The Las Vegas 51's are the triple-A baseball affiliate for the Los Angeles Dodgers so when one of the players gets injured, we often see them over at Cashman Field while they are rehabbing.

These next 4 games at home versus Salt Lake City will see more huge names (i.e. contracts) then we have ever seen when major league stars Rafael Furcal, Andruw Jones and Nomar Garciaparra all wear the 51's uniform at the same time.

Las Vegas 51's website.

South Korean-born Inbee Park attended Las Vegas' Bishop Gorman High School and won the Class 4A women's title as a Junior and Senior.

She has now hit the big time by winning the U.S. Women's Open. Park was the only player in the final nine groups to break par. She finished at 9-under 283 and earned $585,000, then got soaked at the end of a sunny afternoon when Jeong Jang and I.K. Kim rushed onto the green and doused her with beer.

Way to go Inbee!

More than 40,000 new hotel rooms will become available in Las Vegas over the next four years, triple the number Beijing is providing for the Olympics—and in a city that already has 7% of America’s hotel rooms.

If you've walked up and down the Strip you might have stumbled across a star embedded in the concrete with names on them like Wayne Newton (the first one added in '04), Liberace, Siegfried & Roy, Bobby Darin and Sammy Davis Jr. There are 25 total so far. You might have also stepped on a star where the name was unfamiliar since they allow almost anyone with $15,000 to receive one (we'll let you know where they place the star for the Lowest LowLife--get yours, too! Here's the Las Vegas Walk of Stars Website).

One name you haven't stepped on is the King himself, Elvis Presley. You would think Mr. Viva Las Vegas would already have one but it seems Cilla, Lisa Marie and the guy who owns the bulk of the rights to the Elvis estate don't particularly care (with all the cash he's made on the Viva Viagra commercial you would think he'd donate a few bucks, wouldn't you?).

A local Elvis fan club has $13k so far...

Gossip Dude Norm Explains About the Progress of the Elvis Star (more)

If a large part of your business depends on truck drivers frequenting your establishment then it would make sense in these times of high fuel prices to give the trucker an incentive he can really use. Like free gas, discounted poontang or 2-for-1's for example.

Casinos and car dealers are giving away free gas, discounted gas or gas cards so why shouldn't Nevada's legal brothels since, as Geoffrey Arnold, president of the Nevada Brothel Owners' Association says, truckers account for as much as 75 percent of business at the state's rural brothels along Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 95?

One brothel, the Shady Lady Ranch along U.S. 95 about 150 miles north of Las Vegas, plans to offer $50 gas cards to clients who spend $300 and $100 gas cards to those who spend $500.

More Incentives at the BunnyRanch (more)

PurrfectLV is having a party at Poetry tonight and it just so happens that MTV starlet LaLa and NBA star Carmel Anthony will be attending, also.

Um, ok, so Lala and fiance Carmelo might say they aren't at Poetry for the Purrfect party and might come up with some flimsy excuse (like it's Lala's birthday and they are getting paid to be there--sooo totally flimsy!) but Purrfect was able to book the space prior to Poetry booking the celebs so it looks like tonight will be full of star-watching (and star-fucking?) possibilities...

Note: Watch and see if Carmelo is drinking. He just got busted for a DUI in Denver and promised to be a good boy for awhile. There were also reports that Lala refused to come to the police station and pick him up so maybe there will be some drama, too.

25 years ago we attended the grand opening celebration for the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV. While we sat way up in the bum fuck seats, we thought it was pretty cool that Las Vegas was getting what was then a damn nice arena. It was also pretty fine that the openers were Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Diana Ross--gotta love Vegas!

Over the years we saw a ton of good basketball there including the incredible '90 NCAA champs UNLV Runnin' Rebel team (nearly 19,000 fans for most every game at T&M '83 through '91) and the NBA game where Kareem broke Chamberlin's scoring mark (yeah, it happened in Vegas against Utah when the Jazz used to play some games here).

We saw great concerts (even though the sound quality often sucked--they've kinda fixed it now), some kick-ass National Finals Rodeos, and everything from X-games to championship boxing.

Thomas & Mack Showing Age (more)

With the airline industry in a state of panic due to the bad economy and high fuel prices, lots and lots of carriers are cutting flights, even to Las Vegas. For example, US Airways will have chopped at least 48% of their routes to McCarran by the end of the year.

On the other hand, the largest carrier serving Las Vegas--Southwest--is only cutting 2 flights to McCarran. Nationally, SWA is cutting 31 flights and adding 40 making it one of the few airlines to actually add service.

