It was just a few years
ago that poker rooms were closing at casinos across
the city.
MGM Grand,
the Venetian, and
Harrah's all
closed theirs around 2000, citing a lack of interest
in the game and a need to use the space for other,
more lucrative gaming endeavors (read: more slots).
Now, with
Texas
holdem
poker
tournaments on just about every cable television
channel, from ESPN to Bravo, the poker rooms are
making a comeback, including a return to Harrah's. The
hotel recently opened a new poker room featuring 10
tables offering seven card stud, Omaha and, of course,
Texas holdem, all with various limits to appeal to all
levels of gamblers.
This follows the
addition of a poker room at
the Golden Nugget
in downtown Vegas. Don't be surprised if you see the
trend continue at other casinos across the city.
For the record, the
Strip casinos with
Texas
holdem
poker rooms are
Bellagio,
Circus-Circus,
Excalibur,
Flamingo,
Harrah's,
Luxor,
Mandalay Bay,
Mirage,
Monte Carlo,
Palms,
Sahara and the
Stardust.
Several off-Strip and downtown hotels also have them.
The Las Vegas Monorail seems to be a big hit with the
public.
An
estimated 30,000 people rode the rails of the new
system on its opening day, July 15, lower than the
40,000 people per day the system needs to break even
financially and the 50,000 predicted by the company.
To
be fair, they say that will be the number when it hits
its peak later on.
Still, 30,000 people is a lot and the monorail has
been operating well, with no major problems or
glitches in its first week.
The only issues seem to be surrounding how to actually
use the fully automated system. It's actually pretty
easy. At each station, you'll find machines where you
select the type of passage you want -- one-way,
round-trip, or multi-trip -- put in your money, and it
spits out a ticket.
That ticket is then inserted in the machine at the
turnstile, which reads it and spits it back out for
use again if you've purchased a round-trip or
multi-ride package. Once your trips have been used up,
the ticket is stamped "void." The turnstile opens and
you follow directions to the appropriate platform --
northbound or southbound.
The trains run less than 10 minutes apart, so your
wait time at the station should be short. The system
is totally automated -- including driverless trains --
so once it arrives you just get on, sit down and watch
the scenery until you get to your destination.
Reaction has been decidedly less than positive to the
announcement of the $9.4 billion buyout of Caesars
Entertainment by Harrah's. Just about every analyst
I've read has doubts about the deal, wondering if
Harrah's will get enough out of it to make up for all
the things it may have to give up or take on.
Pros for Harrah's are an increased presence on the
Strip (going from one hotel to five) and a huge new
pool of customers to market to, while cons seem to be
mostly in the staggering multibillion-dollar debt load
and regulatory hurdles the company will have to clear
before it can make the deal official.
The whole thing has also set off a new wave of "what
next?" type of rumors. There isn't one single hotel
that hasn't been mentioned as a possible target for
purchase, and just about every major player has been
mentioned as a possible buyer of those targets. My
prediction is this big game of Monopoly ("I'll trade
you all my yellows for your greens!") will bring about
many major changes in the next few months that will
dramatically alter the Strip skyline by the end of
2005 (that means implosions).
Do
you want one of the condominiums in the upcoming Luna
di Lusso complex on the shores of Lake Las Vegas? Too
bad -- they have all been sold ... in one day!
The studios, 1- and 2-bedroom condos -- ranging in
price from $300,000 to $1 million -- went up for sale
last week and all 85 of them were sold by the end of
the day. Adding to the "Wow" factor is the fact the
complex hasn't even been built yet.
That's right, people
spent $1 million on a theoretical condo hovering
somewhere in the ether above a big chunk of dirt.
Granted, it's a nice piece of dirt at the end of the
Ritz-Carlton
Pontevecchio Bridge, right on the banks of scenic Lake
Las Vegas.
The Luna di Lusso
complex will be built by Intrawest (the same company
responsible for the
MonteLago Village
shopping, entertainment and condo complex on the other
side of the lake) and should be ready for the new
owners to move in starting late 2005.
Apparently I need glasses. I've been talking a lot
about the revamped Fremont Street Experience and its
fantastic new, crystal-clear overhead light-and-sound
show dubbed "Vegas Vision."
Problem is, that's not the actual name of the thing.
The real name is "Viva Vision."
Whatever you want to
call it, it's definitely worth your time and energy to
go see it on your next trip to Viva-- I mean Vegas.
The upgrade in quality is stunning and the shows are
an entertaining (and completely free) diversion. You
can watch some clips of the show online by visiting
the
Fremont Street Experience page
on Vegas4Visitors.com
