Archive for April, 2011

Today’s Glittery Las Vegas Trivia

Combined, the jewelry adorning the performers in “Jubilee!” at Bally’s Las Vegas weighs more than 10,000 pounds.

Jubilee!

Despite appearances, there's a lot of bling involved with "Jubilee!"

Experience a Vegas institution! See Jubilee! at Bally’s.

Posted on April 29th, 2011 by sroeben  |  2 Comments »

Today’s Hook-Up: 33% Off at Imperial Palace

This blog is nothing if not frugal, so we do what we can to let you know about cost-saving offers. This one’s a keeper.

Start your Vegas adventure center-Strip with a stay at Imperial Palace. Use our super secret offer code and get a sweet 33% off your room.

Use code “33OFF” when you book your room. Find rates here.

Imperial Palace

You look so pretty at twilight, Imperial Palace.

This spectacularly secret discount code is good for reservations through Aug. 31, 2011.

Bonus Imperial Palace shocker: Guess which hotel was recently voted “Favorite Las Vegas Strip Resort and Casino” in a highly-scientific KLAS poll? You got it: Imperial Palace. Fans of the Imperial Palace know a great value when they see it!

Posted on April 28th, 2011 by sroeben  |  No Comments »

Today’s Featured Dealertainer

Which Imperial Palace dealertainer is your favorite? Not sure what a “dealertainer” actually is? Please try and keep up.

Today’s featured dealertainer is Nayivi as Shakira.

Nayivi, everyone. And for a minute there, Alice Cooper was our favorite dealertainer.

See all our featured dealertainers to-date.

Posted on April 27th, 2011 by sroeben  |  1 Comment »

Improv at Harrah’s Brings Laughs for Five More Years

Expect the chortles to keep on coming at The Improv at Harrah’s. The famed comedy club announced its contract has been extended for five more years.

The contract extension means comedy’s best will continue to have a showcase center-Strip through 2015, at which time we’re also supposed to have flying cars and personal robots. (We just made up that last part.)

Bud Friedman

Budd Friedman, founder of The Improv and scary judge of talent.

To mark the announcement of its new contract, The Improv also took the opportunity to announce the return of the irrepressible, Improv alum Jay Mohr. Mohr will return to The Improv at Harrah’s Jun. 24-26.

Jay Mohr fact: Many people know him from his role as a back-stabbing agent in “Jerry Maguire,” but did you know he’s also a frequent guest writer for Sports Illustrated magazine?

Jay Mohr

The funniest comedian in the business, Mohr or less. (We couldn't help ourselves.)

Opened in April of 1995, The Improv is the longest-running comedy club in Las Vegas.

The Improv at Harrah’s Vegas has been named “Best Comedy Club” in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s “Best of Las Vegas” poll numerous times. Other accolades include “Best Comedy Club” by Casino Player Magazine and “Best Comedy Club in Southern Nevada” by Nevada Magazine.

We were there for The Improv’s 15th anniversary. See our stunningly inadequate coverage.

Get your yuck on and find out more about The Improv at Harrah’s.

Posted on April 26th, 2011 by sroeben  |  No Comments »

Today’s Utterly Useless Las Vegas Trivia

Every watch “Unwrapped” on the Food Network? Well, in a recent episode of the show, there was a reference to Las Vegas. Of course, our ears perked up.

The episode featured a Nestle plant in Franklin Park, Illinois, that manufactures Butterfinger bars.

A worker states, “If we lined all the bars up end-to-end that we make on this line alone in one week, we make enough to stretch from Chicago to Las Vegas, which is 1,700 miles.”

Butterfinger

Yes, we got Mike Mabert's written permission to use his image on this Las Vegas blog. (It's the Internet. We can say anything we want.)

Bonus Butterfinger fact: The factory makes 10 million bars each day.

If you’re looking for something sweet in Vegas, try a lick of the Sugar Factory at Paris Vegas. You know what we mean.

Posted on April 25th, 2011 by sroeben  |  No Comments »

Topguest Rewards Vegas Visitors for Social Check-Ins

UPDATE: Sorry, this partnership ended Nov. 15, 2011. You’ll live.

