For the next several weeks, the World Series of Poker will be held at the Rio. With over $100 million in prize money paid out last year (in 45 events), the WSOP claims to be the richest event in all of sports (if you consider poker a sport). The main event is the No-Limit Texas Hold'em event which runs July 6-17th. Last year's winner won $12 million!
A History of the WSOP
LowLife Event Listing

If you want to legally drink and drive around Las Vegas, need to save your energy for nightlife or are just plain lazy, why walk through the huge casinos or down the Strip when you can rent a mobility scooter and glide through Sin City?!

Hans Klok has opened his "The Beauty of Magic" show at Planet Hollywood and talks about his co-star Pamela Anderson, meeting magician Siegfried when he was 11 years old and the competition on the Strip, among other things.

Wild child Lindsey Lohan was to get paid a ton of cash (some say a cool mil) to celebrate her birthday party at Pure on July 2nd. However, it looks like she may end up in rehab (at least) on her birthday after a wild Memorial Day weekend in which she crashed her car, was busted for DUI and was later photographed passed out in a car. They also found some coke in the vehicle so she may end up sharing a cell with Paris.

We've got tons of nightclubs here in Las Vegas and now topless pools are becoming the new "dayclubs". This article examines the topless pool scene and also lists the ones that are available to non-hotel guests.

Now is your chance to get a piece of Janet Jackson or any of the other members of the Jackson family as the huge Jackson Family Auction is preparing for the Wednesday/Thursday sell-off at the Hard Rock. You can preview the 1,100 items now and can participate online if you aren't in town. Our listing.

While the largest of the mixed martial arts (MMA) organizations, the UFC, gets a lot of the ink, other MMA groups are also growing up. World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was purchased by the owners of UFC recently and suddenly better venues and bigger TV contracts are popping up.

According to gossip columnist Norm's often accurate sources, UFC superstar fighter Chuck Liddell was seen partying both before and after his first round loss:
"Chuck Liddell's busy week of club-hopping leading up to his Ultimate Fighting Championship title fight is raising eyebrows.
Liddell's 3 1/2-year reign as the UFC's light-heavyweight champion ended with a first-round knockout Saturday at the hands of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at the MGM Grand Garden.
There were multiple sightings of Liddell at Body English nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel, starting on the Sunday before the fight. He was at Jet nightclub at The Mirage on Monday and back at Body English on Wednesday, as seen in a photo posted online.
His fight-week nightcrawling raises questions about how serious the UFC's biggest star took his training.
Liddell also received a hero's welcome at Studio 54 (MGM Grand) after his loss Saturday and was spotted at the Palms pool on Sunday."

If you had a million dollars you wanted to burn in Las Vegas how would you do it? Here's how one guy would spend the cash...

When lifestyle party promoters such as PurrfectLV or Red Twilight hold parties at gentleman's clubs, they always tell us to take the provided shuttle or use our own transportation to get to the event. Don't use a cab or limo, they say, or it will cost you extra $$ at the door. This article on taxicab kickbacks sheds some light on the reasons for this.

If you are looking for an all-American diversion featuring baseball and cheap beer then you might want to check out Thirsty Thursdays at Cashman Field where the Triple-A Dodger farmclub the Las Vegas 51's play. Every Thursday night the 51's are in town you can get $1 12 ounce beers which has turned the stadium into a frat party without the togas.

Celine Dion marked her 650th performance of "A New Day..." (Caesars Palace) on Friday night. Since opening on March 25, 2003, her show has attracted more than 2.5 million spectators. Dion has 75 shows left before her Dec. 15 finale. The tally of 2.5 million is what Elvis drew over 837 sold-out shows at The International (now the Las Vegas Hilton) from July 31, 1969, to Dec. 12, 1976. (Source: Norm -- Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Too many cars, not enough McCarran parking, long cab lines and no hotel rooms will put a slight damper on this jam-packed Memorial Day weekend. 295,000 visitors expected...

Quinton Jackson beat Chuck Liddell in 2003. Since then, even though he has won 7 of 9, Jackson has fought in relative obscurity. Liddell, on the other hand, has gone on to win 7 straight fights and has become the big man in the UFC. Should be a an interesting fight. UFC has come a long way when their top tickets are going for $750!
Our listing.

