The syndicated entertainment news show "Extra" now has a permanent local bureau at the "Extra" Lounge at Planet Hollywood Resort. If you want to catch stars, you might stop by the lounge which is located on the casino floor.
"The decision to have a bureau" here "has more than paid off," according to co-executive producer Jeremy Spiegel. "It's exploded." After all, "The stars are all in Vegas," he reasons. "How can we not be in Vegas?"
It means visitors "can come in and be in the presence of stars," Spiegel notes, adding that "Extra" plans to expand its Planet Hollywood presence with a 27th-floor suite featuring a "state-of-the-art" studio -- and a panoramic Strip view.

Las Vegas had one of the hottest home markets in the nation for awhile. It was so hot, people would buy up houses and sell 'em after a few months (i.e. "flip" 'em), reeling in a tidy profit. Now, with the market not quite so warm, many are stuck with homes they can't afford.

Most of the shooting for the "The Untitled Blackjack Picture," formerly known as "21" (math whizzes who count cards for lots of money) is over but there will be a few final scenes shot on Tuesday (5/1) at the Palms.
A bunch of people -- a hundred extras, ages 21 to 35 -- are needed Tuesday at the Palms' ghostbar deck while a helicopter (and camera) hovers above.
Wild Streak Talent still needs background players for the scene; if you're interested, e-mail wildstreakt@aol.com or telephone them at 702-252-8382.

This Saturday's fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has passed into mega-fight status with a record $19 million in live gate receipts and the possibility of a record in pay-per-view revenue. Which Vegas fight was the most important? Leonard/Hearns? Holmes/Cooney? Hearns/Hagler? The experts disagree.
Also: The Top 35 Highest Grossing Gates according to the Nevada State Boxing Commission.

According to a recent survey done by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the number of people who come to Las Vegas primarily to gamble is on the uptick. The study which has been done yearly for the past 32 years, gives the reasons people come to Las Vegas and what they spend money on.

Just a bit south of Las Vegas is a fairly small town on the Colorado River called Laughlin. During this time of year, the population swells by some 75,000 people for the largest ride-in motorcycle rally in the West. The 25th annual Laughlin River Run is underway! Gentleman, start your Harleys!

With the Hard Rock re-opening Rehab, their extreme eye-candy pool party every Sunday, this article on the best Las Vegas pools for sight-seeing can come in handy.

Carmen Electra backed out of a new magic show opening next month at Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino. The official word is she is claustrophobic and can't deal with magician Hans Klok's confined spaces. She'll be replaced by Pamela Anderson for the summer, at least.

While it's unlikely any Las Vegas sports book will take action on the event, the fiercely contested USA Rocks, Paper, Scissors national championship will be held in Las Vegas May 11-13 nonetheless. The winner of this highly-skilled competition will win $50,000 and it will be nationally televised on ESPN. No word on if there will be mandatory drug testing or not. Our listing.

Burlesque queen Dita von Teese is currently doing a guest appearance at MGM's Crazy Horse Paris show. Here's a short interview with the sexy vamp.

Many Lowlifes have spent more than a few nights kicking up their heels at the famed Drai's nightclub inside the Barbary Coast but probably less of us have eaten in the restaurant by the same name. Well, if ya don't hurry, you won't get a chance to sample the fine food as Drai's will stop being a mixed-use venue and concentrate solely on dancin' & drinkin', closing down the eatery after dinner this Saturday.

This summer, June 16th to be exact, Mandalay's Euro-style pool will unveil a new Miami-style night spot -- a three story, outdoor, open-air gaming area. Here's what the pool looks like during the day. No sneak peeks on the new club just yet.

About 10 years ago, so-called "corporate raider" Carl Icahn assumed control of the financially troubled Stratosphere and Arizona Charlie properties for close to $300 million. Now he's selling them for $1.3 billion. Not a bad return on investment.

More Paris/Britney gossip? Do tell, do tell!
Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was reportedly seen snuggling up to Britney Spears' estranged husband, Kevin Federline, in a Las Vegas club this weekend.
Hilton and Spears were regularly seen out clubbing together in Los Angeles last November, shortly after Spears filed for divorce from Federline, but their friendship quickly turned sour when the pop star allegedly accused Hilton of damaging her reputation with her wild partying ways.
And now the blonde socialite appears to be getting her revenge on the troubled Spears -- by dancing intimately with Federline at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Will this drive Britney into a relapse? Stay tuned...

