've seen one of the shows in the past, note this one is completely different.

The Gift Of Lights is now open in Sunset Park. There is a special radio station to tune your radio to as you drive through some 400 displays and tunnels lights while you listen to Christmas music. The lights will continue through Jan 3.
Sunday through Thursday:
5:00pm - 9:00pm
$13 per car

Friday, Saturday & Holidays
5:00pm - 10:00pm
$15 per car

The Ethyl Ms Cactus Garden is lit up for Christmas also. Admission is free to this 3 acre display.

The owners of the troubled Prive nightclub in Planet Hollywood have filed for Ch 11 bankruptcy. They list about $50,000 in assets and about $10 million in debt.

The train to nowhere plans are moving head to head instead of forward. The steel wheels on steel rails plan is privately funded and hopes to have a train from Las Vegas to Victorville in about 5 years. The mag-lev train plans call for a mag-lev from Las Vegas to Primm NV, another from Anaheim to the outskirts of LA. "Profits" from those routes will be used to fill in the gap to tie Las Vegas to Disneyland.

America's Party 2010, the new year celebration on the strip will be worth seeing this year. Fireworks will be fired from the ROOFTOPS of the MGM, Planet Hollywood, Aria, Caesars Palace, Venetian, Treasure Island, and Stratosphere. If you remember, last years fireworks were fired from several parking garages and it was a flop.

City Center has been granted full approval for gaming.

Human Nature will be dark for most of December as they want to spend a Christmas summer with their families. They will return and the theater will be renamed after them.

Lady nags bus driver about directions. Bus driver loses his temper and his job as name calling leads to physical violence.

Stripper-mobile advertising truck from the DejaVu strip club has been parked on advice from their own lawyers.

Gaming expo for the latest slot machines is showing off their new products. In the future you can expect more celebrity based games, more pop culture games, and more sexual implications. If you see it on prime time TV, you can see it on a penny slot.

Harrah's just loves negative publicity in the area of safety of it's guests. This past Saturday, 12 guests were taken to the hospital after an "escalator malfunction" at Caesars Palace.

The Candlelight Wedding Chapel has now opened as a museum in the Clark County Heritage St display way out on Boulder Hwy. Operating under several names, it was finally moved as a result of the Fountainbleu project. It was the first chapel with an 800 number and the first with limo service. They did so many weddings that they installed a side door to keep the flow of people moving.

There's a new cool sign that rolled into town that many of you may not notice. It will be on Casino Center Blvd in the arts district. It's part of a HUGE project that includes the new transportation depot being built on Casino Center and Bonneville. The project includes lot's of old and new signs along the way, such as the old Landmark sign that was recently put up at a bus stop where the old Landmark was. The 18 block area of the arts district is known as 18b. That's why the new cool sign says "18b Arts District".

In case you've been avoiding the news, the country of Dubai is in debt...really bad. Dubai is famous for the Impossible Islands just off their shore shaped like palm trees and the world. Dubai also has unnamed partners (possibly tied to terrorists) that are major investors in Project City Center, which begins opening in December.

We Won, We Won, We Won...in a hard fought overtime game. The Las Vegas Locomotives won the UFL championship, defeating Florida. Hurray for the home team??? The players and coaches don't actually live here. They don't actually practice here. They don't really pay taxes here. Most people on this board know more about Las Vegas than anyone on the team. It's more of a traveling circus than anything else. Don't expect to see the inaugural trophy in Las Vegas. I'm betting it will find a home in New York City.

Carl Ichan is currently the high bidder to bring the stalled Fountainbleu project out of bankruptcy. His offer is about 150 million dollars, which sounds like a bargain considering this is a multi billion dollar project. But it is 3 times more than the previous offer.

If you were on the strip Friday night and noticed it was shut down at Flamingo in front of Caesars Palace, a pedestrian had issues with the occupants of a car. It ended with the pedestrian being shot.

In addition to the Landmark and 18b sign, the very old and animated 5th St. Liquor Store sign has popped up on the new RTC bus route leading out of downtown.

Darn, we missed the gun play!!!
That would have really made our Honeymoon special! LOL

Does the Locomotives play any games in Vegas?

I'm still rooting for Penn-national gaming. You understand, it's the home team!

The signs are VERY COOL.

The Locos played 3 regular games at Sam Boyd Stadium on Boulder Highway. They also played the championship game there.

3 games? how many games in a season, and the only way that is gonna sound right is if you tell me there was only 6 games played in a season. Which of course seems real SHORT!

Yep.

I read in the Las vegas weekly that the stripper pole truck has been parked due to recomendations from Deja Vous lawyer. However the story (the truck) did make CNN's News of the Absurd Episode 115. It's the last story on #115

The stripper truck was just excellent marketing in bad economic times. While it served it's purpose of 15 minutes of fame, it wasn't well planned to last long. The biggest problem is that those girls make a living on tips. The truck did not have little openings for tourists to run up and drop a bill or two into their retirement fund. So they ride around in the truck for two hours doing more physical work than normal with no tips.

The local public would like to think their outrage shut it down though. Public outrage did shut down another great marketing ploy, which was a burger joint that had a logo/mascot of a woman with lines drawn on her like the cuts of beef on a cow. The place was featured on TV a couple of months ago and made my to do list, but about the same time as the stripper truck deal, The Grind Restaurant and Bar put up a huge inflatable of that logo. Public outrage took Juicy Lucy down. You can see pics on facebook under the name "Juicy Lucy at Grind Burger Bar & Lounge" which also has a link to the Grind, which is located in that new development on Trop, across from the airport.

Hard Rock Hotel's new tower to open Dec 28

Barry Manilow to move to Paris with his first new show on March 5, 2010

Hash House A Go Go will open it's second Las Vegas location in the Imperial Palace on Dec 10. Concept, portions, and pricing will be the same as the Sahara/Rainbow location.

Worlds Largest Christmas Tree arrived at the M Resort. The grand lighting of the tree is scheduled for Saturday.