How does Southwest do it? They bought a lot of fuel when it was much cheaper. Today, with oil prices topping $140 per barrel, Southwest is getting 70 percent of its fuel for $51 per barrel. Next year it will get 55 percent of its fuel for $51. Fuel deals alone saved the airline $727 million last year.

Of course, their fuel reserves will run out eventually. By 2012, when Las Vegas will need 6.4 million more visitors annually to maintain today's hotel occupancy rates, Southwest's cheap fuel stockpile will represent just 15 percent of its supply.

But for right now, anyway, Las Vegas is pretty damn happy SWA is in good shape.

Finding Amanda--which opens Friday--is a movie about a compulsive gambler (Matthew Broderick) who is ostensibly looking for his niece in Las Vegas but has really come to gamble. The niece is played by Brittany Snow who happens to be a Las Vegas prostitute who, at first, is happy with her line of work.

For pre-movie research, Snow visited strip clubs to interview strippers and a prostitute. “I’m so glad that I did it because what I learned was that these girls were gorgeous, personable, articulate and smart. Some of them had kids. Some of them didn’t. Some came from bad homes and some didn’t.”

While the movie is getting mediocre reviews, we give Brittney two thumbs up and hope she'll receive a role in a swingers movie and need to do some research...

With the messed up economy and high gas prices, Las Vegas is going through a wheelin' 'n' dealin' stage. Room rates along the Strip have dropped on average for 13 consecutive weeks so now is the time to get some good rates.

Bitch Session:
There's a line in the article that kind of pisses us off: "Companies cut room rates in the hope that customers will not only fill the rooms, but spend the extra money in the property's restaurants, shows or on the casino floor."

Well, fuck yeah! Duh! That's what they did in the good ol' days of Vegas but now that the accountant-mentality has taken over the town (and nothing against accountants--some of them are smokin' in the sack) every department has to make a profit and all the perceived deals have dried up. Remember when rooms were cheap and they used to give away shows and food and all sorts of things on a regular basis (not just when your players card had enough points) and you left town thinking Vegas was a pretty good deal even though you might not have done so well at the table?

OK, OK, I guess when a resort costs 3+ billion bucks ya gotta squeeze money from every nook and cranny but we just wonder if that's gonna kill our golden goose...

In an effort to keep the conversation going about the news we report happening in Las Vegas, we've added "Hot Topics" to the home page (to the right).

You've seen the feature on online newspapers and blogs--where the popular stories (as judged by responses) are kept alive in a ranking system. While we get some responses to the Vegas and lifestyle news we post, we think we'd get a lot more if they didn't disappear to the archives after a couple of days. That's what Hot Topics is all about.

So now when you read something on the Home page, feel free to say your piece--maybe others will say their's and we can get a discussion going about this crazy place called Sin City...

Not your typical lifestyle party: It's a little bit looser, a little bit wilder, a little more energy and promises to be a hell of a lot of fun!

It's "Swing! On the Strip" and our first one is a Beach Party! Woo hoo!! "Swing Shots" for everyone!!

Easy in and out (get your mind out of the gutter!) -- Ya don't have to go through a casino. Cheaper drinks, a misbehaven' atmosphere, discount for couples for online tix purchase!

To see the RSVP's and purchase tickets click on this link: Party Listing

It's an endangered species and only 75 are on display throughout the United States, but now you can head over to Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef and see a legendary predator: a Komodo dragon.

In the early days, the lizard was thought to be a man-eater but, while it's bite and the resultant wound can ultimately be fatal due to the bacteria in the saliva, Komodos prefer to munch on smaller Komodos, deer, fish and other delecacies.

So, what does the Mandalay dragon eat? About 3 pounds of rats per week--yummy.

Since their star attraction--a hammerhead shark--died in 2004, the Shark Reef has been looking for a replacement with star power and are hoping the 7-foot-long Mr. Komodo will fill the bill.

Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg and the rest of The View cast will be sweating like dogs, giving their makeup people fits, as they broadcast live from a set built atop the Caesars Palace fountains. Live broadcasts start at 8 a.m. today through Wednesday, with additional tapings at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Those Tuesday and Wednesday shows will see mid-90's at that time period so it'll be fun to see which host passes out first!

Also: Auditions for "Who Whats to Be a Millionaire?" will be held on Wednesday. Click for more info. (more)

Well, bummer. 71 year old comedian George Carlin recently signed a deal for several performances at The Orleans (he was just there the previous weekend) and goes and has a fatal heart attack on Sunday. He also just won the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and was supposed to receive the honor on HBO on November 11th.

