81 posts from 2008

An armed robbery took place at the Sahara Hotel & Casino last Friday.

Around 6 p.m. on Dec. 19, someone held up the poker room cashier and walked away with an undisclosed amount of money.

To get to the poker room cashier, you have to walk through a row of about eight poker tables on either side. And then back out.

No poker player was robbed, and no one was harmed.

Metro is investigating.

If you have any information, call Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555.

Christmas at Caesars Palace Las Vegas

Caesars Palace is usually a nice place to take a stroll but around Christmas time the lights and the trees really give you that special holiday feeling. Think about it, artificial trees, artificial snow, artificial ice and reindeer. Las Vegas is all about the make believe.

Paris Las Vegas at Christmas

Do the French ever find a kind word to say at Christmas? Don’t worry at Paris Las Vegas everyone is nice and they never forget Christmas. The city of lights transforms into the city of Christmas lights.

Christmas Decorations at the Monte Carlo Las Vegas

I don't know about you but the Christmas Decorations they use at the Monte Carlo Las Vegas scare me. Really, is it Mardi Gras in December? The Monte Carlo usually has a number of trees set up in its lobby and they all have some very interesting ornaments.

The Lights of Las Vegas

The Las Vegas lights are only brighter during Christmas.

Christmas at the Bellagio Las Vegas

The Bellagio Las Vegas does Christmas very well. The gardens have the large Christmas Trees and the lobby is decorated in such a festive fashion that you almost forget that everything is so expensive.

Christmas at the Rio Las Vegas

The Rio Las Vegas has some good decorations during the holidays. You can expect some Christmas themes in their Masquerade in the sky show as well as throughout the resort.

Steve Wynn gave the public a first view of his latest creation, Wynn Encore Las Vegas, during grand opening ceremonies on Tuesday. My first impression is best summed up by borrowing Wynn's one word description of Encore, "Lovely." Encore must be experienced in person so make plans now and book reservations.

Do yourself a favor and tour the new Wynn joint. Bring the camera, good photos are easy to take at the Encore.

The Venetian has a special offer for first-time members to their Club Grazie player's club (free to join) -- earn at least 1,000 points on your first day ($1,000 playthrough on slots, $3,000 playthrough on video poker), and you'll spend that night in one of their luxurious suites.

Unlike other casinos, the player's card at Venetian (and Palazzo -- they're both considered the same casino when it comes to gaming) don't update points dynamically. You need to remove the card and re-insert (and press "Promo") to find out how many points you've earned.

Here's what else you can get for your first 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 slot points:

500 points: souvenir, $10 slot credits

1,000 points: gondola ride, ticket to Madame Tussauds, $15 slot credits

2,000 points: two gondola rides, two tickets to Madame Tussauds, $30 slot credits, $20 food comp at food court

4,000 points: ticket to Blue Man Group, $75 Canyon Ranch SpaClub treatment, $75 slot credits, $50 food comp at food court

You can only redeem one of these offers on your first trip.

Once you hit 3,000 points, you'll later receive an invitation to the free New Member Slot Tournament, which includes two free nights in a suite.

Oh we are so jealous because we already signed up without these offers. We did about 10,000 points the first time we played and have been getting free room offers ever since.

If you're planning to do some gambling and haven't played at Venetian or Palazzo yet, this is a very good offer. Particularly if you were planning to crash at the Motel 8.

Britney Spears and Larry Rudolph.

Demand for tickets to see Britney Spears both here in America and in Europe has been so high, she has already added six new concert dates for a present total of 41 shows. When tickets first went on sale, more than 400,000 were snapped up almost immediately.

Additionally, six additional shows were just added to her London 02 Arena stop, where in just 48 hours, some 100,000 tickets were sold for her now eight performances there. The Circus -- Starring Britney Spears is her first arena tour in five years and will feature the Pussycat Dolls.

“Britney and I are both thrilled to see how excited her fans are for the Circus tour,” said her manager, Larry Rudolph. “This show will blow people’s minds and promises to show Britney’s fans something they will never forget!”

Britney’s set to perform here in Las Vegas on April 25.