Starting on December 14th, Pampas Brazilian Grille will offer an All-You-Can-Eat Steak and Eggs Buffet for $12.95 from 7 am to 11 am daily. This buffet will feature Brazilian grilled top sirloin steak, ham, pineapple, breakfast sausage, and Kielbasa ... all carved at your table. Along with these fresh cooked to order items there will be a buffet featuring fresh scrambled eggs, scones with cinnamon sugar, empanadas filled with meats or fresh fruit, bacon, breakfast potatoes, homemade lox and bagels, fresh fruits and breakfast pastries. PAMPAS is located in the Miracle Mile Shops at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Soprano's Last Supper at the Tropicana will be doing a Christmas Show on December 1-23.

The Las Vegas City Council voted to approve construction of a new City Hall. Construction could start as soon as January. The area of the old City Hall could be part of the sports arena and hotel project. The new City Hall would be in the rapidly developing area across the tracks.

General Growth Properties filed reorganized plans. They own properties all over the country, but locally they own Fashion Show Mall, Meadows Mall, and the Shops at Palazzo.

November had the PBR(Professional Bull Riders) championship, the WSOP(World Series Of Poker), Metro PD K-9 Trials, and of course, the Firefighters. These are the best of the best at what they do. December continues with the best as the best of NASCAR came to town at the Speedway, on the Strip, burnouts in front of TI, public appearances, and awards ceremony. And the NFR(National Finals Rodeo) began it's 2 week event which is open to the public but sold out years in advance.

Just a quick question, someone might have an answer to here. It seems the Hilton does a very good job at attracting talent for the showrooms. However, they don't seem to keep it for any time, Menopause, Barry Manilow, Scinta's, to just name a few that come to mind. Do they not try to keep them, or are they outbid when the contracts are up? Or maybe just keeping it fresh?

One runner in the Las Vegas Rock n Roll marathon died two days after collapsing near the 1/2 marathon finish line. He was taken to the hospital immediately. Cause of death has not been determined.

Correction to last weeks update. The nation's largest Christmas tree will be lit tonight, Dec 12. It came from Oregon on the largest flatbed trailer. You can see this tree at the M Resort. The tree is 109 ft tall and weighs in at 22,000 pounds.

Multiple government agencies have canceled a plan to simulate a terrorist attack on the strip. The drill was supposed to prepare first responders. Common sense came into play at the last minute and someone decided the tourists don't really want to see that kind of action on their vacation.

The Wild Wild West on Tropicana will soon be more like hometown America as the cheap cheap coffee shop is now a Dennys and the hotel will be upgraded as it becomes a Days Inn.

After 8 years of being silly in love, Chris Phillips and Marley Taylor are breaking up. You may know them as Zowie Bowie. They are no longer engaged to be married, after she was caught cheating on him. They say that they will remain friends and may continue to work together for 10 more months when their contract at the Monte Carlo is due to expire.

The new Las Vegas Fire Department station at City Center has opened. It will split duties with the station on the south strip near Russell Road and the station on Flamingo near Paradise.

Steve Wyrick has closed his theater in the Miracle Mile shopping Center at Planet Hollywood. This project has been financially weak for a very long time.

Ice has closed at the Riviera. Jay White as Neil Diamond closed a while back. Charo has not been back since her ankle injury during the Jerry Lewis telethon.

First Tiger, and now zowie Bowie! Ain't Love Grand! Thanks for the chuckle JMT!

Cool and sunny Monday morning in December at the Palace Station. Parking garage in the back of the casino has a car fire. Attention focuses on car fire just as an armored car is taking cash from casino. Bandit with semi automatic shotgun robs armed guard with money bags and takes about $36,000 in cash. Cops are investigating to see if shots were fired.

City Center is officially open. You won't find many reports that mention that is only about half of the land. There are still many projects that are still construction zones.

As Oscar Goodman winds down his term as Mayor there is no commitment on his future, possibly as governor. Rumors are also flying around that his wife, Carolyn might run for Oscar's old job as Mayor of Las Vegas. Carolyn is generally considered a classy woman and very good to the community. Oscar and Carolyn both changed their party affiliation from Democrat to Independent.

Bad news for the Sahara, which closed two towers but will use them if demand arises.

Nevada brothels have been cleared use male prostitutes. The law was limited to females because the rules for testing for STDs would not work for men. New technology on STD tests clear the way for men to be tested also. No sign of Heidi Fliess.

Boyd makes offer to buy Stations Casinos. No details yet.

Garth Brooks is suing a hospital in his home town. It seems Garth donated a generous amount of money for a specific wing on the hospital to be named after his grandmother. The hospital took the money and did not follow Garth's wishes.

Sandy Murphy, who was suspected, charged, convicted, and acquitted in the death of Ted Binion is suing the State of Nevada. She is claiming false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution. She remains guilty of the theft of Ted's silver.

The Hoover Dam bypass bridge is 85 percent completed. Expect it to open in October or November.

For the second time in two months, Hells Angels Motorcylce Club buildings were raided. No word on exactly what authroities were looking for. Two homes, two business, and a clubhouse were raided as part of an ongoing investigation.

Half naked man wearing a barrel defaced the Welcome To Las Vegas Sign by throwing light bulbs filled with paint at the sign. Ironically, it was caught on tape by a TV crew doing a story on graffiti. Surely KVVU will have the video on their website, www.fox5vegas.com.

Ribbon cutting was held on Friday for the opening of the new Planet Hollywood Westgate, time share tower. Somehow that got lost in all of the City Center news.

The first public preview showing of Viva Elvis was held on Friday night. I was there. More on my opinion later. For now, just think about how hard it would be to pull off this show. Especially in Las Vegas. There's a lot of hard core Elvis fans throughout all phases of his life that would be very critical if there were errors or inaccuracies. While the show could use some tweaks and some parts were not that great, I think the show did very well.

Thanks, JMT!

"Local Headlines" is always the main post that demands my attention.

Thanks will, I'm glad some people read this. Many of these stories would demand their own topic in better times.


On Monday night, an off duty Metro police employee was cleaning his gun when it accidently discharged and he shot a child. The kid was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Sandy Hacket and his wife are putting together a road show team for their Rat Pack show. Expect an east coast project in February starting in Buffalo.

