Latest Las Vegas News and Information

It’s a sad day on Fremont street – the Golden Nugget has raised its prices on its famous 99-cent shrimp cocktail. The price is now a whopping $1.99. This still sounds like a pretty good deal but it just doesn’t have the same ring to it as the 99-cent price did.

The Golden Gate originally started selling the Shrimp Cocktails in 1959, when the price was 50 cents. In 1991 it raised the price to 99 cents.

With Cinco de Mayo coming up, I though it be a good idea to put together a list of Mexican restaurants that are inside of Las Vegas Hotels.

Border Grill – Mandalay Bay

Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, Food Network’s “Too Hot Tamales” cook up some great bold favorites in this hip space. My personal favorite!

Get a $25 certificate to Border Grill for only $10 from restaurant.com

Pink Taco – Hard Rock Hotel

Pink Taco has a noisy party atmosphere and serves up plenty of tequila and buckets of beer. Of course they also have lots of Mexican food, their Baja fish tacos are one of their most popular dishes.

Garduno’s – Palms

Causal, inexpensive Mexican with outdoor seating overlooking the pool. This is a branch of a New Mexico restaurant, known for the no-beans chili.

Diablo’s Cantina – Monte Carlo

Located right along the strip this is a hot party spot. Probably not the most authentic Mexican you can get, but the American twist is fine when you’re in the mood for a party.

Diablo’s is having a Raffle from May 3rd to May 5th. Purchase a bucket of Dos Equis or Three Jose Cuervo margarita and a receive a raffle ticket to qualify for the drawing. (Must be present on Monday May 5, 2008 to win the cruise.)

Yolo’s – Planet Hollywood

The 13 foot margarita fountain tells you that this place is all about the fun. This high energy restaurant has a modern twist on Mexican.

Isla Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar – Treasure Island

Mexican with a modern twist. The bar boasts a large selection of tequilas served by a Tequila Godess, the restaurant has a nice sit-down side as well. On Cinco De Mayo the will be hosting a party with a live Mariachi band from 4:00pm to Midnight.

Taqueria Canonita – Venetian

This casual Restaurant with a view of the Grand Canal has authentic Mexican offerings like chile rellenos, tacos al carbon or shrimp quesadillas.

Diego – MGM Grand

A bright vibrant restaurant that features guacamole made table-side and a salsa cart that roams the restaurant and features six different salsas.

Cabo Mexican Restaurant – Palace Station & Red Rock

Bold, Baja flavors, spicy salsas and other clever creations have made their way to Palace Station! This casual, contemporary eatery offers over 40 tequilas and 130 authentic Mexican dishes.

Get a $25 certificate to Cabo Palace Station for only $10 from restaurant.com

Baja Miguel’s – South Point

This fun, casual and inexpensive Mexican with a tequila bar serves fairly typical Mexican fare such as tacos, enchiladas and chimichanges.

Don Miguel’s – Orleans

Casual, inexpensive Mexican. Lots of standard Mexican fare, along with house favorites Chicken Baldastano, Filet Colorado, and Snapper Cascabel.

Willy and Joses – Sam’s Town

Casual, loud and inexpensive. Open for dinner only. They serve large portions of fairly typical Mexican, with things like burritos and enchiladas.

Announced on Friday April 25, 2008, America’s favorite siblings will be Flamingo’s next headlining act. The 90 minute show highlighting Donny & Marie’s greatest hits is scheduled to open September 9, 2008.

Tickets for Donny & Marie are on sale beginning on April 28. Showtime is 7:30 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday with an additional Saturday matinee at 3:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $85, $99 and $115 (plus tax and fees). A limited number of VIP packages are available for $250 (plus tax and fees), which includes a special after-show commemorative photo with the stars. Tickets are available at the Flamingo Box Office, by phone at (702) 733-3333 or (800) 221-7299.

Click here to book a Las Vegas hotel room today!

One of my favorite shows in Las Vegas, Spamalot, is closing down on July 13th. The show was based on the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail and has played over 500 performances at Wynn Las Vegas.

The show originally opened on Broadway in 2005, and like many other Broadway shows, didn’t bring in audiences as large as was hoped. The Producers and Mamma Mia! have both also recently closed.

Wynn is planning on replacing the show with entertainer Danny Gans starting February 2009. The entertainer is currently doing his one man show at the Mirage.

Click here to purchase Spamalot tickets before the show goes away.

The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum that opened up seven years ago inside of The Venetian in Las Vegas is set to close on May 11th. The Museum’s contract with The Venetian comes to an end on that date, and there are no plans to renew it. No reason was given for not renewing the contract.

The good news is that the Museum is not going to charge admission between now and when it closes. This is a very good opportunity to see a fine art museum for free.

One night only!

See Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z live in concert Saturday, April 19th at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

HEART OF THE CITY TOUR

Click here to purchase tickets.

Click here to book a room at MGM Grand Las Vegas.

ENJOY A FERGALICIOUS WEEKEND – Friday March 21st – Saturday March 22nd

Enjoy a Fergalicious weekend at Mandalay Bay all for only $525*. A value of approximately $805.

Offer includes:
- Two room nights with a complimentary Suite upgrade
- Two top tickets to see Fergie**

Promotion Runs:
March 21, 2008 – March 22, 2008

Offer Expires:
March 28, 2008

Click here to view more details and to BOOK ONLINE.

Las Vegas is still booming. The number of projects under construction and planned is amazing. This is a list of the major projects that will be completed in the next 3 years or so. These 7 projects total $30.6 billion and over 30,000 new rooms.

