AccessVegas.com Insider Vibe

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Newkirk’s Notes – comments on Las Vegas from AccessVegas.Com publisher Ted Newkirk:

Hello From Las Vegas!

Lots of focus on the north end of The Strip this week with the news of the sale of The Frontier, plus our brand new Sahara Photos and Riviera Computer Wallpaper.

Pretty big week of news with (finally) the sale of The Frontier hotel. As many of you have heard, the owners of New York’s Plaza hotel have bought The Frontier (across from Wynn, next to Trump’s towers… yes, a second one is going up). They plan to use the Plaza brand, which is interesting because Las Vegas has had a “Plaza” hotel downtown since the 70’s. According to the Associated Press,

Elad Group intends to build a luxury hotel with about 3,500 rooms, private residences, retail space and a casino bearing The Plaza brand on the New Frontier site, Elad president Miki Naftali said in a statement. Opening for the 34.5-acre site across from the Wynn Las Vegas is targeted for 2011.

Ya, ya, ya… whatever, guys. I’ve run out of fingers and toes trying to county the number of “big time, going to be huge, going to take Vegas by storm” projects out of New York, Los Angeles, Miami and other places that have failed to materialize. Among the most very recent, W Las Vegas resort project canceled and a few months ago, Las Ramblas. (I was laughing at the concept and viability of Las Ramblas from day one).

For the most part, the successful multi-billion dollar multi-use projects going up have been built by one of the established local operators (MGM’s CityCenter, Boyd’s Echelon). Bottom line is that we’ll know these new “Plaza” plans are serious when they pony up to buy the name locally from the downtown hotel. For now, I’m treating this as a lot of hot air.

Tickets, Tickets, and more Tickets – Just a reminder that we have tickets to far more than just Las Vegas shows and concerts and usually at some of the best prices you will find for good and premium seats. Among them, NBA Playoffs, American Idols Live, Jimmy Buffett, and other Top Touring Acts. If you can’t make it to Vegas soon, treat yourself to a concert! Side Note: Sending good luck to Reed Waddle, a friend of a friend and a finalist in the American Idol Songwriters search!

Dunkin’ Donuts Coming To Town – As usual, we were way ahead of the curve on this one. In our April 11 issue, reader Kristen asked why we have none and I suggested:

I do understand how Dunkin’ Donuts is revered in other parts of the country, and with a large contingent of east coast visitors and transplants, I agree it seems strange that we have no locations here. We know a number of hotel management types read our newsletter. Consider your request delivered!

Lo and behold, the news is official: Dunkin’ Donuts to open 62 LV stores in seven years

Enjoy This Issue!

The Fashionistas – Show Review

Reviewed May 2007
by Nancy Dickinson

The fashion industry probably didn’t know the raw passion it could spawn through music, story, and dance… but leave it to Vegas to bring forth the goods. Fashionistas, a hot seam ripping show at the Empire Ballroom is based on tales of an innovative fashion fetish company, vivacious women seductresses, and the domineering love triangles some very sexy (and certainly masochistic) characters have managed to sew together. The result stitches a new, dark, seductive face upon the fashion industry that is unafraid of celebrating shape and form in all things. Click to Read The Full Review…

• The Fashionistas Picture Gallery
• The Fashionistas Show Tickets

Mandalay Beach Ups the Ante – Mandalay Beach will redefine fun-in-the-sun this June with the addition of Las Vegas’ only climate-controlled poolside gaming venue at Mandalay Bay. Just feet from crystal-clear waves, a new three-story, glass-fronted Beach casino will invite guests to indulge at their leisure.