While there are some "party houses" listed on this site--the type where consenting adults go to play, the other kind of party houses are the type homeowners rent out to party animals coming to town for short-term Vegas visits. And the neighbors don't seem to like the practice for some reason.

Norm, the gossip-monger for the Review-Journal, has this exciting bit of info on two of our fave celebs:
"Will Paris Hilton rain on Lindsay Lohan's 21st birthday parade?
There are rumblings that a Las Vegas get-out-of-jail party is being proposed to Hilton, who will be freed from a 23-day jail sentence shortly before Lohan's July 1-3 bash in Sin City. Hilton starts serving her sentence June 5 for driving with a suspended license. She and Lohan have feuded in recent years over limelight issues.
Meanwhile, more details are coming out about Lohan's party. She turns 21 on July 2, a Monday, so the party starts at midnight on July 1. Caesars Palace will have a specially designed suite ready for her, according to Us magazine. Her main party will be at Pure nightclub at Caesars, with stops at the resort's Venus pool lounge and at Social House restaurant at Treasure Island, both operated by Pure Management Group."

VH-1 held their VH-1 Rock Honors show last night (5/23) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center honoring Ozzy, Heart, Genesis and ZZ Top. Here's what you'll see if you watch it tonight on TV.

Norm, the gossip columnist for the Review-Journal, has this exciting tidbit:
"It's official: The long-rumored Osmonds reunion will be in Las Vegas this summer, with a 50th anniversary PBS special Aug. 13-14 at the Orleans Arena, it was learned Tuesday.
The Utah musical family, who churned out teenybopper hits in the 1970s, hasn't performed together in 25 years.
Teen heartthrob Donny Osmond, who turns 50 in December, will be joined by sister Marie and most of his singing brothers."

The head of MGM Mirage made a cool $15.7 mil. in his 2006 compensation package to top the list of casino execs. Perhaps the pay is justified considering that MGM Mirage owns most of the Strip. The Harrah's top dog made $14 mil. and the Station Casinos big cheese pulled in about $12 mil. Poor Steve Wynn, he didn't quite crack 8 digits...
Casino Execs compensation article

Las Vegas has finally arrived. While we are host to all sorts of glamorous awards shows, this one, at first glance, is the biggest yet. Of course, at second glance it isn't so big but who cares--it's loads of fun! The 16th Annual Reel Awards has moved from L.A. to Las Vegas so be ready to do a few double-takes as the town will be overrun with celebrity impersonators. It's the premier celeb look-alike awards show complete with a red carpet pre-show and an Academy Award-style main event!
The LowLife event listing.

Jesse Saunders, a DJ who is credited with producing and releasing the first "house" single "On And On", lives in Las Vegas now and is bringing house music to Planet Hollywood's new Triq Nightclub inside the Miracle Mile Mall.

From the ESPY's and the Country Music Awards to VH-1's "Rock Honors" and MTV's "Music Video Awards", Las Vegas is becoming home to lots of awards shows.

If you've ever eaten at Hugo's Cellar inside the Four Queens on Fremont Street, then you are familiar with the long-time wine steward Jon Simmons. Hugo's has traditionally been one of the better restaurants downtown and certainly the most romantic. Part of the allure is the fun Jon makes the wine ordering process. He once told us that if he drinks two beers he will get drunk but he can drink three bottles of wine and not feel it. It's good to see him get some recognition.

Did you know there were plans to build all sorts of interesting resorts in Las Vegas including an Addams Family Casino, the Harley Davidson Hotel & Casino, the very ugly Asia Hotel, the 10,000 room Moon Resort, The Titanic and lots of big wheels. Check out this listing of failed Las Vegas dreams.

The date 07/07/07 will be lucky for Las Vegas hotel operators, if no one else. Numerology-oriented tourists are locking up hotel rooms in Las Vegas for the lucky seven date in less than two months. Operators of the Web site Hotels.com report bookings for that date in Las Vegas are up, you guessed it, by 77 percent over the same day in 2006.

Las Vegas' population growth and record tourist counts are causing gridlock around the city. Tell me about it...