#1 in car thefts, that is. After a steady climb through the rankings, Las Vegas has finally become the top location for car thieves in the nation. As usual, the Accord, Civic and Camry are the top models that were stolen.

After a month-long, $8 million makeover, Le Reve has re-opened at the Wynn. The show is supposedly more upbeat, features more awe-inspiring special effects and has specially-priced VIP seating for the Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberry set.

Hooters has turned one of their lounges into a mini-showroom and a raunchy stand-up comedian named Bobby Slayton is the first headliner at the Hooters Night Owl Showroom. You may not be familiar with his on-stage performances but perhaps you might know him from his acting roles. He was Joey Bishop in the made-for-TV movie "The Rat Pack" and has appeared in such theatrical releases as "Get Shorty," "Bandits " and "Dreamgirls."

Lake Las Vegas was originally going to be a Las Vegas Strip on the water complete with 6-8 large resorts and up to 15,000 rooms. 16 years later it has about 1000 rooms total. What happened?

The travel industry calls 'em "Mancations". Many of those male-bonding vacations are taking place in Las Vegas.

We've heard some good things about the new show at Planet Hollywood and the Las Vegas Review-Journal seems to agree that Stomp Out Loud is a pretty good show.

MGM Mirage has re-estimated the cost of it's mixed-use CityCenter project to a whopping $7.4 billion dollars! MGM isn't worrying, though, as demand for their condo units are strong.

Ya know that vacant lot across from the Sahara that always seemed like a good place to develop? Well, apparantly MGM Mirage thought so too as they gobbled up that parcel and another nearby so, when included with their Circus Circus property, they own a massive stretch of the north Strip. A close-up look.
Not sure if it's such a good thing for them to have so much of the Strip, as you can see from this map of who owns what.

There are vegans and there are Las Vegans and normally the two don't mix all that well. However, if you look hard enough, there are a few places where vegetarians can find some good eats. Well, good to them, at least.

It seems six Cirque du Soleil shows are not enough for Las Vegas as the famous entertainment conglomerate has plans for Cirque shows at every Strip hotel. (I think)

The units in the Sands new condo tower are expected to be the most expensive on the Strip. Being built next to the Venetian's 3,000 room expansion tower--the Palazzo--the units are expected to sell for between $1,500 and $2,000 a square foot!
With all the new condos opening on the Strip in the next few years, how we will we ever get around?

While the official grand opening isn't until September 28th, all remaining traces of the Aladdin name have been removed from what will now be known as the Planet Hollywood era of the property.
So far, 1000 of the resort's 2500 rooms have been remodeled in a movie-memorabilia theme and a bunch of new restaurants and nightclubs are due to open in the months heading up to the grand opening.
Also, concrete has now been poured on Planet Hollywood Towers, two 50 story mixed-use towers set to open in 2009.
Thanks for the memories, Aladdin and good luck to Planet Ho, er, ah Planet Hollywood!

At the Riviera, the long-running water-themed show Splash is making way for "ICE: Direct from Russia". Splash had been around for 21 years but the Riv felt it had run it's course so a new ice skating show will replace it beginning April 25 with 10 performances per week.

The biggest obstacle to future growth in Las Vegas is water, or more precisely, with the Colorado River being so low, the lack of available water. Looks like another 1/2 million new residents can move to Las Vegas now as we received approval to pipe in a bunch from the north. C'mon down, y'all!

We'll find out today if the trouble-plagued topless club will remain open as the Las Vegas City Council votes on whether to give them a permanent liquor license or not. One of the major questions the Council has is, is the new owner of Crazy Horse Too actually the owner or is he a front for the old owner who is persona non grata in this town?

We knew he wasn't the perfect husband in the perfect marriage! We just knew Las Vegan Andre Agassi's true colors would come out eventually. We just knew something like this would happen: Andre publicly bitch-slapped his wife Steffi Graff in the mouth, bloodying her lip and requiring her to get three stitches. Guess all is not so rosy in Vegas' version of Camelot, eh?
(Um, does it matter that they were playing tennis together--actually holding hands while playing--raising money for a charity event, when his backswing caught her lip? Hmmm, ok, we'll let you slide this time, Andre, but we're watching you!)