My bet is that when the new XS nightclub opens at the Encore to its fully sold-out crowd on New Year’s Eve, more than one of the new Black Pearl drinks will be sold -- even though it’s $10,000! It is the world’s most expensive cocktail -- but you do get two glasses of the concoction to share with your soul mate. The club’s new signature cocktail will actually be known simply as The One, and the cocktail recipe is of rare vintage Dom Perignon Enotheque champagne and a shot of prized Louis XIII Remy Martin Black Pearl cognac. You can’t get more expensive champagne or cognac if you tried. As a keepsake of experiencing the world’s best, you will be presented with either a ladies 18k gold chain and black pearl pendant or a set of men’s sterling silver cufflinks with black pearl insignias.

Danny Gans.

*Is it possibly true that included in the new contract Steve Wynn executed with entertainer Danny Gans, he gets two rounds of golf a week as a perk at the prestigious and super-private Shadow Creek Club? Danny is adding 50 percent new material to his long-running Strip show, which moves to Steve’s new Encore in February. … Other leftover notes from my opening-night jottings: It took a total of three years from start to finish to execute the sprawling XS day-and-night entertainment complex. … The Switch restaurant, where the ceiling and walls change five times during the unique dining experience, was Steve’s very own idea -- and it’s the only restaurant in the world that becomes its own different venue nightly! I’ve got a reservation there next Monday with my longtime friend executive chef Marc Poidevin. Although we’ll have photos of Marc in his kitchen and at his antique Parma ham-slicing machine, The Switch is the one restaurant Steve says he will never allow to be photographed by anybody for any reason. That’s solely because you have to see the amazement with your own eyes as the changing scenes, sliding walls and retracting ceilings could never be captured on film or video for full effect. I’ll do my best to describe it for you next week, but my advance peek yesterday proved it will be more than the food that will make your mouth open wide! … The official red-carpet, star- studded gala opening of Encore will be Jan. 24 to coincide with Steve’s own birthday, and more than 200 VIP guests including Hollywood celebrities will be on hand for that soiree!

*In a late-breaking series of escalating rumbles this morning, it may well be that yet another major Strip hotel will be sold now to an out-of-state gaming company with plenty of cash on hand that has been looking for a while to expand into Las Vegas. This could be very interesting to see new neighbors at play as Steve Wynn keeps insisting “let’s decorporatize the Strip” -- as he did at last night’s Encore opening.

Wednesday, Dec. 24

*Celebrated French chef Guy Savoy arrives from Paris for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations at his swank Caesars Palace restaurant, and for tonight and tomorrow, he’s cooked up a special $130 per person, five-course Bubble Bar menu with oysters, Dover Sole, the world famous artichoke and black truffle soup, a baby black truffle chicken and a chocolate fondant, plus of course the most amazing selection of champagne wishes!

Thursday, Dec. 25

*Merry Christmas, everybody! Believe it or not, Jet nightclub in The Mirage is open with a visit from DJ Tiesto, who’s on his In Search of Sunrise Tour for two nights with a special appearance by Farsheed. It’s safe to expect this holiday havoc to party on till dawn.

Friday, Dec. 26

*The first ladies of soul are angling for a slot on President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration day concert. In the meantime, though, The Pointer Sisters are at Silverton Casino Lodge for one night only.

*It’s a celebration with Kool & the Gang for two nights at the Las Vegas Hilton as the four guys have you dancing to all their favorite hits. They’ll hold the fort till Barry Manilow’s Monday night return.

*Hometown crooner and pianist Brian Evans, who is racking up those TV composer credits, sings for his supper in two weekend shows at the Trump International Hotel that will now continue on weekly.

*The tribute Eagles band known as Hotel California throw down the welcome mat at the Suncoast Hotel with a concert of -- what else? -- Eagle hits. … Comedian Jo Koy starts a three-night gig with Asian overtones at South Point. … The Maz Jobrani trio will raise the roof at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay.

Frank Mir.

Saturday, Dec. 27

*It’s all about UFC 92 action tonight in the headlined and anticipated battle of warriors Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin. After the mixed martial arts fight, almost every club in town is throwing a party. It starts at LAX in the Luxor when UFC head honcho Dana White hosts his official UFC after-fight party. Not to be outdone, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell will host his haymaker at Studio 54 in the MGM Grand, and he’ll announce the winner of an Iceman Rx Hummer H2 prize. Elsewhere in MGM, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva will host his party in Tabu Ultra Lounge. Fighter C.B. Dollaway teams up with the MTX AudioFight team to host the UFC 92 after-party at Hawaiian Tropic Zone in Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile. Ultimate Fighter Season 8 champion Ryan “Darth” Bader and world extreme cage fighters Jamie “The Worm” Varner and Aaron “A-Train” Simpson also will attend the frenzied festivities.

