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Newkirk’s Notes – comments on Las Vegas from AccessVegas.Com publisher Ted Newkirk:Hello from Las Vegas! Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. We’ve done a little face lift on the newsletter. Don’t worry … no drastic changes. We moved hotel specials back to the top to give you easy access to them and added the “What’s New” section to highlight the great stuff we add all the time.As usual, we were out all over the place last week. We ran into a reader at Tequila Joe’s (Imperial Palace) which we always enjoy. When at a resort area bar or lounge, I never tell anybody who I am or what I do so I can get people’s honest views of Las Vegas. It is always fun when I find out the person is a reader.Steve and his wife Maria from Windsor (Ontario, Canada) had noted his frustration with cocktail service at some slots. I shared some tips with him and he wrote me a couple of days ago to say hello and thank me. The letter is in feedback along with my tips. We enjoy being able to help!
Las Vegas News: Of Interest To Tourists
| Calendar For Charity – Now is the time to get a 2003 Las Vegas calendar and help a good cause. These are the same high quality Las Vegas calendars you find in hotels and gift shops at or below the gift shop price with all proceeds going to charity. See the beautiful photos and purchase info atá 2003 Las Vegas Calendar. |  |
Best “Local’s” Casino – You voted and the results are in! Here are the top Las Vegas local’s casinos (casinos away from the tourist areas usually frequented by residents):
- Sam’s Town – Newly remodeled, Sam’s Town appeals not only to the country music fans, but those who want a comfortable place where the rules are good, the food is better, and Mystic Falls indoor park is one of the nicest faux outdoor places to enjoy a cocktail.
- The Orleans – Just a mile east of The Strip on Tropicana, The Orleans boasts a comfortable atmosphere, good buffet, great specialty restaurants, regular headliners and concerts, and one of the hottest cocktail waitress outfits in town.
- Sunset Station and Gold Coast (tie). You can’t go wrong with either. If you haven’t been in the Gold Coast the past year, you have not been. Remodeled and upgraded to compete with The Palms (across the street), they continue to have great gaming, cheap rooms, and a new buffet that is the best in town for the money.Sunset Station was the top-of-the-line of the Station Casino group until Green Valley Ranch opened. However, few must have made it up to Green Valley Ranch (a favorite of ours) and Sunset gets the win.
This goes to show that we don’t rig our polls! You readers and other site visitors visit AccessVegas.Com and cast your votes, and our double-redundant system insures that nobody can stuff the ballet box. This month, we want to know “What is the best Las Vegas magic show”? Vote now on the main page of AccessVegas.Com
Sahara Korean Barbecue – Chef John recently enjoyed his visit and noted “The Kun-Mandu are beef pot stickers served with an excellent dipping sauce and our other main entree was Kalbee a.k.a. barbecued pork” andá “a Korean restaurant would also be a very good stop for a vegetarian looking for something beyond a tofu burger.” This restaurant is close to The Strip. Read the review with photos.
Larry G. Jones – continues his great, free show at the Fitzgerald’s downtown. So successful has he been, that the hotel has expanded and upgraded the showroom to meet demand! Jones is the “Man of 1,002 Voices.” Go see him now before the hotel figures out it should be charging much more than the one drink minimum to see him. For more info including show times, click to Larry G. Jones – Man of 1,002 Voices.
Readers Are Winning! – Message board members “kimimurad” and “kay” separately reported on recent jackpots here in Las Vegas. “kimimurad” hit at the Luxor for $1600 and $1200 and “kay” played Roaring 20’s slots at the Stardust for 8 hours on a $20 bill and walked away $750 ahead. Tell us about the big jackpot or the nice run you had at the slots in our Gambling / Jackpots forum!
Ladies Day Out – Treat Yourself to Something Special! Spend a fun-filled day doing what we love to do most and are great at…shopping, dining, and relaxing. More details at Ladies Day Out
Nellis Air Show – Nellis Air Force Base will host a two-day air show called Aviation Nation Oct. 5-6. The objective of this event is to give our friends and neighbors throughout Southern Nevada and visitors from throughout the world a behind the scenes look at AmericaÆs Air Force.
The air show will also depict the history of American aviation through numerous additional military and civilian air demonstrations and ground displays. Nearly 100 aircraft from a replica of the original Wright Flyer to some of the nationÆs newest military aircraft will be on display. Details at Nellis Air Show.
Legal Pot – You may have heard that Nevada will legalize marijuana. Maybe, but it won’t be this year. A measure on the ballot would basically legalize 3 oz. or less. It is trailing in the polls, but conjecture is that people don’t answer poll questions of this nature honestly. The bottom line: Nevada law requires constitutional measures to be passed twice to become law. So if it passes this time, another two year wait is ahead.
Subscription “Dues” – This newsletter is absolutely free! We enjoy bringing you great Las Vegas information. If you enjoy our newsletter, we ask two small things: Consider booking your hotels, shows,á tours, and golf through AccessVegas.Com or the links in this newsletter. We have great rates and fantastic selection in every category. Also, turn your friends on to Las Vegas by forwarding a copy to them and suggesting they subscribe. They’ll thank you and we thank you.
Rental Cars – Don’t pay top dollar! Enter the dates of your visit and compare prices from virtually every major rental car agency (most US cities). Book the lowest price company or your regular agency. Save the hassle and some money – Car Rental Savings Search. Few regret renting a car. Free shuttles and city bus rides can be slow and smelly. Taxis can cost what a rental car costs. Your vacation time is valuable — make the most out of it!
Show Review: V The Ultimate Variety Show
Las Vegas is home to some of the greatest entertainment on earth, and because of that many great entertainers and entertainment groups make their home here. Many work in the shows, but what do the rest of them do all the time? Many do well performing private corporate events or home base out of here while spending time on the road.