Boyd Gaming is cutting entertainment costs. They are cutting out Friday from their showroom nights so the headliners will be Sat and Sun nights only. This will start in January.

Joey Scinta is thinking about retirement unless they can get a permanent gig in Las Vegas. He's tired of being on the road.

Jerry Springer started his America's Got Talent Show in Las Vegas.

Celine Dion is in talks for another run at Caesars Palace.

Beyonce signed a 10 weekend deal with Wynn. This is supposed to hush-hush while they work out a long term deal like Garth has.

Governor Jim Gibbons and Dawn Gibbons settled their divorce terms out of court without dragging their dirty laundry through the media. They sell their property in Elko, NV and their house in Reno and split the profits which should be over a half million each.
Dawn gets 25% of Jim's gross income for 5 years which is 4000 mo . She gets the 1915 Model T.
Jim gets to keep the 1914 Model T.
These term are pending a judge's approval.

Here's kind of a personal note rather than headline news. I was sweeping up trash blown in from the latest wind storm. There was a single page flyer in the trash pile advertising air duct cleaning, maid service, yard services, and a restaurant. The restaurant is an Italian place called DeStefano's that is known for jazz and old school Vegas music in their lounge. The ad had a 2fer1 coupon for dinner and a free admission to their lounge on Fri and Sat to see "The legendary star of Boylesque, Kenny Kerr". I haven't heard much out of him in the last 5 years. I think the flyer might have been a week or two old, not advertising a New Years event.

Just so that you don't think Sahara and Binions are the only hotels in trouble with occupancy space, megaresorts from the Mirage to City Center properties have many, many floors completely blocked off. Let's not forget about that new Caesars Palace tower that never opened. Binions and Sahara just get the bad rap.

New Nevada laws for 2010. No selling novelty cigarette lighters because they look like toys that will attract children. Construction workers and their supervisors now have to take OSHA training. And there are measures that allow judges to keep the mentally ill from legally owning guns. Proof of residency required to receive a state drivers license.

Ed Von Tobel passed away on Wednesday at the age of 96. Ed was one of the first original Las Vegas natives. Maybe you've seen him on one of those Las Vegas history shows on TV. A lot of Las Vegas history will now be left to historians and books without Ed.

The top news stories in Las Vegas in 2009 according to a public poll at KVVU.
1. Unemployment Crisis
2. The scandal from Senator John Ensign cheating on his wife.
3. Deaths of Metro officers
4. Dr Murray's Las Vegas connection in Michael Jacksons death
5. Death of Danny Gans

Total rainfall in Las Vegas for 2009 was 1.59 inches. Our average is 4.49 so yeah, the drought continues.

Nevada Highway Patrol set up New Years Eve checkpoints around Las Vegas and made 82 DUI arrests, 57 felonies arrests, and 2 other arrests. Metro has not released their numbers.

The first convention of the year has started. The World Series of Beer Pong. It's being held at the Flamingo. Participants are required to have a room at the Flamingo. I heard that Jay Leno has a team entered and his show will be there.

57 felonies! What the heck is going on????

Beer Pong? I have a hard time thinking this one through, however it must be an "only in Vegas thing!"

LOL, I actually watched Beer Pong at Harrah's Reno in December - might have enjoyed it more if I'd been drinking<g>, but the contestants were pretty sober and about half were taking it seriously since the finals will be held in Las Vegas. I thought it was kind of funny that the MC was the same guy that ran the poker tournament in the morning - guess he wears a couple of hats.

JMT, Good morning!

Can you 'research' on some LV newspaper articles that mention the success or the failure of New Year's weekend?

I was house sitting in LA over the holidays so I have no idea if LV was filled to capacity or not.

And how much of that "success" (if any) was attributed to the new City Center (if any)?

And did these new "abodes" do over this past holiday ..... such as Vdara, Aria, and the Mandarin?

I've very curious to see if CityCenter is drawing them in like those old 'new Strip attractions' used to.

Thanks, JMT!

BEER PONG!!!?

What the heck is BEER PONG???

Do they play "Martini Pong" yet?

If so, let me know where I can sign up!

Come to think of it..... I think I did see Beer Pong while passing through one of the downtown hotels ... but at the time I simply thought that they were in the process of cleaning those ping-pong balls.

Strange how things develop in one's mind while merely passing through and not fully observing!

.... Such as.... A $2.50 special for a beer and a Taquila shot at the Western Hotel and Casino! I only recognized that when I was showing some seriously cheap drinking friends around town recently.

Now if it was a Martini Special, I might have stopped in years earlier.

Beer Pong is a pretty gross sport and lousy excuse to drink beer. I've consumed a lot of beer in my days and it never involved a ping pong ball handled by 8 different people, rolled on the floor and bounced around the room and splashed in my beer glass. Call me a germ freak if you wish. I don't enjoy beer pong as a spectator sport and I would never play it. I think Daisy might have something in that drinking beforehand might change your outlook.

OTOH, if you want to, you can find it in a lot of bars around town. Osheas is one place where you can almost always find a game in progress or start your own. It's pretty popular at Blondies in the Miracle Mile too.

Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) Cats & Las Vegas SPCA celebrated the new year at the cat show at The Alexis Park Hotel last Saturday and Sunday. Fancy Felines from around the country had a chance to earn Top Cat status each day. Judging included the American Shorthair, Abyssinians, Sphinx, Siamese, Persian, Maine Coon, and more. There was even a category for the household pet.

Segway to....You can bet on Tiger. Really, you can. Station casinos have been taking bets on whether Tiger Woods would win a major golf event this year. First I heard was 5 to 1 favorite to win at least one. So it looks like YES at -500 and NO at +350 on the big board. Max bet is $2000 and closes at 10am on Jan 10. FWIW, I went to the Palace Station and they did not have that bet at the sports book.

Fireworks on the Blvd....Perhaps you saw the massive shootout on your local news. The story I saw on national news didn't mention stories from neighbors that the bad guy was black and hated white people, that he moved here from California two years ago and hated living here, that he lost an argument with his apt managers regarding a barking dog from a neighbor, that a fire broke out in his apartment just minutes after he left to go do his dirty deed and that the fire department ruled the fire an accident. You probably didn't hear that the bad guy ran out across the street to a school and that over 90% of the gunfire was aimed towards the school. The gunman died less than 3 feet from the school building in front of classroom windows. Good guys fired 81 shots, bad guy fired 5 shots from his shotgun. There were dozens and dozens of bullet holes in the school.