The first level will offer a casual bar and grill while the second level will feature table games with expansive, open-air views. On the third floor, guests will find the spectacular Villas Soleil, luxury pool villas ranging from 250 to 500 square feet. Click to enjoy Mandalay Bay Las Vegas Photos

Lewis keeps Labor Day telethon in Las Vegas– Jerry Lewis’ annual Labor Day telethon to fight muscular dystrophy, which aired from Las Vegas last year, will return this year. The broadcast, which benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association, will air Sept. 2-3 from the South Point hotel-casino south of the Las Vegas Strip, organizers said Wednesday. Lewis moved the telethon out of its longtime home in Los Angeles last year, saying it had been overshadowed by other productions there. Click to Read Complete Article

Vegas Photo Set Of The Week: Sahara Las Vegas Photos – The Sahara offers 1,720 classically styled guestrooms and suites decorated in a Moroccan motif. The spacious rooms include comfortable accommodations and a variety of television-viewing options. The pool is open daily throughout the summer. The spa is open year round. Live entertainment can be found by visiting the Casbar Theatre Lounge

• Sahara Las Vegas Photos

Gambling Talk: Is There An Internet Poker Ban?– with Victor H. Royer. First of all, there is NO Internet poker ban, and NO Internet gaming bad. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 does NOT prohibit Internet gaming. It is designed to stop banks from financial transactions directly with Internet gaming sites. This is something that was already done several years ago, when the Credit Card companies decided to pull out for fear of being targeted by the Justice Department, even though the DOJ had NO LAW to fall back on. The Wire Act of 1961 was ruled by the Supreme Court as applicable ONLY to sports. Click to Read Complete Article

Vegas Streaming Video Of The Week: Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville – In honor of our friends down on the Gulf Coast and the continued recovery of the area including the planned Margaritaville Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, we bring you this previous look at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Las Vegas at The Flamingo. Margaritaville is a mecca for Parrot Heads or anyone else who wants to have a good time and a great meal in the ultimate tropical setting.

• Click To View Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville: Broadband (only)

Riviera Las Vegas Computer Wallpaper – More about the north end of The Strip with this amazing photo of The Riviera. The Riviera Hotel and Casino enjoys over 2000 refurbished oversized rooms offering maximum comfort and breathtaking views of the glittering Las Vegas Strip. Guests also enjoy a variety of entertainment. Click and view Riviera Las Vegas Computer Wallpaper.

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• Riviera Las Vegas Info and Reservations

Members Mania – We Love Our Readers!

Reader Submitted Photo – Sheena Foster submitted this photo and titled it The LUXOR at daytime.

If you have a great photo of Las Vegas to share with our readers (can be artistic or just a really enjoyable photo), send them to us at allvegastv@aol.com. Click to more Photos of Luxor Las Vegas.

Ted Responds:

I have never been to NFR. Having said that, most people are just happy to get tickets to it!

Your other option is to just come during NFR time. Most of the hotels have it on all their screens, some set up special viewing rooms. Many come for the country atmosphere.

Perhaps we can hear from readers who have been to NFR, where they sat, how they enjoyed it. We do have National Finals Rodeo tickets available. Note: These are resale tickets as the event sells out ever year, year-after-year (IE, you just can’t walk up and buy a ticket).

We love to hear from you, and value your feedback! Here’s how to participate:

• Post a trip report to our brand new Trip Report Message Board section! (Simply click on the New Thread option. You may be prompted to register if a fist time user. That keeps our boards safe and spam-free)!
• Post a comment, Vegas suggestion, or question to the appropriate category of our Message Boards.
• Call our recorded comment line at 702-507-0055. We listen to every call.
• Drop us an email at allvegastv@aol.com – We read them all!

Readers Rants, Raves, and Questions – Great reader questions and comments from our Access Vegas Message Boards. Help someone out or post your own comment or question!

• Deuce bus or monorail?

• I was lucky enough to get my wedding day 777 but 9:am,not so easy for a nice lunch or brunch…

• I am thinking of taking a trip to Vegas in December…

More Las Vegas News – Concerts – Events

• ‘Stomp Out Loud’ lives up to high expectationsStomp Out Loud Tickets

• Venue betting on Bette’s wide appealBette Middler Tickets

• It’s crunch time for all those Vegas tourists

• Drai’s and Rainbow Bar Closed: Diablo’s Cantina to Open in September

• Las Vegas Getting Horse-Drawn Carriages

• Is SNWA pipeline worth the cost in Las Vegas dollars and White Pine heritage?