Nine Las Vegas hotels in the Caesars Entertainment family have partnered with Silicon Valley company Topguest to give social network users sweet perks for their Sin City check-ins.

Guests who check in at participating resort venues will receive 50 Total Rewards Bonus Reward Credits just for using popular social media services like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram and Gowalla on their mobile devices.

Total Rewards is the gaming industry’s largest customer loyalty program, with more than 40 million members. Plus this blog. So, 40 million and one.

Foursquare

Get more oomph from your Foursquare and other social check-ins. Yes, "oomph" is the technical term for it.

Reward Credits can be redeemed for comps or merchandise at many of the most popular casino destinations in Las Vegas and around the country. Find out more.

Making the whole process even easier is the new online sign-up for the Total Rewards program. Read more.

Topguest is also tied into other loyalty programs with companies like Virgin America, Holiday Inn, Avis and others.

Just visit Topguest.com or get the Topguest app to create and customize your Topguest account. (You select which of your social networks you’d like to link to your Topguest account.) Enter your loyalty program number(s) and you’re all set.

Topguest

The Topguest app shows all the eligible places you can check in. Free Flamingo attraction and Bonus Rewards Credits? Yes, please.

Bonus: Check in by May 9 and you’ll be entered to win an additional 500 Bonus Reward Credits. (They’re giving out a number of these prizes, by the way, so it’s not one of those smarmy, one-in-a-million marketing enticements we loathe so much.)

Small print: There’s a max of five check-ins per day. Also, it may take a few days for your Reward Credits to show up in your Total Rewards account, so don’t get riled up or post comments on certain blogs if you don’t see them right away. Chill. It’s social. It’s supposed to be fun.

Find out more about Topguest and how you can make the most of your next visit to Las Vegas.

Posted on April 22nd, 2011 by sroeben  |  No Comments »

“Viper Vixens” Bring Curves, Sharp Objects to O’Sheas

“The Viper Vixens,” a racy new show, makes its debut at one of the wildest casinos on the Strip, O’Sheas Las Vegas, on May 5.

The new show is touted as being an “erotic revue like none other on the Strip.” The twist appears to be that the performers in the show, with names like Cottonmouth to Diamondback, utilize dangerous weapons in their sultry acts.

Viper Vixens

"The Viper Vixens" defy not only death, but also lower back pain.

The show includes a crossbow act by “Mr. and Mrs. G” who have appeared on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” and toured with Britney Spears during her “Circus” tour.

Also featured in the show is singer Deena Cary who toured the country for two years as the lead singer of “Purrfect Angelz,” opening for artists like Big & Rich, Trace Adkins and Earth, Wind & Fire.

This new show is topless, so it’s for those 18 and older only. Tickets are $45, and shows are nightly at 9:00 p.m., dark Sundays. Tickets can be purchased at the Flamingo and O’Sheas box offices. Find out more.

For more information about “The Viper Vixens,” visit the official site, or find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on April 22nd, 2011 by sroeben  |  2 Comments »

First Time Ever: Total Rewards Online Sign-Up

Total Rewards is the most successful casino player loyalty program in the world, and for the first time ever, enrollment in the program can now be done online. Sign up now.

One of the biggest benefits of the new online Total Rewards sign-up is that players can now skip the longer, more involved sign-up process at their favorite casino. Once a membership number is issued online, it’s just a matter of presenting the number at a Total Rewards Center, and a new card is issued immediately.

Total Rewards

This Total Rewards VIP entrance sign just speaks to us.

Online enrollment also means you can start earning Reward Credits before ever setting foot in a casino. For example, if you use a Total Rewards Visa card, the purchases start accruing Reward Credits right away. Those Reward Credits can then be redeemed for merchandise, rooms, discounts and other perks of membership.

Bonus FYI: Signing up for a Total Rewards Visa card gets you 2,500 bonus Reward Credits after your first transaction. Cha-ching.

Handy tip: Use the Total Rewards app to locate a Total Rewards casino near you.

Total Rewards app

We're biased toward Vegas, but other Total Rewards casinos are OK, too.

Signing up for Total Rewards online is like being given the key to the kingdom. Total Rewards members can log onto MyTR, the members-only section of the Caesars Entertainment Web site.

