With snowfall reported in higher elevations in Las Vegas (west of Durango Ave., at least) earlier this week it seems like the perfect time to get out and...no, not hit the ski slopes (even though Lee Canyon ski area is experiencing it's longest season ever) but to, instead, grab the string bikini and LowLife koozy and head to a poolside lounger, right?

Yeah, right.

We thought it was pretty funny (both haha funny and ironic funny) that we should receive a mailing from both Wet Republic (MGM's party pool) and Bare (Mirage's topless pool) announcing the start of their season this coming weekend, even though it was frickin' freezin' outside complete with visible breath and sleety-snow in the air.

We particularly liked the Wet Republic graphic (right--click to enlarge) as it not only pokes fun at pretentious Las Vegas nightlife but is different than most pool-party ads created for all of the other Vegas pool parties. Besides, it looks expensive, too, so we're thinking that MGM is serious about taking business from other pools (cans you say "Rehab"?).

It should be an interesting tanning/outdoor partying season in Las Vegas this year as it appears the various resort's pools are gearing up for a major customer acquisition battle.

The Palms Pool is already open (no, not for ice skating) and they expect to be very aggressive in marketing their special days--and nights--including Ditch Fridays and Skinny Dip Tuesdays.

With the opening of the new topless pool at CityCenter's Aria--named "Liquid"--and the building of the Encore Beach Club (due to open Memorial Day weekend), it should be fun to watch the pools fight for supremacy (and hot babes).

It's about time to drag out our LowLife pool listing, get it dusted off and updated (see link at bottom of Know It All listings) even though it's still going to be just a bit too nippy for serious pool partying this weekend.

A Look at the Bare Pool ad (more)

Hard living and, I guess, hard loving actor Mickey Rourke told a British TV host he once slept with 14 women in one night so if you see ol' Mick at the Green Door, take a number and get in queue--he'll be with you shortly.

Actually, Rourke, 57 has, been behaving himself lately as he's got a new girlfriend (now that he has money again) and she's a babe: Russian model Anastassija Makarenko (or simply "Anastasia"), 24 (see glamour photo below).

Now, the reason Mickey brought this subject up in the first place is because he was asked about a Tiger-like sex scandal going on in England having to do with a famous soccer player named Ashley Cole (see photo below with wife) who supposedly has been bangin' a bunch of gals besides his pop-singing, budding telly-star wife, including model (these models are all sooo naughty, aren't they?) Sonia Wild (also below). Rourke wasn't impressed with the footballer saying "Forget Ashley Cole, his behavior has nothing on a film star."

Supposedly "only" five women have come forward so Tiger wins in the female department but Mr. Cole has gone a step further as he has allegedly been involved in gay orgies, too.

Dear, dear me. These sports and movie stars sure lead a rough life, don't they?
More Gratuitous Photos (more)

With all the early snow, massive mid-season dumps and now more late-season precipitation it's pretty much guaranteed that the '09/'10 ski/snowboard season at Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort will be the longest in its history.

With the early-season snows LVS&SR was the second resort in the country to open (Oct. 7) and now, with this latest snow, the new target date for closure is April 18th (and that could move if it keeps dumpin') so that would make 165 days of snow fun.

It's kinda ironic that a small ski area 45 minutes away from a desert oasis gets more snow than someplace the Winter Olympics were held but that's what's going on this year.

See ya on the slopes for some spring skiing!

There seems to be this widespread belief (amongst a certain type of wet-blanket crowd, that is) that viewing sexual content is bad for a person (i.e. he or she becomes a porn addict and foregoes things like friends, bathing and watching reality shows) and/or a detriment to society (i.e. he becomes a menace to society and begins committing crimes against women and possibly domesticated animals) so it needs to be tightly controlled or eliminated, whenever possible.

However, there have been a couple of recent studies that dispell this line of thought and, in fact, tend to show that consuming porn may actually be good for you, sort of like drinking a little red wine every night.

Psychology Today, which reviewed the studies, states "A positive correlation was obtained between the amount of hardcore pornography that was viewed and the impact of the benefits reaped. This positive correlation was found for both sexes. In other words, the more that one watched porn, the stronger the benefits (for both sexes)!"

Woo hoo! Some good news. So porn is good for you (something Utah knows first hand, so to speak) and drinking is good is good so what will they "discover" next--that swinging is good for you? It's just a matter of time--you watch...

Upon first glance, this item has nothing to do with Las Vegas or Nevada since it happened to a state senator from California but it does have to do with the sex, sexual orientation and the hypocrisy of those in power who rail against that which they can't stop themselves from personally doing but don't want others to do, mostly because they want to get re-elected.

Senator Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield has some 'splaining to do to not only his constituents but we would suppose his wife and four kids might be a tad bit curious as to why their husband/dad spent the night partying at a Sacramento gay club and then got busted for DUI a couple of blocks away from the male hotspot. With another man. After attending a Latin drag queen beauty pageant.

Family Values (more)

If you are the kind who likes to rub elbows with celebrities then Las Vegas is becoming a great place to be able to do so, provided you shell out some cash for the treat.

While we would be all for a "star-fucker" type of meeting with some of the celebs (well, maybe not Penn and/or Teller or Wayne Newton or Terry Fator and there would have to be some alcohol involved for a Donny/Marie romp), the kind of U-pay meetings that are proliferating on the Strip are more of the handshake/photgraph variety.