As we posted earlier, the King of Pop was none too pleased when an auctioneer announced he was going to auction off a bunch of Jackson family items acquired in a bankruptcy case. When he tried to stop it, the auction house warned Michael that they had some embarrassing items that they would also release if Michael tried to stop the event.
Michael has seen the light and will allow the auction to proceed, presumably reacquiring the sex toys, whitening cream, and portraits of naked boys painted by Michael.
If you are interested in attending the auction or the public viewing of the items, here's the EVENT LINK.

If you saw the movie "Casino", with Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone, then you know what happened to Las Vegas mobster Tony Spilotro (Pesci) and his brother Michael (remember the corn field, the baseball bats, the shallow grave?). Well, until now those 1986 killings have gone officially unclaimed. Looks like a Chicago mobster is shedding lots of light on those and other murders.
Note: The Spilotro brothers were often represented in court by our current mayor and Vegas icon, Oscar Goodman.

The rumor is that Pure nightclub is paying starlet Lindsey Lohan a million bucks to celebrate her 21st birthday at their joint. Word on that and some other Las Vegas appearance fees...

If you are looking to get away from the hustle, bustle, glitz and glamour of the Strip, you might check out Lake Las Vegas as this writer did.

Jerry Lewis will once again be hosting the MDA telethon in Las Vegas. After years of holding it in Los Angeles, Lewis came back to Las Vegas last year and raised a record $61 million. The telethon will take place in the South Point Casino, September 2-3.

The Las Vegas City Council approved the use of horse-drawn carriages in "Historic Las Vegas", which refers to the older parts of the city, not the Strip (thank goodness). Not sure who will want to take a buggy ride through the downtown Arts District and some of the older neighborhoods East of the city but that's the plan.

Steven Wright, the odd-looking, dry, off-beat stand-up comedian will be taking his act to the Orleans this weekend. The Las Vegas Sun interviewed him in advance of his Las Vegas visit.
His comment regarding Las Vegas: "I like to joke to people that it's the only place I play where outside the theater is weirder than what I'm talking about. I love how bizarre it is. The mixture of families and strip clubs. Weird buildings. I like how weird it is."

Land prices are getting pretty crazy on the Strip as the New Frontier Hotel & Casino has been sold for over $1.2 billion, a record $33 million/acre (a record for a larger parcel), to an Israeli-owned real estate investment group. The current owner paid $167 million for the property in 1998! The 1000 New Frontier employees were informed that the 984 room resort will will be closed upon completion of the deal (in about 90 days) to make room for a replica of NYC's Plaza Hotel. (Woo hoo! Another implosion!!)
Originally called the Frontier, the resort is where Elvis got his Las Vegas start (1956), where Diana Ross and the Supremes had their last show (1970) and where Siegfried & Roy performed for years before moving to the Mirage.
If you've always had a hankerin' to ride the mechanical bull or watch the mud wrastlin' at Gilley's Saloon (inside the New Frontier), you have about 3 months to check those things off your list...
More on the purchase.

Patrick Swayze will replace David Hasselhoff in The Producers. You heard it here first (unless we're wrong)...

Will The Producers survive now that their "star power", David Hasselhoff, ungracefully exited the show? What sort of shows will survive long-term in Las Vegas? One can only ponder...

Bobby Darin, of "Mack the Knife" fame, was honored with a sidewalk star on the Las Vegas Strip, right outside the Flamingo where he performed the most. It's the 19th star to be given out. The first? None other than the "Newt", Wayne Newton.

$10 million dollars bought quite a few changes to the Wynn Theater and a few to the script (with more script changes coming soon) so, after closing down for about a month, the Cirque-like Le Reve is back in action.

A few months ago, Steve Wynn implemented a controversial tip-sharing policy at his Wynn Hotel designed to give casino supervisors a piece of the dealers' tips. This didn't go down too well with the dealers so they have decided to unionize, despite an 11th hour plea from Mr. Wynn himself, where he admitted he was wrong.

You'll see a lot of Las Vegas in just-released smaller movies and some big ones coming this summer. Playing in the theaters right now (although probably not for long) are "Next" and "Lucky You" and coming this summer are some big ones: "Ocean's 13", "Knocked Up" and "Transformers" (filmed at Hoover Dam).