Shady Lady Ranch, a Nevada brothel, is cleared to hire male prostitutes.

Clark County is running out of money, yet they lowered the annual fees for adult newspaper machines (aka smut racks) from $100 per year to $65. Who says there's no mafia here?

New law requires all dogs and cats to be spayed/neutered. The only exception requires a $25 breeding license.

Metro arrest numbers for New Years are down from 216 to 173. Those included 103 DUIs and 38 various felonies. Lee, I can only assume the random felonies were illegal guns or drugs in the car or outstanding warrants. These numbers are in addition to the NHP numbers released last week.

One of the Luxor pipe bombers was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

2010 was the first New Years Day without a traffic fatality since records have been kept on this subject.

New thrill ride announced for the Stratosphere Tower. The highly rumored Skyjump is official. Riders will jump off the observation deck of the tower attached to a metal line. They will fall over 850 feet. It is somewhat of a controlled freefall. Just before reaching the bottom, the line will "automatically" slow the rider down to make a "safe" landing. There is a Skyjump system already in place in New Zealand if you want to do a computer search and find more info. The system should be up and running by April of this year.

Rich Little, a famous comedian and impressionist who resides in Las Vegas is a proud US Citizen as of Friday. Rich was born in Canada in 1938.

Voting begins this Sunday for the Best Of Las Vegas RJ Poll. At least that's what the tons of email I'm getting from various local companies are telling me. Of course they are tooting their own horn telling me to vote early and often.

The Las Vegas City Council just approved an additional 2 million dollars for the Mob Museum. The money is needed primarily to insure the building is structurally safe and secure. The Mob Museum is scheduled to open in 2011.

The Happiest Mayor delivered his State Of The City address on Tuesday. He said we had our feast and now we have our famine. He is betting on the brain and cancer centers as step one to make Las Vegas a medical destination to revitalize downtown and bring Las Vegas back from economic doom. Step two is the performing arts buildup downtown. Step 3 is the arena and entertainment district in the area of the current city hall.

Harry Reid just can't keep his mouth shut. Sen John Ensign is also a huge embarrassment. Our troubled governor is no better. Dang we need a political overhaul.

The new terminal at McCarran airport is about halfway completed. It is set to open sometime in 2012. The 2.5 billion dollar project will add 14 gates and a new parking structure. Like City Center and the downtown projects, it was started in good financial times. Unlike the downtown projects, there is no need for 14 additional gates. Harry Reid says it's just what Las Vegas needs.

The November numbers are out for gaming revenue that saw it's first increase in two years. Convention numbers are stabilizing and some analysts see this as a sign of recovery. The Strip was up 8.3%, while Mesquite was down over 15%.

If you cruised around downtown long enough, you might remember the old El Cid Hotel. It had been closed for a while and was awaiting better economic times for renovation. Three separate fires in three separate rooms pretty much totaled the property on Monday night.

After several attempts to turn a profit, the Las Vegas Monorail has officially filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and promises no disruption of service. Is it any surprise that the ONLY privately owned public transportation system in the United States still has not raised enough money to pay off the initial $650 million construction costs? Is it any surprise that plans still call for a $500 million extension to McCarran and other strip hotels?

Steve and Elaine Wynn were officially divorced for the second time to each other on Jan 5.

The 2010 version of Burning Man is in August. If you were planning on getting in on the first tier of ticket sales, they sold out faster than a Garth Brooks lot. There will be 2 more ticket releases before the event. Expect to pay right about $300 for a Burning Man ticket.

The Cougar convention is coming to the Trop next Friday. Insert joke here.

Rumors running stronger than ever that the Liberace Museum is about to make an announcement for relocating the museum from it's current location to the Las Vegas Strip.

Harrah's will officially take over the hotel portion of Planet Hollywood as of midnight tonight...Saturday 16JAN10.

Late Friday afternoon, a woman went through McCarran security with a gun that she was legally certified to carry. She then went to the C-gates. She used one of the restrooms in the C terminal and left the gun behind. An airport worker found the gun and the terminal went on lockdown until things were cleared up. The woman was given the gun back, not disciplined, and allowed to board her flight with the gun. Authorities would not disclose what agency she worked for that authorized her to carry a gun, such as a PD, TSA, FBI, FDA, military, off duty pilot, or sky marshall.

On Sunday, an idiot will get into a box with 50 poisonous snakes in front of Oshea's. He will stay in there 10 days and more snakes will be added. He will spend 10 days in the clear glass box with rattlesnakes, pythons, and cobras, oh my. Some people will do anything to be on TV, and in this case, it will be filmed for the Animal Planet network.

The Rio is celebrating it's 20th year with specials like $20 this, 20 cent that, 20% something else, etc. Surely it's on their website, and maybe your e-mail.

CSN, our local community college has started midnight classes.

The Harmon Theater in the Miracle Mile at Planet Hollywood has filed bankruptcy. The less than stellar shows continue.

The record rainfall for this one week has exceed the total rainfall for the entire year of 2009. Substories...a) turned to snow from the west, up through Summerlin. b) The flood control measures worked. c) flood channel flows cleaned out homeless and their trash, followed by homeless water rescues and record numbers of pedestrian hit and runs.

Carl Ichan is the winning bidder for the incomplete Fountainbleau project.

The I-15 widening project between downtown and Craig road is officially complete....10 months ahead of schedule. There's still a few cosmetic and clean up issues.

New numbers in the federal courthouse shooting. Early reports said the slain guard fired one shot. That has been revised to zero. Early reports said the assailant was shot twice, one being in the head. New reports say about 18 hits and no head shots. Early reports said the assailants apartment fire was an accident. Now they think it may have been intentional. A coroners inquest is scheduled as it is during any law enforcement shooting death. Expect numbers to be revised again.