Members get special room rates as well as access to exclusive benefits, offers and deals from Total Rewards partners like Norwegian Cruise Line and Hawaiian Airlines.

It’s never been easier to sign up for Total Rewards! Sign up for Total Rewards online today, and let us know what you think in the Comments section.

Posted on April 22nd, 2011 by sroeben  |  No Comments »

You’ve Been Warned: It’s National High Five Day

National High Five Day falls on the third Thursday of April each year. That’s today, Apr. 21.

Unfortunately, as we reported on Apr. 1, this particular “holiday” will not be celebrated in Las Vegas. Read more about the high five ban in Las Vegas casinos.

high five ban

If we were making this whole thing up, would we have such a professional-looking graphic?

The high five ban must be true, as it was also reported in the New York Daily News.

While this blog does not condone high-fiving, or knuckle-bumping for that matter, we do feel compelled to share the following video. By doing so, of course, this blog runs the risk of defying local ordinances. That’s just how we roll.

Posted on April 21st, 2011 by sroeben  |  No Comments »

Three Essential Las Vegas Podcasts

If you love Las Vegas as much as we do, you’re always looking for news, skinny, scoop, the inside track, the edge, the low-down, the frothy oyster. (We just make that last one up.)

If you’re not listening to Las Vegas podcasts, you might be missing out on some of the best, and certainly some of the most entertaining, free Sin City resources around.

Here are three Las Vegas podcasts we can’t live without, in no particular order.

The Vegas Gang Podcast

Four Vegas experts mix it up in a free, bi-weekly podcast about Vegas, the gaming industry and whatever else springs to mind. The cast of characters include regulars Hunter Hillegas from RateVegas.com; Chuck Monster from VegasTripping.com, UNLV’s Dave Schwartz and Jeff Simpson. Great interviews, lots of opinions, and humor, too (big plus with us). Visit the official site to find out more.

Podcast

Stock photography agency, is there anything you can't graphically illustrate?

Five Hundy by Midnight

Charming hosts Tim Dressen and Michele Dressen adore Las Vegas, and their passion shows in their fun, informative podcasts. Catch up on all the latest Las Vegas news and lots more. This entertaining podcast has been around since 2005, and it’s always exciting to download the latest installment. Visit the official site.

Podcast

This blog is not made of money.

The Strip Podcast

Podcasters and journalists Steve Friess (columnist for Las Vegas Weekly and other publications) and Miles Smith (executive producer for local TV station KVBC) hit all the right notes with celebrity interviews, tourist tips and Las Vegas trivia. These two have the greatest rapport, which makes their take on Vegas all the more enjoyable. Here’s the official site.

It’s worth noting the three aforementioned podcasts are all participants in the annual Podcast-a-Palooza gathering, the most recent of which took place at Flamingo Las Vegas. You can bet we won’t miss this fun event again.

Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza

Can you podcast guys use this same graphic again this year? It's pretty.

“Pulse of Vegas blog,” you ask, “how can I listen to podcasts during my commute to work or while driving to Las Vegas?” Funny you should ask! There’s a cool gadget that plugs into your car’s lighter, then transmits the signal from your smartphone or iPod to your car’s radio. Podcast heaven. Check it out.

Posted on April 21st, 2011 by sroeben  |  4 Comments »

“Hoff” Stops by “Absinthe” for Angel Porrino Debut

Showbiz icon David Hasselhoff took in “Absinthe,” the new “adult circus” at Caesars Palace, on Apr. 19.

The show marked the debut of Angel Porrino, occasional Peepshow at Planet Hollywood performer and co-star of TV’s “Holly’s World, who landed a part in the irreverent show.

David Hasselhoff Angel Porrino

Angel Porrino inspires a "Baywatch" flashback for David Hasselhoff.

Porrino’s part in the show is described as “topless striptease while tap dancing inside a balloon.” Only in Vegas, baby. Read more.

Learn more about Absinthe, the critically-lauded show at Caesars Palace.

Posted on April 20th, 2011 by sroeben  |  No Comments »

Stardust Memories

Unrelated to anything, we were digging through some mementos the other night and came across this players club card from the now-a-memory Stardust hotel.

Stardust

Sad face.

Ah, the memories.