Mother's Day morning, if you happen to run into a convoy of perhaps a 1000 motorcycles driving around and then out of town, well, it was a charity event put on by the Academy of Country Music in association with their yearly Las Vegas awards show.

What would Las Vegas do without party girl Paris Hilton for 45 days? Gosh, it would be like the Strip suddenly being without neon lights. But that's exactly what might happen if Paris' lawyers can't figure out a way to keep her out of jail for her alcohol-related reckless driving conviction, a violation of her probation. The bookmakers have posted the odds. Here are some of them:
--Paris Hilton will be caught attempting to escape 4:1
--Paris will publish a Jailhouse workout video 5:1
--Paris will announce that jail is "Hot" 5:1
--She'll come out with a "One Night in Jail" sex tape 20:1
Complete Odds here

There were big plans for the stretch of Harmon Avenue between the Strip and the Hard Rock. There has been land-buyin' and land-sellin', big plans and big partners. So far, pretty much all of the efforts have fallen through. Now, the W Las Vegas has folded up their tent and the 50 acres around where Ice nightclub sits will be sold yet again.

It has now been confirmed by none other than USA Today: When people visit Las Vegas they get naughtier than they would elsewhere, i.e., they get in touch with their "inner LowLife". Who woulda thunk it?

With the success of Mandalay's summer concerts in and around their big pool, other venues are getting into the act with poolside and lakeside concerts of their own. Everyone from the Hard Rock and the Orleans to Lake Las Vegas and even Silverton.

She didn't grow up here but she moved to Lake Las Vegas a few years ago and now trains here with her coach, Butch Harmon. Natalie Gulbis is one of the hottest golfers on the LPGA tour (and we aren't talking about her actual golfing although she did place top 5 last weekend).
A few pictures of the babe and also a very hot (but short) slide show which took place on Reflection Bay Golf Course at Lake Las Vegas.
Yeah, we're too good to ya, we know...

The De La Hoya/Mayweather fight last weekend set all sorts of records including: 1) Non-heavyweight pay-per-view buys, 2) All-time record for PPV buys, 3) Live gate revenue record and 4) All-time revenue record period. Good job, boys. Now, what's up with the re-match?

It's tough to stay number one but the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority aims to try, and try in a big way. The LVCVA just voted to upgrade the convention center to the tune of $890 million! We make about $8.2 billion on trade shows each year and we host 45 of the top 200 US shows--we don't want to lose any of that.

If a local sports group has their way, MLS soccer will beat other local attemps at bringing a major league sports franchise here. The sports group wants to tap into the growing Hispanic market and hopes to build a high-tech, state-of-the-art stadium with a retractable roof that will be linked with a casino. The billionaires involved wouldn't need any outside funding.

Yet another record in gambling revenues. For the 11th straight year in this particular study, revenue was up, up, up in 2006. In 460 commercial casinos across 11 states, gaming revenue is up almost 7% to $32 billion dollars. And this doesn't include revenue from the Indian casinos and a few other sources. Nevada's portion was $12.6 billion.
For reference, $32 bil. could buy 19 Bellagios, 982 years of Celine's salary, and 6,480,000 breast jobs (more comparisons in the article).

With the success of the new-era Cirque du Soleil show "Love" featuring the Beatles music (the soundtrack is multi-platinum, btw) and the upcoming Criss Angel and Elvis-themed shows, Cirque is branching out in all sorts of ways.

It appears a new club has opened at the Stratosphere and it isn't Polly Esther's. Something called "Spooge" has opened at the tip of the Strat. Spooge on the tip? Ladies drink free spooge shots? Hmmm... sounds suspicious (but fun).

The head honcho at HBO, in town 'cause his network had the pay-per-view rights to the Mayweather/De La Hoya fight, was so inspired by the bout inside the MGM that he re-enacted round 11 with his girlfriend in the valet parking lot at 3 in the morning. The CEO won the round in a split decision but ended up in jail so was ultimately declared the loser of the fight overall. No word on a rematch.