A tourist was walking on the Flamingo pedestrian bridge to Caesars when someone asked him for spare change. Bad guy and bad gal saw money. They kidnapped the man and took him to an apartment where 2 more people beat the man severely. The bad guys got all his belongings including his room key and cleaned out his Caesars Palace room. The man escaped after the 4 bad guys were arguing on what to do with the man after they got what they wanted out of him.

The Bellagio Conservatory has removed it's Christmas decorations and is now decorated for the Chinese New Year, the year of the tiger.

The Artisan Hotel, which was having more health violations than customers now has a new owner. The new owners have big plans to clean up the property and it's image. They have revamped the Mt Charleston resort and the Gold Spike. They have also purchased the St. Tropez near the Hard Rock and plan to fix it up much like the Gold Spike. The new owners are The Siegel Group, easily recognized across the valley for it's chain of affordable hotels, Siegel Suites.

State unemployment numbers for December are out. The state was at 13% for the month of December. Clark County was slightly higher at 13.1%. These numbers are up about 1%.

Idiot in the box at Oshea's with lots of poisonous snakes is doing well. He has had some company. Magician Nathan Burton joined him in the box for a while. Miss Nevada even got in the box for a short time.

Speaking of Miss Nevada, the Miss America Pageant is gearing up for the 2010 crowning at Planet Hollywood. The girls are in town and will be in various tourist spots all week. Historically, locals who seek out free tickets have had the opportunity to attend. The pageant finale will be televised live on TLC on Saturday, Jan 30 at 8pm EST.

Between the Miss America and the Cougar Convention, there should be plenty of eye candy for the american pig this weekend.

If you must watch TV tonight, the CBS show 48 Hours Mystery could be interesting as they reinvestigate the death of Ted Binion. Sat, Jan 23 at 10pm on the east and west coasts. You may be amazed with the performance of Sandy Murphy. You can visit the CBS 48Hours Mystery website for more info.

How do you go from 2 shots to 18???

yes this is the year of tiger<G>

I thought Steve Jobs said it was the year of the Snow Leopard.

i don't have any jokes for snow leopards.fyi we do have two of the cutest snow leopard cubs at the zoo here in seattle

The Happiest Mayor In The World says that in 15 months when his term is up, he will not run for governor. Instead, he will work for the development of Las Vegas and spend time with his family who would not want to move to Carson City. His wife Carolyn MIGHT run for mayor when Oscar's term ends if there is not a suitable replacement running.

The city has been hoping for an arena or stadium. Now we have 6 major league baseball stadiums. Okay, they are little league replicas. A new little league baseball complex opened with replicas of Dodger Stadium, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium and others. If the adults can have a fantasy playground, it's okay for the kids too.

Dan Marino's restaurant in Hooters is now the Mad Onion. Not a lot has changed. It's just a 24/7 greasy spoon.

A Florida bankruptcy court has approved Carl Icahn to buy the stalled Fountainbleau project. Carl has not made a recent statement as to what he might do with the property. Speculation is high. My guess is that he will sell it before it opens.

Rick Tabish will be released on parole on April 2. Accused, convicted, then acquitted for the murder of Ted Binion, Rick is currently serving time for breaking into Ted's underground vault in Pahrump immediately after his death and literally stealing a truckload of silver.

The on again/off again mag lev train from Las Vegas to Aneheim was not included in an 8 billion dollar federal funding for high speed rail projects. This follows federal funding for housing assistance that Nevada did not get a penny of. Both programs required paperwork that was not submitted properly. We need a political overhaul.

Andrew Dice Clay will be leaving the Riviera and begin playing at the LV Hilton's Shimmer Cabaret room.

The second man convicted in the 2007 Luxor bombing was sentenced to life in prison plus 16 to 40 years in prison.

Herbst Gaming is scheduled to come out of bankruptcy next week under new management as the whole company will be handed over to secured lenders.

A 79 year old woman was killed behind a stage at the Fremont Street Experience when her pickup truck went out of control downtown, ran red lights and impacted the stage area at high rate of speed. The woman had just dropped her son off at Fitzgeralds and probably suffered a medical condition.

I'm a little disapointed with the news this week. No bullet hole updates, no stupid people taking themselves out of the gene pool. Maybe things really are slowing down in Vegas? LOL

A question for ya, JMT!

This past week I had guests in town and we drove around a lot seeing the sights.

They all commented on how clean the streets and sidewalks were especially in the downtown Fremont Street area and the surrounding neighborhood.

And that cleanliness included the vacant lots all over town.

In fact the only dirty spots we saw were along the Strip which was apparently cleaned up the very next morning by Las Vegas leprechons whom I've never even seen. (I only see Pink Elephants but they don't clean up.)

Actually I have two (2) questions for ya .....

Is there any one city official who should be commended for the cleanliness of this city? I would assume the Mayor but I could be mistaken.

AND .....

Regarding those 301 naked lady card distributors who are lined up along the Strip passing out naked lady ads ... Does that company pay additional fees to clean up those thousands of paper cards that are tossed onto the pavement ever half hour or so? Or is that job included in out city taxes?

Will, I believe that ultimate kudos go to Clark County and the Mormon Mafia. As any resident here knows, trash service here is like no other city in the country. They will pick up almost anything curbside, trash service runs on all holidays, trash collectors are very happy and well paid, no hassles at the dump, and the list goes on and on.

Lee, the stupid human tricks seem to be best in the heat of the summer. The legal and entertainment issues can happen any time. I'll find you a stupid human trick for next week.

In regards to people cleaning up the "naked lady" cards. I have always hated to see how much garbage is on the strip around the people handing out the cards and magazines. When I was in town for New Years I was pleasently shocked when I saw a group of the card distributers actually sweeping up and disposing of the disgarded advertisements.

I believe in free speech. But, this activity is a public nuisance. Plus I think I already have one of each card (HAHA).

Yea, JM! I don't collect them cards but I do agree with the rest of what you had to say

It's a lot more fun than collecting casino chips.

A 70 year old man was flying his small private plane about 75 miles north of Las Vegas. He spotted a truck on a road that belonged to his 67 year old friend. He decided to "buzz" the truck, which means make a low pass close enough for the target to hear the buzz of the engine. Buzzing people is generally not legal but is not uncommon amongst pilots. The pilot got a little to close to the truck, smashed in the roof of the truck and the truck crashed. The plane made an emergency landing on a road. The pilot was uninjured. The driver of the truck was airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital.