The Stardust was the first hotel this blog visited in Las Vegas, way back when. It also marked the first place we played craps, a life-altering experience if ever there was one.

The Stardust closed on Nov. 1, 2006 after 48 years of operation. It was imploded on Mar. 13, 2007. Gone, but not forgotten.

We get a tad weepy-eyed when we watch this, but here’s video of the implosion, for what it’s worth.

Echelon Place was started on the former Stardust site, but construction was suspended in 2008.

Finding our players card has inspired our feeling a little sentimental today. We’d love to hear any of your memories of the Stardust, or perhaps another Las Vegas hotel for which you have a special fondness. Casinos like the Flamingo, arguably more vibrant than ever, or those going away, like the Sahara. Which Vegas hotel was your first? Post your memories in the Comments section.

Posted on April 20th, 2011 by sroeben  |  17 Comments »

Today’s Random Las Vegas Photo

A random photo from the most photogenic city on the planet.

Bally's Las Vegas

This tunnel leads to a monorail stop. A monorail is like a train. Paging, Dr. Freud!

We were going to Photoshop an apostrophe into the Bally’s Las Vegas sign, but we are a Las Vegas blog, not an apostrophe enforcer.

Posted on April 20th, 2011 by sroeben  |  2 Comments »

When It Comes to Stamps, You Can’t Lick Las Vegas

Nobody’s perfect, and from all reports, nobody’s better-equipped to prove it than the U.S. Postal Service.

It seems the good folks that design and produce U.S. postage stamps inadvertently used a photo of Sin City’s famed Statue of Liberty replica on its “Liberty Forever” stamps instead of the original Lady Liberty in New York. Oops.

Lady Liberty Las Vegas

Las Vegas' own Lady Liberty, accidentally used on the Liberty Forever stamp.

Philatelic factoid: The photograph of the Las Vegas Lady Liberty (above) is by Raimund Linke.

As a Las Vegas blog, we’re kind of loving this “screw-up,” actually!

We were just checking out the iconic, half-scale statue at New York-New York the other night and grabbed this exclusive video which may be the biggest waste of 30 seconds of your day, ever.

Given that three billion of the new stamps have been printed, the Postal Service has said it will allow the stamps to remain in circulation. In a stroke of PR genius, the USPS is calling the mistake a “mischaracterization.” This blog, however, would characterize it as “awesome.”

The biggest downside for the unlucky stamp designer responsible for this epic gaff? Since they’re “Forever” stamps, the Las Vegas Lady Liberty stamps will be around for a long, long time.

Read more about the postage stamp circus from Reuters, the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

On a related note, did you know you can put your Vegas photos on real postage stamps? At Zazzle.com, put your favorite shot of the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas, or even the original, on a stamp. We don’t get a piece of this action. We just think it’s cool.

Posted on April 19th, 2011 by sroeben  |  No Comments »

Elton John Returns With “Million Dollar Piano”

Caesars Palace veteran and renowned singer-songwriter Elton John will return to the storied casino-hotel with an all new show, “The Million Dollar Piano,” beginning Sep. 28.

The music legend has has signed on for a three-year residency, his second as a Caesars Palace headliner. Elton John’s last stint at Caesars Palace was a five-year run of the critically-acclaimed, “The Red Piano.” That popular show ended in Apr. of 2009.

Elton John

Elton John fact: He was knighted in 1998.

Elton John commented about his new show, “I’m going to have a fabulous piano that Yamaha has been working on for four years, and that’s the reason the show is called ‘The Million Dollar Piano.’”

John will be accompanied by his band, which includes Davey Johnstone on guitar, Bob Birch on bass, John Mahon on percussion, Nigel Olsson on drums and Kim Bullard on keyboards with a special appearance by percussionist Ray Cooper.

Elton John is one of the top-selling solo artists of all time, with 35 gold and 25 platinum albums and 29 consecutive Top 40 hits. And, yes, we knew all that off the top of our heads, without the assistance of a news release. Probably.

Time for an Elton John flashback (a mere 26 million YouTube views later).

Tickets go on sale Apr. 25 and range in price from a surprisingly-low $55 up to $250. Get them at the box office at Caesars Palace or at Ticketmaster.

Posted on April 19th, 2011 by sroeben  |  No Comments »