• N.Y. Plaza Hotel Owner To Build $5 Billion Vegas Complex

• Hip and happenin’ Las Vegas condo project called off

• Accused Las Vegas bomber had fake ID

• Troon Golf sells Vegas-based course for $28 million

• Country music stars stage Vegas bike ride, concert for charity

• Lake Las Vegas: The Sin City antidote – Quiet and genteel, it’s a respite from glitter, 20 miles from Strip

• Las Vegas has lots of Sunday worshippers

• 2 Arrested In Deadly Las Vegas Bombing

• Vegas flippers flop as market cools off

• Icahn Makes $1 Billion on Sale of Stratosphere and Nevada Casinos

• A slice of the Big Apple comes to the valley – New $350 million mixed-use complex planned

• Hot and sour after-hours – The Gold Coast offers Chinese fare for the all-night crowd

• New Southern Highlands mega-mall planned

• Luxury condo demand softens – Demise of W Las Vegas adds to uncertainty in market

• Desert Passage shops experience ‘miracle’ rebirth – Arrival of the Planet Hollywood brand has given a once-scorned mall a new lease on life

• Thorny lawsuit aside, bidding war breaks out over Riviera

• Luxury Hotel Furniture At Bargain Prices

• Wynn dealers vote to unionize

• Summerlin Holds Inaugural Strawberry Festival

• Has Las Vegas outgrown McCarran Airport?

• What will take the place of the Frontier?

• Luxor bombing suspects: Police say one had motive the other had bomb making experience

• Happy 102nd Birthday Las Vegas!

• Luxor Bombing Suspects May Be Tied To Another Bombing

• Building a Name – Hotels turn to huge murals to tout their entertainment

• Wynn shoots himself in the foot with bid to redistribute dealers’ tips

• Juhl aims to set downtown trend in social amenities – Mixed-rise project located at the center of events, venues, restaurants

• What’s the water worth? – Critics, backers dispute costs, benefits of proposed pipeline

• Time for a moratorium on growth

• Online shoe-selling giant Zappos.com to open outlets in Southern Nevada

• Wynn to deal with dealers – Resort says it won’t challenge union vote

• Trump announces second tower – Buyers scramble to reserve units within high rise

• Sensory Overload – Fremont Street Experience a feast for the eyes, ears and nose

• Foreclosures on rise nationally — and Nevada leads the way

• Just like old times, fight night attracts fans, bettors and celebrity watchers

• Big-money wagers come in late on challenger – But De La Hoya remained bettors’ overall choice as fight time neared

• April home data for LV called ‘awful’

• Neonopolis by any other name still has smell of disaster

• Aside from location, little has changed at Michael’s

• ‘Subprime tsunami’ hits home – LV tops nation in foreclosures, but that may not be bad

• Small bars playing larger role in defining hotels, adding to profits

• Poolside Playing – Outdoor events offer alternative setting for concertgoers

• ‘Hello Dere’ an entertaining time trip – Marty Allen, singing wife a good fit for Gold Coast

• Productions searching for the sweet spot

• What Vegas visitors don’t know

Coming Hot Holidays – The following dates are huge times to be in Las Vegas, and rooms are in high demand. Booking in advance is the best way to save. Visit our friends at Las Vegas Hotel Deals and spend one of the following hot dates having fun in Las Vegas:

• 2007

• Memorial Day May 26-28 (3 day weekend)
• Fathers Day June 17
• Independence Day July 4
• Civic Holiday (Canada) August 6 (3 day weekend)
• Labor Day September 1-3 (3 day weekend)
• Columbus Day (USA), Thanksgiving Day (Canada) October 6-8 (3 day weekend)
• Christmas December 25 (4 day weekend – Christmas on Tuesday)
• New Year’s Eve-Day December 29 – January 1 (4 day weekend – New Years on Tuesday)

Link To Us! – Have a home page, web page, or blog? Link to us, and give yourself and your friends a quick link to find us from your site. Simply link to http://www.accessvegas.com and name the link Access Vegas!

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http://www.accessvegas.com/xml/whats-hot.xml

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All contents copyright 2007 Ted Newkirk. All Rights Reserved.

May 16, 2007 ISSN: 1529-2770 About Us Privacy Policy

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