Another 70 year old man was flying his SUV through the Edgewater valet area into the casino killing two and injuring several others. He is in deep trouble.

The LVAGA is having it's main competition on Feb 13 at Tommy Rockers. It will cost $5 to attend and be a spectator or $10 to be a participant. After the competition, there will be a concert by Tommy Rocker, himself. Tommy will also judge the competition. In case you didn't know, LVAGA stands for Las Vegas Air Guitar Association.

Now that Nevada has missed out on huge government grants for housing and missed out on a huge government grant for transportation, Harry Reid is getting record campaign contributions. Funny how that works.

The Happiest Mayor In The World is not happy with the President for discouraging trips to Las Vegas. Neither is Harry Reid or anyone in Nevada politics. Some of the things Oscar has said about Obama is that he is a very slow learner, is not welcome in his city, and an apology will not be accepted. Local Obama voters (bitter with buyers remorse?) are using that remark to label the mayor a racist. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway took the middle ground and wants Obama to be the Grand Marshall of the NASCAR race so that he can see how people across the country can come to Las Vegas and boost the economy everywhere.

New gang violence after school. A gang of 14-17 year olds are using strong arm robbery to get iPods, cell phones, and fancy footwear from school kids. The bad guys are use a shotgun during the robbery, then beat the kids, and get away in a big red Caddy.

Mens Health has a new report on the drunkest cities in America. The report is based on alcohol related deaths, DUI, and other drinking "issues". The top 3 cities are 1. Fresno 2. Reno and 3. Billings. Las Vegas came in at 11.

With the Super Bowl coming up, proposition bets are all the rage. Prop bets are those bets on occurrences other than who wins. Here are some examples...
How long will it take Carrie Underwood to sing the national anthem. O/U 1minute 42seconds. (O/U Over/Under)
Will there be a missed extra point? +1000
Color of Gatorade on winning coach. Yellow 1/1 Clear 7/5 Red 25/2
Number of time Archie Manning will be shown during the game O/U 4
Number of times CBS will show Burbon Street O/U 2
Will anyone from the Who smash a guitar? How many times will Kim Kardashian be shown? What color will Kim be wearing? First sideline reporter to appear after kick off.

Speaking of Super Bowl, the NFL has been especially tough on Las Vegas regarding use of their copyright words "Super Bowl" and not allowing Las Vegas to advertise during the game. With several major companies pulling out of the advertising this year, the NFL came to Las Vegas for help. Vegas told them to pound sand.

The Las Vegas Sun reported that the monorail has decided that it can not generate enough revenue to pay it's bills.

Bette Midler has left Caesars. Much of her band was from Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns which will begin performing together again at the Tropicana.

Thanks again, JMT, I gotta start reading the LVRJ more often as most of this is new to me.

I love the "pound salt" article.

I almost never use the RJ for a source. There was a time when it was okay. Nowadays, I find it a waste of my time. There are a lot of media that are too political and not newsworthy to me.

I collect rumors from people around town and then use online sources to verify them. I use Steve Dacri and the LVA for most of verification. And I watch local TV news a few days per week. Sometimes I'll see an article online and have to use my human resources to back them up. Those monthly classes at the Springs Preserve, and last years Clark County Centennial are/were excellent ways to expand my contacts list.

How old is Tommy rocker?
He might be one of those acts, see him before he's gone? LOL
Wasn't he at one time going to put up a condo project where his resturant stands?

I don't think Tommy is that old. I've seen him before, and now that we're talking about it, he is popular for singalongs, and that kinda leans towards the air guitar crowd.

Yes, he had big plans for a high rise. He decided that turning it into a gentleman's club was cheaper with higher rates of return. I haven't been in it since the conversion. He still does his act there. I can't vision him doing his thing in a strip club. Maybe the place is divided off.

His wife's retaurant, Black Mountain Grill, still gets pretty good reports as a pub with very good grub.

Construction of the new Neon Boneyard Park began on Monday. Located on LV Blvd in the Cultural Corridor, this section of road was recently designated a National Scenic Byway. The park will feature a big sign made up of parts of other neon signs from famous landmarks around the city. The museum will be closed during construction. The park should open in the summer of this year.

The Ritz Carlton at Lake Las Vegas will be shutting down in 3 months, due to a lack of tourists. About 350 employees will be laid off.

FAO Schwartz in the Forum Shops at Caesars, has closed down. The 3 level toy store with a huge trojan horse out front was a must see for many visitors and locals. No more.

State Of The State Address by the LoveGov. He says no new taxes, education "reform", and state employee layoffs.

The first child shooting of the year was a self inflicted shooting by the child of a Metro Police officer. The child shot himself twice and is in critical condition. Yes, twice. Once in the arm and once in the abdomen. No, I don't expect those numbers to be changed, but the officers testimony might change. His story now is that he put his kid to bed and the kid woke up and shot himself twice.

Rumor only...USAirways, operating 36 flights per day out of LAS will cut that number in half very soon.

The LVCVA reported 2009 attendance numbers which showed that convention attendance was down 23.9% Hotel occupancy was 81.5%, down 4.5%. Percentages will be skewed next year with the addition of rooms from City Center, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock and other towers. Interesting to me, total visitors was only down 3%.

Celine Dion will be returning to the Colosseum March 15, 2011 for a 3 year deal.

While LV tourism was only down 3%, Nevada gaming revenues were down 10%, and that's where we get our tax money.

Gilleys at the TI is hiring and will open in April. Phil Ruffin had Gilleys in the Frontier before it closed. Now that he owns the TI, he wants Gilleys back.

We have an ax murderer. A man hacked on two women and a baby with an ax. The baby died. As metro police closed in on the attacker, the man dropped the ax but attacked the officers with his bare hands. The tazer won that battle.

The National Grocers Association held it's Best Baggers contest at the Paris hotel this week. One lucky bagger from a grocery store won $10,000 as the winner. Winners are judge on several different catagories.

