Access Vegas Insider Vibe – August 22, 2007

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! The cab drivers are up to their usual garbage… resisting more cabs on the street while they basically ignore most of the city, run visitors the long way, and hustle to get people to certain adult establishments that give them huge kickbacks.

If you are a newer reader, this is good stuff to know. If you’ve been following this over the years, this will get you up-to-date.

More Crap from Las Vegas Cabbies – The secret has been out for quite some time now about Las Vegas cabbies. Our reports, newspaper reports, and even on cable TV travel specials warn about the tricks and stunts cab drivers pull on you. We’ve been reporting on it for years.

So… a couple of recent local news stories caught my attention:

First of all… DUH. Of course you are skipping the cab lines at McCarran. You don’t want to wait outside in a big line (common during peak periods). You don’t want a cabbie taking you the long way (through the airport tunnel) to run up the meter. You don’t want to cabbie trying to sell you tickets for crap you aren’t interested in, nor giving you worthless advice on stuff they know little-to-nothing about. Just hoping that being “helpful” will net him a bigger tip. (Co’mon… you think that after their shift, cab drivers head out and hit every attraction on The Strip? They can’t wait to get to their suburban homes far away from their work environment).

In addition, getting a cab outside the tourism areas of Las Vegas is pretty much a very bad joke. Cabbies all want to be running people from hotel-to-hotel. Short rides, big tips. If you want to venture to an off-strip attraction or destination, good luck on getting a cab back. You’ll find out what locals have always known: Cab service outside the tourism core is almost impossible to get. (Locals who fly often know that if they call for a cab to get them from their house to the airport, they might as well kiss their flight goodbye).

Now, cabbies are complaining about the move to put more cabs on the street. Despite the fact that you often stand in long cab lines at the airport, and often can’t get a return cab if visiting an off-strip attraction (putting aside what us locals go through if we need one).

Hello Cabbies: No wonder fewer people are taking cabs at the airport. If only one or two in a party, much better, quicker, and cheaper to take one of the many airport shuttles. If a number of people in your party (or if you just want to travel in style), you can often get a town car or limo from the airport for not much more than a cab ride (especially when you factor in the long routes that many of them still use). I say this from experience: Many of our staff often use the tunnel that runs south of the airport, under the airport. We almost always see cabs full of (what is clearly) tourists. Guess what… The Strip is NORTH of the airport, not south of it.

Message to Visitors: Use shuttles or limos, and don’t expect to get a cab back to your hotel if you venture away from The Strip. Do expect for a cabbie to feed you lines of crap about stuff, just trying to get a bigger tip for being “informed” (ya… right). Note to Locals: You already know not to try to get a cab to come and take you anywhere. Perhaps it is time to support the efforts to put more cabs on the street. Between wait lines at the airport, and the inability to get timely cab service anywhere in town… it sounds like we need a LOT more cabs on the streets of Las Vegas.

Features Will Return – Many of your favorite features like the photos of the week, reader questions, gambling tips, and reader submitted photos will return in September. Still plenty of news and information this week.

Enjoy This Issue!



National Hockey League (NHL) Returns To Las Vegas As The Los Angeles Kings Face The Colorado Avalanche For “Frozen Fury X” At MGM Grand Saturday, Sept. 22 – The National Hockey League’s (NHL) Los Angeles Kings return to Las Vegas for “Frozen Fury X” (Tickets) when they host an NHL pre-season game against the Colorado Avalanche Saturday, Sept. 22 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. “Frozen Fury X” plans to feature a line-up of NHL all-star players from both rosters including Kings players Anze Kopitar, Michael Cammalleri and former Avalanche Defenseman Rob Blake. Avalanche all-stars include future Hall of Famer Joe Sakic, second-year standout Paul Stastny and former Kings Forward Ian Laperriere. Click to Read The Full Story …

RA Sushi Announces 93.1 The Party’s “Rollin’ with Whoopi” Creation Won Over Local Celebrity Judges And Is The Champion Of RA N’ Roll – Whoopi Goldberg To Sample The Roll Named In Her Honor – RA Sushi Bar Restaurant, located at the Fashion Show Mall, invited local media outlets to participate in RA N’ ROLL, a competition to create, name and submit an original recipe for a sushi roll. On Wednesday, August 1, a panel of local celebrity judges including Nathan Burton, Anthony Cools, Amazing Johnathan and his assistant Psychic Tanya, Ronn Lucas and Kevin Burke, sampled five rolls RA had selected as finalists. Considering overall taste, presentation and creativity of name, the judges then named the roll created by KPLV û FM 93.1 The Party, “Rollin’ with Whoopi,” as the winner. Click to Read The Full Story …

Health District Prepares To Issue Smoking Citations – After nearly eight months, health authorities are taking off the gloves in the fight over Nevada’s smoking ban. Since December, the Southern Nevada Health District has been trying to figure out how to enforce the ban around Las Vegas. They started by trying to get bars and restaurants on their side. But now they say that has not worked well enough, so it is time to go after the smokers themselves. If you are a smoker, the fines could be a real drag. Smokers who light up in restaurants or other locations could face a $100 fine. The health district says the time has come to target smokers, and not just the places they light up. Click to Read The Full Story …

Karaoke Comes To The Orleans Hotel And Casino – Brendan’s Irish Pub Features Karaoke Gurus, Jimmy Z And Sally Z – Brendan’s Irish Pub, inside The Orleans Hotel and Casino, is the newest spot to sing karaoke favorites, win cash prizes and dance the night away with friends. Karaoke-duo Jimmy Z and Sally Z will be hosting the festivities every Monday and Wednesday night at 8 p.m. and continuing the fun until midnight. All participating guests can enter to win cash prizes. Drawings will be held twice nightly. Jimmy Z and Sally Z have been amusing Las Vegas audiences since 1995 and are established hometown entertainers. Click to Read The Full Story …



More Las Vegas News – Concerts – Events

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:

  • 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)

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