A Las Vegas Review-Journal writer updates the ancient Seven Wonders of the World list with a local version that contains things like the buffet, showgirls and neon.

If you are wondering how the newest Cirque du Soleil show Love is, check out this rather extensive review.

Tha Aladdin Hotel will soon be officially part of Las Vegas' past as a two-year effort by OpBiz, the partnership that purchased the bankrupt Aladdin for $496 million, culminates Tuesday afternoon when the property is rechristened as Planet Hollywood Resort.
OpBiz executives said they spent close to $1 billion to update and redefine all aspects of the property, removing all elements of the Arabian nights theme.

While most of us like the mayor of Las Vegas, many Nevadans are not particularly enamored with the scandal-plagued governor's first 100 days in office.

Many places around the world are trying to copy the successful Las Vegas model: gambling, Broadway-caliber entertainment, fine dining and other high-end amenities. New locations include Spain, England, Argentina, several places in Asia and maybe even the Philippines and Vietnam.

Don't try using "What Happens in Boise Stays in Boise" (or something similar) or you just might get served with a lawsuit courtesy of The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Mega super gargantuan music star Ashlee Simpson and Fall Out Boy star Pete Wentz were seen kissing and pawing each other at Jet nightclub earlier this week, making it difficult to deny the rumors of a relationship. We knew you would want to know that.

The Fremont Street gentlemen's club Glitter Gulch has reopened after a brief hiatus. Earlier this year the club underwent a $3.5 million renovation, quite a sum for a relatively intimate 6,500-square-foot space.

In a yearly study of Las Vegas show offerings, it's confirmed what you probably have suspected--show room prices keep going up, up, up. Interestingly enough, high-end Wynn is going the opposite direction with lower-priced Spamalot.

If you are a die-hard Coke or Pepsi person and you actually choose airlines, movie theatres or restaurants based on who carries which brand, then you need to see this pretty cool map of all the major Las Vegas resorts color-coded by soft drink brand!

If it wasn't for big baccarat players who came to Las Vegas for the Chinese New Year, February would have been a bad month for Strip gaming wins. The visitors the NBA All-Star game attracted frequented our top restaurants and trendy clubs but shunned the tables and slot machines.

Herbst Gaming completed its $400 million acquisition of Whiskey Pete's, Primm Valley Hotel and Buffalo Bill's at the Nevada-California border from MGM Mirage. Herbst own's Terrible's Casino on Paradise and Flamingo, the Terrible Herbst gas stations around the valley and several other gaming-related businesses in other states.
The Primm employees sound happy to now be working for a large fish in a small pond rather than a guppie in MGM's ocean.

Las Vegas casinos are on a never-ending campaign to spot cheaters. Here are a few examples of con attempts...

After 12 months of digging the below-ground parking garage, the high-rise condo project called Cosmopolitan has begun to build upwards. If you remember the dance club "Seven" on the corner of Harmon and the Strip (across from the Harley Davidson Cafe), then you know where the Cosmo is being constructed. They are jamming 3,000 condo/hotel rooms into two 600 foot towers on only 8 acres.

After several years in the making, the new consolidated McCarran car rental center has finally opened. 11 rental companies share a common location and also a common shuttle bus system, hopefully reducing traffic at the airport. We want to thank all of you car renters who have been paying an extra $3/day to fund the $170 million project.

So, how did the inaugural Vegas Grand Prix do? With all the noise and the closed-off access was it worth it? Looks like it was a qualified success.

With sales of Las Vegas condos cooling off, Donald Trump will use his "Apprentice" TV show to give his Strip tower project more exposure and possibly more sales.

Sam Nazarian, the new owner of the Sahara, has a portfolio of trendy clubs, restaurants and hotels, and has big plans for the 54 year old property.

If you've been itching to get your hands on Jackson Family mementos, check out the auction happening at the Hard Rock May 30, 31. Looking for Michael Jackson's gold "Thriller" album, hand-written lyrics to the Jackson's "ABC", or the King of Pop's white fedora from the "Bad" music video? This is the place to be. That is, if an angry Michael isn't able to legally stop the auction.