Just goes to show ya that no matter what grand plans you come up with for yourself, there are other plans that have been made for you.

George, you were definitely an original and pushed the comedy envelope and we'll miss you for that.

The 7 Dirty Words Routine

The Venetian is having a unique promotion this summer and if you take advantage of it you can get a suite for a sweet price. The economy is forcing Las Vegas resorts to conjure up creative ways to lure customers to their hotel beds and the Venetian has come up with one based on the temperature forecast.

If the temperature is projected to be 101 degrees, you get a room for for $101. Not a bad deal. Check out this article for the promo code.

Most web surfers use Internet Explorer as their web browser (around 74% do) but Firefox is gaining ground all the time (18%). We use both and test our site on both (and others) so don't particularly care which you use. However, we do know our Home page packs a lot of information into it and isn't the quickest loading page around so if there was a way to speed that up without removing anything we'd be all for it.

Well, Firefox has just released Firefox 3 with a promise of, among other things, faster page loading. So, we downloaded it (it's free) and gave it a try and lo and behold it really is faster than either FF2 or IE7, at least on our initial trials.

Give it a try and see what you think--free Firefox download.

More on Firefox 3 (more)

A short while back football player Javon Walker claimed that several guys came to his Bellagio hotel room around 4:30 in the morning and bashed his head when he opened the door. They then, supposedly, dragged him down the elevator, through the casino, loaded him in a car, robbed and dumped him behind the Flamingo.

For some reason, the Bellagio disputes at least part of his story. Go figure. Could it be that Las Vegas casinos possibly have more surveillance cameras per square foot than any other buildings in the United States? Might be--check out this article on high-tech snooping in Las Vegas.

With Spamalot closing on July 13th, Wynn wants to make sure it goes out with a bang. There's a new promotion going on for everyone (not just locals as before) where you can get two tickets for the price of one.

If you haven't seen the show, now might be a good time to do so (and you don't have to be a Monty Python fan to appreciate the show's zaniness).

Check out the flyer to the right for details on how to redeem the offer (click to enlarge).

The LowLife Spamalot show listing

Singing star George Michaels is at the MGM on Saturday as part of his last US tour so, as as part of our civic duty, we're giving you a link to a column that lists 25 things you might not have known about the performer.

For example, "Michael's solo debut, "Faith," was the first album to generate six top five singles in the United States" is pretty remarkable.

I suppose the one LowLifes can relate to best is: "In a 2005 article in The Independent, he said he still seeks out a "huge amount" of sexual partners, including prostitutes." Mr. Wham!, bam, thank you, er, ah, ma'am, he is...

A certain LowLife programmer might be able to relate to (at one point in his life) "...Michael has claimed that he was smoking up to 25 joints a day ..."

We hereby award George Michael a "LowLife for a Day" award! Catch him at the MGM on Saturday.

A more in-depth look at Michael and his MGM concert

To many people, Las Vegas tap water has always been some of the poorer tasting water in the country. Sellers of bottled water and filtration units have jumped on that and turned it into big business. The Las Vegas Valley Water District just wants you to know that despite the sucky taste, the water is safe and--perhaps the biggest selling point of all is--thousands of times less expensive per gallon than the bottled stuff.

We get 90% of our tap water from Lake Mead and since most of the water used in the valley washes down from the Rocky Mountains and comes here by way of the silt-laden Colorado River, Las Vegas has some of the "hardest" water in the country, as measured by its mineral content.

We use so much chlorine to disinfect the water that the taste suffers. The LVVWD could use expensive procedures to soften the water for us but since we use 70% of the stuff on our lawns and other landscaping they figure it's not worth it.

So, when you are sitting there in a restaurant and they ask you if you want a $20 bottle of water, just remember the tap water won't kill you and if you get it cold enough, your taste buds might not notice it, either.

Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN, not to be confused with the College of Southern Nevada) will be in town Friday at the Red Rock. Let's see, a stand-only, outside concert for the AARP set in this heat? Give us the Mercy Ambulance concession...
An Interview with Graham Nash.

Everyone's favorite crooner, Michael Bolton (especially Biff's--he calls him "audio Viagra"), will be at the Orleans both weekend nights. Can you believe the guy has sold 53 million albums? An interview with Mr. Bolton.

Double up on the Geritol and check 'em out...

While the sale of new homes remained low, sales of existing homes had their best showing in 14 months. A lot of those purchases are homes in foreclosure but some of the experts think the indicators paint a picture of a market that could come back to life soon.
The entire article.