Cirque show, Nouvelle Experience once played in a tent behind the Mirage in a big yellow tent. That tent is now being used for government operation in the earthquake torn country of Haiti.

Thanks again, JMT. If I'm not mistaken, this is the 2nd time FAO closed down in that exact location. A few years back I had one of my favorite entertainment experiences there when two young and very aerobic guys performed their act on a gigantic piano keyboard ..... one of my top 10 favorite LV acts of all time.

Cultural District ??!! Is that the short stretch of LV Blvd immediately north of Charleston? I'm not familiar with any cultural activities happening there but the other night I did find myself looking for some shortcut to avoid ongoing construction and found myself on a new stretch of tarmac housing a restricted bus lane that looks like it will be very attractive once it is completed.

It appeared to me that they are installing some of those old but picturesque LV neon signs that were all over town so many years ago. And even trees - I think I saw trees too!

Is that the Cultural section of which you speak?? Was I actually on LV Blvd?

Now I did see a "boneyard" kind of place over there by Cashman field full of old LV neon signs .... but is it open for boneyard visitors?

I gotta get in there and shoot some photos! It would be sort of like visiting old time friends in a retirement home before they shipped off to deserving places.

And while we're in that area, have you ever visited that old, historical landmark where the old time Mormans first set camp? I gotta get there too.

In fact I gotta leave these casino confines, get some fresh air and take a good long look at all this outdoor stuff you so politely mention on occasion.

JMT, are you familiar with a LV location that is claimed to be the world's oldest rock? I've heard of it but it's a mystery to me.

My nephew practiced/rehearsed in that tent of which you speak before Steve Wynn approved that 'mysterious' Mystere opening a few years back.
Nice to see it's still in use.

Thanks again, JMT

Chimney Rock is supposed to be by Angel lake and is the oldest rock in Nevada.

Never heard any old rock stories. I'll post some stuff on development projects soon.

Did Nouvelle Experience go on a road tour after it left the Mirage?

Ed, where is Angel Lake? I asked that 'old rock' question because I climbed to the top of a great little hill in the Mountain's Edge community and at the very top there is a very nice observation 'platform' that overlooks the entire Las Vegas basin and beyond.

Whomever built it was kind enough to point out some of the historical highlighted areas in the basin such as "the Sata Fe Train" (could be the wrong name though), and the original train route, and the oldest rock in the USA (if I read that one right).

It directs your vision to a large 'mountain' about 30 miles away in a NE direction with a slight explanation about how old that "rock" actually is.

I gotta go back up there and read it again to be more specific. It does have a name but I forgot that too.

Just thought someone on here might be more attentive to what is written on observation platforms so I don't have to trek to the top once again.

Thanks, Ed. Maybe we are both referring to the same area.

Nouvelle Experience??!! Was that at the Mirage before Mystere? I am not familiar with that Cirque show in LV.

Yes will, I believe that was the show behind the Mirage before Mystere. I think it even said Nouvelle Experience across the top of the tent. It had yellow, blue and white stripes.

A bad guy and North Las Vegas Police officer got into a shootout on Saturday night. The officer was shot in the badge on his chest which stopped the bullet. The bad guy got away into an apartment complex. Blood stains suggest the bad guy was shot, however, since he got away, nobody is sure. There is no description of the bad guy.

The President who recently told you not to spend your childs college funds going to Las Vegas, just spent your childs college funds going to Las Vegas. From hours before he arrived, through the night, until he left the following afternoon, only airlines were allowed to be in the sky. Hundreds and hundreds of tour flights were cancelled. Businesses could not bring in employees on biz jets. Not even media helicopters were allowed to report on news or traffic. Thanks Obama. Once again, you've cost our local economy millions of dollars just to give props to Harry Reid.

The McCarran Airport officials are asking county commissioners for approval to set up a liquor store in the baggage claim area.

Casino Monte Lago at Lake Las Vegas will close next month due to lack of tourism.

Wayne Newton is behind on his home loan and is facing foreclosure.

Henderson police do an investigation on yet another child porn pervert. Turns out he used to work for Metro. When they arrive to find illegal porn on his computer, they find the guy installing Metro police lights and radios in his personal vehicle. Upon further review, they find lots of light bars, radios, sirens, and ammo that belonged to Metro. They also find two other current Metro employees with thousands of pieces of said contraband.

Drunk driver on Flamingo near the Gold Coast driving a pick up truck. Truck hits a car, then rear ends another car. Angry driver of second car jumps in truck and shuts it off and takes the keys. Drunk takes off running and is struck by another car going about 45mph.

<<<Drunk driver on Flamingo near the Gold Coast driving a pick up truck. Truck hits a car, then rear ends another car. Angry driver of second car jumps in truck and shuts it off and takes the keys. Drunk takes off running and is struck by another car going about 45mph.>>>
SWEET!

See, sometimes life is fair!

Movers at Wayne Newton's today. I was sorry to hear that.
I think most cities have air restrictions when the President, whoever it is, is in town. I remember that it was the same in Boise, ID when Reagan was there, and, dating myself, also with restricted air space when we lived in Atlanta.

Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin became the 43rd and 44th stars to get a star on the Las Vegas Walk Of Fame. This means their sponsors have given the company $20,000 each for a star on the sidewalks of Las Vegas Blvd. These two stars will be near the Flamingo. Frank Marino gets his second star this month because his "sponsor" popped another 20 grand.

No more late night bail from jail. Clark County will close down it's midnight shift for quick bail for late night offenders. It will be closed from midnight until 8am.

Plane crash in Reno. A small private plane ran out of gas and crashed on a Reno freeway. The pilot was the deputy chief of the Reno Fire Department.

365 bicycle vs motor vehicle accidents occurred in Las Vegas in 2009. Apparently cyclist and drivers are out to keep the pace this year.

Peep Show at the P-Ho which went dark for a month, then two, then more, is now pushed back until late April, when some say it will get pushed back again. The star of the show, Holly Maddison, is still busy sticking her mug in front of every camera that will shoot her. She even claims that she wants to run for mayor.

Hawaiian Tropic Zone at the Miracle Mile has closed.