Here's a look at some rates a few of the performers are charging to get up close and sweat-swappin' personal (ex: Donny & Marie $255, Rita Rudner $90, Holly Madison $210).

So, whataya think when you go to a concert and the headliner makes you wait? And wait. And wait. We usually think, almost no matter the stated reason, that the artist is being just plain rude.

Hey, we have an agreement, don't we? We buy a ticket, you do the show. It's pretty simple, isn't it? We get an excuse to dress up and get in the party mode, you get an excuse to make money doing something you've wanted to do since you were 6 years old (or thereabouts, I'm sure) and you don't have to stock shelves at a grocery store or wait tables at Coco's or work the phones in a call center, instead.

We get transported into another world for 90+ minutes (hopefully longer but ya never know these days) and are able to forget about our worrisome problems for at least a little while. You get transported into a world of glam and freebies and idolatry and maybe TMZ if you're both lucky and unlucky.

More of "The Late Diva" Rant (more)

Because we live here in Sin City we don't get much of a chance to experience something that Las Vegas has become somewhat famous for in the past few year--that of its relaxing spas. Now and then we make a point of playing tourist and booking a room at a local hotel to not only get away from it all but to try and stay somewhat up-to-date on the resort's offerings through the eyes of our out-of-town LowLife members (the fact that we can justify it as a business expense might have something to do with it, too).

Spa-ing is one thing we rarely do when we turn into a Vegas tourist, however. It could be because we usually only go for an overnight stay and want to pack as much entertainment punch into the short sojourn as possible that we overlook the spa offerings of our mega-casinos.

Visiting celebs, on the other hand, know a good thing when they see it. The Bellagio's 65,000 square foot spa, for example, is frequented by such big names as Demi Moore, Matt Damon, Jaime Pressly and baseballer Alex Rodriquez.

Besides playing and recording music at the Palms, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton make use of the resort's spa facilities as do Ben Affleck and Ryan Seacrest.

The 50,000 sq. foot Qua Baths at Ceasars Palace is the spa of choice for Jeremy Piven and Whoopi Goldberg where you can also chill out in their 55-degree Arctic Ice room.

If you are looking for a luxurious pamper treatment while in Las Vegas, you might try one of the Las Vegas spas that About.com's resident spa expert, Anitra Brown, recommends (below). She lists the Top 13 in town including the massive 80,000 square foot spa at City Center's new Aria Resort.

I think we're going to have to make a point of checking out the Las Vegas spas from now on, perhaps starting with the Spa at Mandarin Oriental which has several couples suites in their spa and factors in "private time" in case you get aroused. Now, if a Las Vegas spa would create a group spa for say, 30 of our closest LowLife friends, complete with beds and rub downs and "private time" (although the spa personnel could certainly stay and "assist" us as many are incredibly hot), I think we'd be on to something, wouldn't we?

The Top Las Vegas Spas (more)

The Pure Nightclub version of the Pussycat Dolls burlesque troupe is packing up its g-strings and bustiers and heading across the Las Vegas Strip to Paris Hotel where they will take residency in the upgraded Risque Nightclub.

While the new show won't be unveiled until New Year's Eve, you can still catch some Pussy at Caesars in the PDC casino and the related retail store. There are also plans for a Pussycat Dolls-themed bar at the hotel so there will be scantily-clad babes dancing around The Palace for the foreseeable future. No word on what Pure will be putting in the former PDC space as of yet.

In a related item, the main Pussycat Doll, Nicole Scherzinger (right, center), has been named as a contestant on the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars. While we can't wait to see Nicole in some of those skimpy dance outfits it doesn't seem fair to have an actual dancer in the competition, does it? Other babes to watch include ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, Baywatch milf Pamela Anderson and TV vixen Shannen Doherty.

Partly because it's the first video we've seen coming out of Aria's Haze nightclub and partly because it allows me to post that sexy picture to the left, we're going to let you know that R&B singing star Ciara took the stage Saturday night and performed several songs for the crowd, including "Goodies" and "Oh".

Ciara was at Haze this past weekend joining Mariah Carey who was celebrating the end of her recent Imperfect Angel tour.

Here's the Ciara-at-Haze video. She's a limber gal, isn't she?

We have made no secret of our love for that quirky li'l boutique hotel--the one with the oh-so-cool bar--called the Artisan. We discovered it early on in its existence when--and I'm not making this up--the missus and I had the highest bid in a charity bachelorette auction (for the Downtown First Friday arts group). The girl we "bought" was a hot and sassy bartender at the now-defunct Art Bar and her prize package included a dinner at Treasures Gentleman's Club and Steakhouse (which, coincidentally enough, American LowLife had arranged for Treasures to donate to the benefit).

Anyway, after a great steak dinner and a couple of bottles of wine, we knew we didn't want to call it a night but, since proceeding with a vanilla, single, maybe-bi-fem is nearly always a tricky proposition, we jumped at her idea of heading just up the block to a "very cool, kinda funky, totally non-Vegas" bar inside the Artisan Hotel. She was surprised a couple-about-town like us hadn't heard of the latest-thing place before. Guilty as charged--it was a case of derelict of duty, particularly when you factor in that the LowLife corporate offices at the time were about 2,000 yards away from the hotel (I guess we still thought of it as a Travel Lodge as it used to be).

Our Artisan Story and Five Reasons To Love the Artisan Again (more)