Hurry! Time is running out to see Hats!, the musical based on the Red Hat Society, a group of elderly ladies who proudly wear bright red hats out in public. While it may not be your cup of tea, ALL's own ol' Mr. Admin could be seen at the Harrah's showroom frequently.

"I didn't particularly like the show so much," says Mr. Admin. "But at my age, that's my market and I picked up more hot & horny old gals than you can shake a stick at!"

It seems the ladies who actually dress the part are the easiest marks. "The women in the big red hats are the ones I go after," Mr. Admin explains. "They are at a certain point in their lives where they are blooming for the last time. They want to get out and have fun and wild 3-ways and group sex is a part of that attitude. I'm gonna miss that show..."

Hats! last show is 6 p.m. this Thursday at Harrah's. ("Look for us at Green Door Thursday night for a wild closing party" says Mr. Admin)

With the Word Series of Poker going on right now at the Rio, a product has come to our attention that might help some of the players who must sit for long stretches at a time without heading to the restroom.

It's called the AlphaDry system and it's basically a thick, expandable condom with an escape nozzle and you Velcro the device onto your member and stop worrying about whether you're gonna piss your pants every time someone mentions the wet-sounding "river" card.

It has an added benefit in front of the urinal when you finally do pull the thing out of your fly, unscrew the cap and drain: you appear to not only pee like a race horse you look to be hung like a mule! We're sure this will certainly cause other players who might be peeking over your shoulder to fold to even your wildest bluff back at the table.
(Note: we are only speculating--we have not tested the product although we intend to surprise a few people at our next watersports party)

Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, the brothers behind the Station Casinos magic, had a pretty good year last year with each raking in over $100 million in various compensation.

MGM Mirage CEO had an off year "only" hauling in $22.2 million, down from $30 mil. in 2006. Steve Wynn brought in about $10.7 mil. in base salary plus incentive-based bonuses, Harrah's CEO hit $8.2 mil., and Boyd Gaming chief made $3.8 mil. Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson was practically on the poverty list making a paltry $2. million.

An Article on Gaming Execs Pay

(Update: We added some additional info and a photo in the "more" section)
When he was a Packer and a Bronco he could party in Las Vegas and everything was ok. As soon as he becomes a Raider he gets the shit kicked out of him and robbed. I guess we should have expected this.

NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver Javon Walker spent Saturday night spraying bottles of Dom Perignon Champagne into the crowd at Tryst (Wynn) and then repeated the action with even more bottles of Dom at Body English (Hard Rock) on Sunday.
Either someone got pissed about getting bubbly on their fancy duds or perhaps they spotted a tipsy guy they could do a "whack and run" on but Walker was found unconscious at 7:19 a.m. behind the Flamingo Hotel after leaving Body English at 6:30 a.m. (although the latest reports say he left around 3:15)

Or maybe there was something else. Walker was found on Koval Lane and Winnick Ave., an intersection east of the Strip behind Flamingo and Imperial Palace near some apartments where drug deals go down on a regular basis. Was he bonked and then dropped there or was he foolin' around with the wrong people in the wrong place doin' the wrong thing? Or, perhaps, he simply experienced the wrath of Bronco fans who were dissatisfied with his effort last season...

We probably won't find out the truth but it looks like Walker was "this close" to not getting to enjoy his new $55 million contract. He's in Sunrise Hospital in fair condition with an orbital fracture.

Walker's Version of the Story and Spraying Photo (more)

It's called "Raw Talent Live" and it debuts at the Sahara Hotel in August. It's a multimedia dance show with original music and “high-tech video illusions.” So, what is it, exactly? Well, here's the press release on it--maybe you can figure it out...

“The show will transport audiences from their world to a virtual world that crosses the line between real and surreal, incorporating raw emotion with adrenaline packed interactive performances for a multi-sensory experience.
"Talented and highly trained dancers, singers and musicians will take audiences on an emotional rollercoaster telling the passionate story of the 'Laptop of Life SM' — which holds the ultimate secret the world is after. 'Raw Talent Live,' through visual illusion technology, will question the surreal world of modern day’s duality. Do we live the life of a machine being or are we a human being?”

So, there ya go--a complete explanation of the new show.

The Hard Rock Hotel on Paradise Rd. and Harmon Ave. is undergoing a major renovation but, once you are inside, you might not know it. They planned the renovation so that, despite some major disruptions to the nearby streets and to some of the structures, much of the work is hidden from view.

In fact, with the occasional openings of new places to play--such as a casino party pit complete with dancing poles called Helles Bells, a new Italian restaurant and a $4 million upgrade of the resort's north pool--patrons have been distracted enough to give the casino a slight gain in revenues, bucking a negative statewide trend.