This is a trend we like--more topless pools in Las Vegas!
The list of topless pools is expanding. The new ones this year are Bare at the Mirage, the Tao Beach Club at the Venetian and now the Flamingo joins the group with their new Go Pool, which will be located on the roof of their new luxury "Go" rooms (opens May 15--for hotel guests only).
Existing Euro-style pools include Moorea at Mandalay, Venus at Caesars, Sunset at Wynn and Club 25 at the Strat.

Dino's, the self-proclaimed "Last Neighborhood Bar" in Las Vegas (a downtown dive bar landmark), will be featured in an upcoming Hollywood movie staring Drew Barrymore and Eric Bana called Lucky You. Be on the look out for it.

Here are some of the celebs that were spotted at the big Mayweather/De La Hoya fight: Michael Jordan; Charles Barkley; Mike Tyson; Oscar winners Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington and Helen Mirren; Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony; Will Ferrell; Jay-Z; Usher; Chris Tucker; Eddie Murphy; Jeremy Piven; John Madden; Leonardo DiCaprio; Tobey Maguire; Mary J. Blige; Matthew McConaughey; Michael Spinks; Reggie Bush; Russell Crowe; Ron Howard; Sasha Baron Cohen; and Tom Jones. (BTW, Mayweather won in a split decision)

Celebrity Chef Charlie Palmer, who has a restaurant inside Mandalay/Four Seasons, has taken the next step with the City of Las Vegas to build a 426 room boutique condo-hotel downtown.

If you are a cigar aficionado, this article might be of interest to you. It lists the author's favorite places to smoke a fine stogie in Las Vegas and also some good places to purchase them.

If you intend to visit Las Vegas from the South next week, you'll want to make sure you are aware of the upcoming closure of the dam to vehicle traffic. Starting Monday, U.S. 93 at the dam will be closed nightly in both directions from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., Monday night through Thursday morning, to allow for work on the nearby bypass bridge.

It's official: MTV's Music Video Award Show will be held at the Palms this summer. And not just in a theatre but all over the resort...

The length of David Hasselhoff's short-lived run as star of the Vegas stage show The Producers might be explained by this article on his drinking problem.

It's not impossible to get tickets for Saturday's Oscar De La Hoya/Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight but be prepared to pay a buttload for 'em as they are going for extreme amounts--up to $30,000 per pair!

As expected, when Celine Dion concludes her nearly 5 year run at Caesars Palace this December, Bette Midler will step in and give us 100 shows a year. Elton John will still do his 50 shows so there's plenty of room for another entertainer to fill the remainder of the nights. It's been long rumored it will be Cher.

Britney Spears gave a brief "mini-concert" in San Diego Tuesday night. Doors opened at 7, she took the stage at 10, sang and danced through five past hits and left the stage 14 minutes later, leaving the crowd begging for more. You, too, can beg for more when the now slightly-pudgy Pop Princess plays at the Las Vegas House of Blues this Sunday in another mini-concert.

Sports Illustrated has an in-depth look at the upcoming De La Hoya/Mayweather mega-fight happening this weekend in Las Vegas, in case you have the time...

The Venetian's new tower, the Palazzo, has picked out a production for their new showroom which opens early next year. The hit Broadway musical "Jersey Boys" (the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) will debut in a 1,600 seat theatre and will not be limited to 90 minutes as most Broadway-to-Vegas shows are.

In an effort to have an elusive winning season, the UNLV Football team has downgraded their '07 schedule and have included seemingly weaker opponents such as high school teams, technical schools, a women's team and a school for the deaf. (I think)

Lucky Cheng's, the dinner and drag queen show, has moved from the Strip strip mall they were located in to inside Krave nightclub. We knew you'd want to know...

For the 13th straight year, Las Vegas has led the list of top convention towns. Sin City hosted 45 of America's top 200 trade shows in 2006, more shows than the combined total of Orlando, Fla., and Chicago, the next two places on the list. The $8.1 billion spent on trade shows in this town in '06 surpassed the $6.7 billion the Strip casinos won.

Word on the Strip is, MTV's popular and wildly unpredictable music awards show the Video Music Awards show will next be held in Las Vegas, joining the Billboard Music Awards, the Country Music Awards and a host of other awards shows already held here. VMA has traditionally been held in New York City, Los Angeles and Miami but it sounds like MTV wants to get in on the Sin City action.