Despite the announcement that he's already gone from the Rio, it looks like Prince will be around at least for the rest of April with performances on April 13/14, 20/21, and 27/28. Catch the li'l fellow while you still can!

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. shareholders approved a $17.1 billion buyout Thursday by two private equity groups in the largest deal ever to take a publicly held casino company private.
Harrah's owns Caesars, Paris, Harrah's, Rio, Flamingo, Bally's and Imperial Palace in Las Vegas and properties in a dozen other states.

Las Vegas officials submitted a proposal to the NBA for a basketball franchise, omitting any reference to a sports betting ban.

South Point Casino, when it was South Coast, was fairly bland and boring. Now that Michael Gaughan of Barbary/Gold/Sun Coast fame is back with his own property once again, it appears the place will be moving in the direction of Red Rock and Green Valley Resorts--a more happening place to go.
A famous Vegas gourmet restaurant, Michael's, will re-open this month and in May we'll see a brand new dance club opening called Fever Nite Club.
You go South Point!

In a shocking development, incumbant mayor Oscar Goodman barely won his re-election bid by receiving a paltry 84% of the votes.

For some of the best seats to the Vegas Grand Prix, you might want to grab a downtown hotel room and watch through the window. Of course, many hotels have adjusted their room rates accordingly.

The first annual Vegas Grand Prix is happening this weekend and while the open-wheel street race should be fun for spectators, it'll be a pain to get in and out of Downtown.
Map of Grand Prix route.
Schedule of events.

From Norm, the gossip guy:
Sahara headliner Amazing Johnathan said doctors have informed him he faces a heart transplant if the latest treatments fail. The comic magician said he has been taking blood thinners and will have a defibrillator placed in his heart next week.
"The heart is damaged and not going to get any better," he told Vegas Confidential. He said a virus has been destroying his heart since childhood. "And they said I'll probably need a transplant."
He was shocked, he said, to learn his doctors are convinced he's already had a heart attack. "If I lose the weight and keep my blood thin, I should be all right," he said. "They are seeing what they can do without doing the transplant."
He indicated he had no plans to end his show, although he had suggested recently he was considering retirement.
Amazing Johnathan's A.L.L. show listing.

For Python fanatics...
An excerpt from a Las Vegas Sun article: "I'll attempt not to spoil a key moment in "Spamalot" by reporting that if a ticket buyer wants to purchase the seat that figures prominently in the performance, he or she can ask for that seat without knowing its exact location and the box office will do its best to accommodate the request."

Seeing how we have thousands of members who are Liza fanatics, here are a few photos from her recent birthday celebration and performance at the Luxor. You can thank us later...

After getting gouged for drinks at the Celine show, a writer searched out (and found) free and inexpensive things to do in Las Vegas.

In case you missed the Foosball and Air Hockey tournament held in Las Vegas recently... $75k in foos prizes??!

A writer stops and checks out the new Pussycat Dolls gaming pit at Caesars Palace. Let's hope other casinos copy the trend of having scantily-clad dealers that aren't tucked away in a private club...

Sly, of Sly and the Family Stone, performed in Las Vegas recently, his first appearance with his band since the 80's (other than a quickie on the Grammy's last year). Sounds like he has some work to do to get back into full form.
Also, a behind-the-scenes look at what performer George Wallace went through to get Sly to perform.

We are always thankful that Norm, the gossip guy from the Review-Journal, is keeping us up on the all-important B.S. sightings:
"Racking up more points for mother-of-the-year honors, Britney Spears made a post-rehab run to Las Vegas on Saturday. Spears, whose month long rehab stint ended about a week ago, had dinner at Tao Bistro in The Venetian.
Spies say Spears, accompanied by two galpals and a bodyguard, requested a table close to a restroom "because she would be using the restroom a lot." Her handlers also advised the staff not to serve her any alcohol. She was seen drinking what appeared to be a soft drink.
Spears, who was wearing a blond wig, and her party were in the restaurant for about an hour."

If you are looking for some dive bars in Las Vegas with some history, personality and some cheap drinks, you can follow the path these guys took.

The Tropicana Hotel has fifty years of memories, not all of them good. It also appears to be sticking around for many more, in a form designed to compete against the mega-resorts.
Some long time Trop employees' stories.