Several moving trucks and Clark County officials showed up with paperwork at Wayne Newton's house to collect items from Wayne's property as the result of a lawsuit filed by an ex pilot of Wayne. They were not let into the property, so the papers go back to the court as unexecuted. Bruton Smith, who owns several NASCAR tracks, says Wayne owes him about 3 million dollars and wants Wayne's property seized so that he can collect. To add to Wayne's woes, his daughter is facing severe medical problems following the birth her first son. Mom and son are not doing well.

It's NASCAR weekend in Las Vegas. The 18 wheelers that carry the cars paraded down the strip on Thursday night. It was really cool, it was a lot of fun, but it was horrible conditions for taking pictures. Rain is expected for the Nationwide series race (the Danica 300) on Saturday. Sunday's Sprint Cup race looks to have much better weather.

365 bicycle vs motor vehicle accidents! Glad I only walk in vegas.

Black Gaming which owns the Casablanca and Oasis casinos in Mesquite has filed Ch 11 bankruptcy.

NASCAR came and went pretty smooth, and that's a good thing.

The child of a Metro employee that shot himself twice last month survived the wounds. Both parents are being charged for their stupidity.

The Donny and Marie show has been dark all week after Marie's 18 year old son took a death leap from his LA apartment.

The Congo Room at the Sahara has closed which makes that upstairs area past the Nascar area vacant. The buffet was there and it is closed too. The two shows that were in the room have been moved to the main showroom. The Rat Pack show is now a 5pm show. The Comedy Shop is in the Sahara Theater now too.

The bankrupt monorail has raised it rates again. That should fix things.

Dirk Authur will close his magic show at the Trop no later than Mar 12. It might be closed now. The Tropicana has been doing a lot of renovations. Perhaps this is a move to make room for something better.

Thanks again, JMT. DO you think that there is any possibility that one or more of the Strip Casinos may close up temporarily if this 'recession' continues through the present year?

And if you feel that could happen, which three Strip casinos would be first to close up shop?

Donny & Marie, what happened to the show must go on, attitude?

As for the Mono-Rail, good. I vowed not to ride it again untill it's $20 a ride. Everyone knows raising the price will make it more popular & chic.

The Cloud 9 Balloon experience across the street from the Mandalay Bay experienced severe turbulence as the balloon and the basket bounced around violently in different directions on Saturday. About 5 seconds of that ride was caught on tape and it looked pretty scary. The local media interviewed a kid known as their "chief pilot" who said everything worked fine and his passengers got a real experience. He also that said that a building inspector would come out on Sunday to inspect the ropes, the cables, and the basket. One person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Everyone else was shaken AND stirred. The building inspector found some bent tubes from the hard landing. Replacements must be flown in from France and installed before it can carry passengers again. It could be a while.

Andrew Kwasniewski was found dead in his Las Vegas mansion this morning. It seems he shot himself. Andrew was the head cheese at the Hard Rock resort here.

Boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr was involved in an argument at a skating rink several months ago where someone sent him a text message wishing he would lose an upcoming match. Floyd left as his handlers tried to settle the argument with gunfire. The shooter was arrested in Chicago this week and transfered back to Las Vegas and made bail before police got to interrogate him.

Rory Reid, the son of Harry Reid, has filed paperwork to run for governor of Nevada. So did the current Luv Gov. We need a political overhaul.

Traces of snow here just a week or so from springtime, but temps are heading up fast. REAL FAST. Check our forecast.

Bellagio's conservatory has removed it's Chinese New Year decorations and is converting to a spring theme.

The Donny and Marie show was back on stage in a very sentimental comeback the day after Marie burled her son. They were doing what they do best, or at least second best, singing and performing on stage. Some claim what they do best is in Genesis 1:28 where it says be fruitful and multiply.

The world famous Earth Hour is coming up on March 27 at 8:30pm local time. I'll be at work. I wonder what airport lights will be turned off. <vbg>

It's been 6 weeks since Bette Midler walked away from the Colosseum, saw her shadow, and declared 6 more weeks of winter. In preparation for a long hard summer, gunfire is erupting all over town. Nothing you wont find in your home town, but it covers the full spectrum such as shooting strangers, shooting self, pistol whipping girlfriend then shoot her in the face, shooting at cops, etc. It's gonna be a busy summer.

The on again, off again, on again, off again, Peepshow at the P-Ho is on again. Wait 'till Harrah's finds out! They are already trying to shut down the nightclub Prive again.

Silk Road at Vdara has cut back hours and now serves only breakfast and lunch. Sage at Aria is cutting back too and will be closed on Sundays.

Nevada ranked 50th out of 50 in per capita federal funding.

Scarlett, the 21 year old First Lady of Magic, who had a long term relationship with her 67 year old manager who was married to another woman is being sued by said manager. Scarlett and the manager got into a domestic dispute and Scarlett was arrested, but they continued their relationship. Now the manager and his wife are claiming breach of contract against Scarlett for repeated physical abuse and financial improprieties. They say Scarlett forged the wife's name to take cars, money, and other assets from her. It is a very long and drawn out story fit for a movie if one of them dies. Then the sequel will be in place when the remaining parties battle for possessions. So far, everyone is alive.

Basic Food Flavors in Las Vegas has voluntarily shut down after admitting that they produced Pringles and other chips knowing that their equipment tested positive for salmonella, and were forced to initiate a recall.

More bad news for Lake Las Vegas. An orange algae has broken out that has killed over 1000 fish. If you've ever seen the lake, 1000 fish is a significant percentage. More fish will die as the algae continues to run it course and die out. Officials say there is no treatment and they must wait it out.

Mayor Oscar wants to balance the budget by firing all City employees and rehiring them under his terms. The mayor is not happy that the city unions do not want to negotiate an 8% pay cut.

The chief constable in Boulder City is in deep trouble again. A couple of weeks ago, he was arrested for driving drunk. Now he is facing many more charges with some being felonies. It seems he had a girlfriend that he ordained as an assistant constable. He gave her some guns. Since then, the two have broken up and he has been burglarizing her house, stealing a computer, some guns, and other items. This story might not be over.

The first case of the year in this town for parents murdering their own kids happened this week.