Encore at Wynn Las Vegas: $2.2 Billion, 1818 Rooms, opening December 2008

This is an addition to what many consider the most luxurious resort on the Las Vegas strip. It will have 1,818 rooms (suites), 222 over-sized suites, 70,000 sq ft of gaming space, 6 restaurants, 8 bars and lounges including a nightclub, 11 retail outlets, 2 pools and a 50,000 sq ft spa. This is all in addition to what already exists at the current hotel, Wynn Las Vegas. Combined, this will be an amazing expanse of high-end resort amenities.

Cosmopolitan: $3 billion, 2,998 rooms, opening late 2009

Unlike most of the Las Vegas developments under construction, this project is on a fairly small parcel of land with only 400 feet of strip frontage for the 8.5 acre site. But smaller does not mean less in this case. Located just south of Bellagio, this project has some impressive stats:

• 150,000 sq ft of convention and meeting space
• A 70,000 sq ft casino
• Over 300,000 sq ft of retail, restaurant, and entertainment space
• 50,000 sq ft fitness center and spa
• 1,800 seat theater

CityCenter (MGM Mirage Inc.): $7.8 billion, 7,850 rooms, 15,900 jobs, opening late 2009

This is the grand-daddy of of Las Vegas developments. Located where the Holiday Inn Boardwalk used to stand, it is the largest privately owned project ever undertaken in the U.S. The pace of the development is incredible. The number of cranes in this space is overwhelming, it is hard to even count how many cranes are being used. Within the CityCenter space there will be 5 individual hotels/residences. In total there will be about 7,000 hotel rooms and condos in this development.

• CityCenter – 4,000 room, 60 story Hotel
• Mandarin Oriental – 400 room Hotel/Residences
• The Harmon – 400 room Hotel/Residences
• Vdara – 1500 unit Condo/Hotel tower
• Veer – Twin towers, each with 350 unit luxury condos
• 165,000 sq ft casino
• 500,000 sq ft of retail and entertainment space
• 300,000+ sq ft of convention and meeting space
• 2,000 seat theater
• 70,000 sq ft spa
• 7,500 car parking garage
• Fire station
• monorail
• On-site power plant

Fontainebleau: $2.8 billion, 3,889 rooms, opening late 2009

The 63 story Fountainebleau Resort will stand on the north end of the strip next to the Rivera. It is where El Rancho and Algiers casinos used to be.

• 3,800+ hotel rooms/condos
• 100,000 sq ft Casino
• 60,000 sq ft spa
• 3,200 seat performing arts theater
• 180,000 sq ft of retail space
• 393,952 sq ft of meeting space
• 19 fine dining and casual restaurants
• 20 bars and lounges
• 20,000 sq ft ultra-modern nightclub

Echelon (Boyd Gaming Corp.): $4.8 billion, 5,300 rooms, opening late 2010

Located north on the strip where the Stardust and Westward Ho casinos used to stand, Echelon will have 4 individual hotels with a combination of upscale rooms and suites.

• Echelon Resort – 3,300 rooms
  • Resort Tower with 2,600 rooms
  • Suite Tower with 700 suites
  • spa facilities in each tower
  • 140,000 sq ft casino
  • 25 restaurants and bars
  • 2 theaters: 4,000 seats and 1,500 seats
• Shangri-La Hotel – 400 rooms and suites
  • 20,000 sq ft spa
  • meeting space
  • 2 restaurants
• Delano Hotel – 600 rooms and suites
  • destination nightclub
  • lobby bar
  • Asia de Cuba restaurant
  • spa and fitness facilities
• Mondrian Hotel – 1,000 guest rooms and suites
  • distinctive bar and restaurant
  • meeting and conference space
  • private pool and recreation area with Skybar
• 825,000 sq ft of meeting space
• 350,000 sq ft of shopping

Las Vegas Plaza (Elad IDB): $5 billion, 3,500 rooms, opening 2011

The Las Vegas Plaza is going up where the recently imploded New Frontier hotel once stood. It will be modeled after its namesake Plaza hotel in New York City.

• Seven towers containing 6,700 rooms (4,100 hotel rooms and 2,600 resort condominium units)
• 175,900 sq ft of casino area (making it the largest casino on the strip and second largest in the valley)
• 134,500 sq ft of restaurant area
• 347,887 sq ft of retail area
• 539,607 sq ft of convention space
• 50,000 sq ft of health club space
• 1,500 seat theater
• 227,038 sq ft of open space on the roof top of the podium that includes the pool areas

Crown Las Vegas: $5 billion, 5,000 rooms, opening 2011

This towering hotel was originally proposed to be 1,888 feet tall, but the FAA would not allow a tower that tall only 2.5 miles from McCarren Airport. The new FAA-approved height of the tower will be 1,064 feet. This will be the tallest building in Las Vegas (the Stratosphere tower is taller, but not classified as a building) and the tallest hotel in the USA. It will be located on the north end of the strip, where the old Wet and Wild used to be. The original plan had 5,000 hotel rooms, but since the tower height has been reduced they might build twin 1,064 foot towers to accommodate all the rooms.

Attention Monty Python Fans!

There will be a one-night-only screening of Monty Python’s Life of Brian in the Grail Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on Thursday, February 21. This will be the only theatrical screening in America of the re-mastered movie, the night will also feature a cocktail reception and a special appearance by SPAMALOT star John O’Hurley.

This screening celebrates the release of Monty Python’s Life of Brian: The Immaculate Edition on DVD and Blu-ray Disc(TM).

Tickets are $30 each, with proceeds going to Nevada Public Radio. Call (702) 952-5537 or Buy Tickets Now!