Producer David Saxe found himself in an interesting situation lately. He had produced Melinda – The First Lady of Magic at The Venetian for the past few years and Melinda recently retired to start a family after a long successful career. Having been a successful Las Vegas show producer, he was familiar with all of the great acts around town and a light bulb went off: Why not bring Las Vegas a show full of cream of the crop acts for an entire show?
Click to read the rest of our review
Show Review Criteria: We understand that Las Vegas attracts visitors of varied budgets and interests. Shows are reviewed on the basis of value for dollar spent as well as to present the reader enough knowledge of the content to make an informed decision.
Featured Golf Course:
Rio Secco Golf Club – Set among the rolling foothills of the Black Mountain Range in Las Vegas, Rio Secco Golf Club provides a world-class golf experience unlike any other. á Designed by Rees Jones, Golf World Magazine’s 1995 “Golf Architect of the Year” and mastermind behind over 100 of the world’s most fabulous courses, the Rio Secco provides both stunning scenery and challenging play.
Additional Las Vegas Golf Courses and Golf Vacations |
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Featured Tour:
Hoover Dam Express – If you’re short on time, we offer a Hoover Dam Express Tour. You’ll have two full hours at the dam, and your step-on guide will be available to assist you throughout your trip.Our specially designed tour gives you comfort in a customized vehicle where you’ll view a complimentary movie on the construction of the Dam on your way.
Additional Tours Including Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, City, Scenic, National Parks, and Adventure |
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Reader Feedback
Steve from Windsor, Ontario wrote;
I took your advice and sat down on quarters slot machines to see if the drink service was any better than when I sat down on a nickel machine. I tried this at the Palms and knowing my luck it was no better so I went to the Rio and the service was excellent. I couldn’t even drink the first one fast enough and she was back with another one. I tipped her a dollar every time she came around and after the third one she didn’t even bother to ask me if I wanted one she just brought me one and kept doing so until I told her I was leaving.Why was I leaving a place where I was in my glory you might ask, because the Red, White, and Blue two coin machine I was playing hit on the Double, Red 7, Red 7 so I cashed out. I only had put 20 dollars into the machine and had been playing it for quite some time. Then I went to the Strat to try my luck. I sat at a nickel machine right near the bar and the service was excellent. At the Sahara I played one dollar craps and service was excellent. Actually at Slots Of Fun and Casino Royale where they also had dollar craps the service was good, so I think from my experience your advice worked on where to go to get good drink service.Looking forward on returning to Vegas in January. Keep up the good work on the newsletter as I look forward to seeing it.It was great to meet Steve and his wife. He was telling me how bad cocktail service had been in the nickel areas of various casinos. Turns out that he was often playing the nickel games “loaded” (full coins in — couldn’t get good enough cocktail service to get loaded the other way). Some of those nickel machines take 45 coins ($2.25) a pull and nickel machines are generally the tightest in the casino (letting you win the least).
I noted the simple fact that nickel areas often get the worst cocktail service because nickel players have the reputation for being the worst tippers. Don’t blame the messenger here. That is the perception of cocktail waitresses who work the casino floor day in and day out. I suggested that instead he move up to quarter or even dollar machines.
You can play many quarter machines loaded for 3-5 quarters, and some dollar machines are loaded at $2. This gives you a much better shot at great cocktail service, you are actually playing less per pull than nickels loaded, and the higher denomination machines are usually looser! Of course, tipping the waitress $1 each time doesn’t hurt (which he had already been doing). Speaking of, check out our new In-Depth Tipping Guide.
Gulf Coast Question – Message board member “GulfCoast” is headed here with his wife this fall from the Panama City, Florida area and is wondering if he should fly out of there, Pensacola, or even Atlanta. I know we have readers in the great Southeast and Gulf Coast regions (and we are hoping many of you aren’t harmed by the approaching Lili). Help a neighbor out by letting them know which city you fly here out of in our Travel Questions/Trip Suggestions forum.
Watching The Fireworks – Message board member “me me” asked us about a good place to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks. Read our suggestions or tell us where you watched them from in years past at our New Year’s Eve forum. Check out our Las Vegas New Year’s Eve page to see what all the fuss is about New Year’s here with photos and free streaming video.
Buffets – The buffet discussion is getting hot and heavy in the forums. If you are a new visitor, stop by and get some great opinions. And if you have been here … co’mon … you know you hit a couple of buffets. Good or bad, go for it in our Interactive Information Forums (message boards). Get on board!
Live From Las Vegas,
Ted Newkirk
CEO
Senior Content Editor
http://www.accessvegas.com
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For comments or questions regarding Las Vegas, our content, or this newsletter please post to our message boards or write us a “letter to the editor” at allvegastv@aol.com. We do certainly read them all and they help shape our content.
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All contents copyright 2002 Ted Newkirk. All Rights Reserved.
October 2, 2002 ISSN: 1529-2770
EFX is a true “modern day” Las Vegas show, combining elements of film, Broadway, and rock concerts to bring to life a spectacle that tingles almost every physical sense. This $45 million dollar production has 6000 lights and 85,000 watts of sound. Lasers, dragons, magic, and a floor that rumbles under you are just some of what you see and feel.
Mr. Tune made his entrance, tophat and tails, as he was elevated to the stage for his first number “In Dreams”. His appearance is striking. At 6’6″, he almost appears to be on stilts because of his unusually long legs (the illusion aided I’m sure by good costume design). What is more amazing is the energy he has, considering his age of 61 years (Source: E! Online). It was a non-factor as he belted out strong vocals and a number specifically showcasing his mesmerizing tap dance skills.