Frank Mir.

*The Monkees aren’t coming into our zoo, but lead singer Davy Jones will be in town. He’s booked for a one-night holiday weekend gig at Silverton Casino Lodge.

*My longtime producer pal Ron Dante, who has the Archies back on the charts, opens for singing sensation Imelda Papin at The Orleans for one night only.

*If heavy rock is your thing, you’ve got an amazing five-pack lineup appearing at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay. The Cab appears with The Higher, The Maine, Ashbury and A Phoenix Forever.

Sunday, Dec. 28

*Body English nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel doesn’t let up on the bridge weekend between Christmas and New Year’s. LL Cool J is the special guest for the Sunday school that lets the ladies in schoolgirl outfits drink champagne without a check!

Coming up this weekend

Our incredible photos and interviews with daredevil stunt drivers Robbie Maddison and Rhys Millen. They know they could die when they make those New Year’s Eve jumps here in Vegas. They know they will have to stare death in the face. How will they do it? How do they face it? Vegas DeLuxe has the candid and chilling conversations with Robbie, who will attempt to scale the Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas, and Rhys, who will attempt to back-flip a pickup in The Rio’s parking lots. They both admit that what they are trying to do could very well kill them. Then we’ll be back on Monday to go Dancing With the Stars and get ready for all the fleet-footed stars coming to play here for the incredible New Year’s parties!

In the meantime, Dec. 25 (tomorrow) marks the start of the 12 days of Christmas. Our sexy, sassy starlets at the cabaret revue Crazy Girls at the Riviera present their gift of a photo package with their interpretation of a time-honored favorite: “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Beginning tomorrow, we’ll run the first photo, and each day thereafter, another photo will be posted.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everybody, from all of us at SincityNow!

Encore seeks to outdo Strip rivals in luxury, service

The 2,034-room resort, Encore, seeks to replicate the service in high-end boutique hotels, and has its eye on the coveted Mobil five-star rating. Room rates at the hotel will start at $180 a night, compared with $150 at the adjacent Wynn Las Vegas. But they’re likely to increase as soon as the economy begins to pick up. Comparable hotels in other cities can command room rates of $1,000 a night.

Lest anyone think Encore is simply another high-end hotel, or little more than a hotel addition to the attached Wynn Las Vegas resort, consider that Wynn Resorts executives consulted with experts from the Mobil Travel Guide to help them design a property that has a shot at becoming the country’s largest hotel to receive Mobil’s five-star rating.

Mobil’s five-star rating is one of the hotel industry’s most coveted honors. It’s more difficult to achieve than the five-diamond rating from AAA, which several Las Vegas resorts have earned.

The finest hotels in the Las Vegas Valley, including the Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Bellagio, Venetian and Wynn Las Vegas, are four-star hotels. Wynn Las Vegas received a five-star rating for the resort’s hotel-within-a-hotel, the 600-room Tower Suites.

Steve Wynn is known for creating the most luxurious casinos in each market he has entered. And yet, Encore, which opened Monday, is his most dramatic statement to date as well as his biggest challenge.

The 2,034-room Encore, which is 4.6 million square feet, aims to recreate the white glove service found in boutique hotels with a few hundred rooms, such as the Beverly Hills Hotel and New York’s Mandarin Oriental.

This, in volume-driven Las Vegas, where megaresorts adjust room prices to keep their properties at least 90 percent occupied and complaints about poor service are as much a part of the experience as throwing a few bucks in a slot machine.

Mobil inspectors noted that Wynn’s Tower Suites, the first and only casino hotel rooms in the world to receive the five-star rating, have the feel of “private residences.”

According to Mobil, five-star hotels are “exceptionally distinctive luxury environments offering expanded amenities and consistently superlative service, with attention to detail and the anticipation of every need.”

Building to meet that standard isn’t as challenging as developing the service to complement it, said Rob Oseland, Encore’s chief operating officer.

Most new employees undergo two to four weeks of orientation as well as 30 to 60 days of supervision. Encore opened the property to Wynn Resorts employees days before the property opened to the public Monday evening, offering up rooms, restaurants and even gambling for a trial run.

Having more people on staff isn’t the secret to good service, Oseland said, though service can suffer when hotels trim employees, as some have in recent months to cut costs.

The key is consistency, which is difficult in a large hotel but possible if supervisors make it a priority, said Jeffrey M. Gloeb, vice president of hotel sales.

“It’s about being able to surprise our guests,” added Oseland, who began working for Wynn in 1989 as a dealer at the Golden Nugget.

While executives nervously await the ratings of Mobil and AAA this year, they exude confidence that the average Las Vegas visitor will be bowled over by Encore’s plush magnificence.

Wynn Las Vegas has theatrically draped fabrics and soft lighting, walls of textured silk and art. Encore has more of everything as well as a lobby atrium bordering the casino, letting in more natural light than either the Wynn or Bellagio — two previous resorts where Wynn attempted to bring the outdoors in. Under the skylight and behind discreetly parted curtains is Encore’s high-limit area, offering generous glimpses of the action — as well as fine art and elaborate silk screens — a few steps from trees, flower beds and passers-by.

Each venue is designed as a showpiece, from the 11 boutiques that line the small retail esplanade to the six restaurants. (There’s no buffet, but there are seven bars, as well as an upscale nightclub and one of the largest spas in town.)

One restaurant, Switch, is a sophisticated nod to the volcanoes and pirate shows of Wynn’s past. Diners can watch as the walls of the restaurant retract into the ceiling and a new wall decor descends. The spectacle, which includes three wall settings and two ceiling changes, repeats every 20 to 30 minutes.

Though not as showy, other restaurants have dramatic focal points, from the Fernando Botero artwork at Botero Steak to a crystal dragon and giant golden pears at Wazuzu, an Asian restaurant. A lobby bar features a gilded sculpture of the Greek goddess Daphne, with outstretched arms like tree branches.

In a more overt attempt to lure Las Vegas’ most coveted customers from competitors, Encore gave away $2 million in gambling money to as many as 1,500 high rollers and other invited VIPs shortly before 8 p.m., when the property opened to the public. Each guest received from $1,000 to $50,000 to place one bet, and guests got to keep any winnings.

Oseland said Encore will shake up the pecking order in Las Vegas by setting a new bar for room rates, forcing competitors to sell their rooms for less.

Encore was built to top anything that comes after it, including CityCenter, Fontainebleau and Cosmopolitan — properties that are expected to offer either fewer luxuries or service befitting a larger hotel, Oseland said.

The property is expected to grow the market, as the Wynn and Bellagio did before them, as well as steal market share from competitors, he said.

With five-star hotels commanding rates of more than $1,000 per night in other cities, Encore will offer travelers a similar experience for much less, Oseland said.

To fill the property during this recession, Encore will be renting rooms for about $180 a night in January, though rates will rise as the economy rebounds, he said. (By comparison, Wynn Las Vegas rates start at $150.) Getting customers to pay at least $10 to $50 more than at other upscale hotels in Las Vegas, he said, won’t be a problem.

“There are going to be hotels that are going to suffer,” he said. “But we’re not really worried about the competition.”

It’s difficult to believe one man could spend $162 million over three years at two Las Vegas Strip casinos, but apparently that’s what a one-time computer salesman named Umar “Omar” Siddiqui did. Omar, 42, lost some $65 million paying off enormous gambling debts here, according to IRS agent Andres Gonzalez. Siddiqui was arrested at his office at Fry’s Electronics headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and his Ferrari -- a gift from a Vegas casino -- was confiscated. He appeared in court and was ordered to stay away from Vegas until he’s formally charged with money-laundering and wire fraud on Jan. 15. The complaint said he masterminded a massive and secret kickback scheme with Fry’s suppliers. Siddiqui had been with the company for 20 years but was fired two days ago upon his arrest. The alleged kickback scheme came to light in October when another employee blew the whistle to the IRS. The shockwave reverberations have already begun to be felt here as Omar was such a high roller. It’s believed he single-handedly played for millions and was responsible in one accounting period for one-third of one casino’s “win.” Now gaming observers say the case will bring the FBI and IRS to Vegas to see how he tricked the casinos, too.