The concept of rolling out new improvements in phases will continue with Wasted Space, a new rock club and bar developed by extreme-sports star Carey Hart, scheduled to open in July, a new poker room coming in August and new convention space to open early next year.

More Expansion Plans and MAPS & RENDERINGS (more)

The new Stations Casinos project Aliante Station in North Las Veas is on schedule for a New Year's Eve party but you won't be able to actually check into your room until January 1st.

Station Casinos began accepting reservations last week for the 202 guest rooms inside the company's $675 million Aliante Station, which will open at the end of the year. Reservations for rooms starting at 400 square feet won't be accepted, however, until New Year's Day.

Convention space is also being booked for the North Las Vegas casino. Mustangs Across America, part of the 45th anniversary of the Ford Mustang, will use Aliante Station as its Nevada pit stop.

"We're starting to get dozens of inquiries from local, regional and national businesses as well as local community groups," said Joe Hasson, Aliante Station's general manager.

From an economic standpoint it makes a lot of sense. With Las Vegas recently overtaking San Francisco as the #2 destination in the U.S. for gay travelers (NYC #1), it was only a matter of time before a Las Vegas resort began aggressively catering to that particular market segment. And it seems only fitting that a hotel called the Paris would be the one to do so (doesn't it?).

We have the Blue Moon Resort which is Las Vegas' only official gay resort (only 43 rooms, though) and a few years ago, before it was Hooters, there was an attempt to make San Remo (a fitting name there--"Ream-oh") a gay resort but that never happened.

Now Harrah's has decided to designate the Paris hotel as their gay-friendliest property and have gone in with Krave, the only "alternative" nightclub on the Strip, for some special promotions. The website points the visitor to shows at other Harrah's resorts which, now that we think about it, have quite a bit of gay appeal: Caesars has Cher, Bette Midler and Elton John and Bally's has Jubilee (if only they had the Hilton's Barry Manilow--they would have a monopoly!).

So, if you are looking for lesbians in all the wrong places, you might try stopping by Paris for a look-see as Harrah's is actively trying to fill their rooms with same-sex couples.

Paris' gay-focused web pages: "What would happen if the romance and grandeur of Paris collided with the uninhibited freedom of Las Vegas? Come-hither glances. Provocative dancing. Passionate embraces." Gay Paree, indeed.

The latest hotel to expose themselves is the Rio. They've teamed with Sapphire Gentleman's Club for a "Brazillian pool experience". We're not 100% sure what that means as we have always heard topless pools referred to as "Euro-style" and "Brazilian" usually has to do with the skimpiest of bikini bottoms.

However, we have heard that the pool is topless but are confirming with Rio officials (the ad seems to indicate topless, doesn't it?). While it's cool to have the pool branded with the Sapphire brand, we're also trying to confirm that there will always be a Sapphire dancer or two on hand at all times. We hope so.

Entertainment is provided by DJs spinning Top 40 and hip-hop throughout the day. Admission to the Sapphire Pool is $10 for women every day. For men, it’s $20 on weekdays, and $30 on weekends so it looks like non-Rio guests can attend.

With the high cost of gasoline it was only a matter of time before the Valley's taxi cabs follow the lead of the airlines and increase their rates. Or, at least they are pretty sure they can. The Nevada Taxicab authority will consider a temporary surcharge of 25 cents per metered mile. The added fee could increase even more depending on where the price of gas goes. There are now 2,213 taxicab medallions in Clark County operated by 16 taxicab operators.

The agency is also seeking a permanent 20 cents per metered mile raising the cost of cab fare from $2.20 per mile to $2.40 per. Wait time will also increase from $28 per hour to $30. The inital "drop" of the taximeter (the one that always makes us cringe) will stay at $3.30 as will the McCarran pick-up fee of $1.20.

How Fares Are Figured (from the Nevada Taxi Cab Authority) (more)

The famous tiger kings, Siegfried & Roy, are proud parents to five tiger cubs. With Roy nearly dying from a white tiger attack in 2003, Siegfried says the new cubs give Roy, who is still a long way from a full recovery, a reason to get up in the morning. In fact, Roy had knee surgery a few weeks ago specifically so he would be able play with the fluffy critters.

The 6-week-old cubs will be introduced to the public today at Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage.

The chief judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to suspend an obscenity trial he is presiding over until Monday to give the government time to figure out what to do about reports the judge himself has his own porn website!

Gotta love that! The L.A. Times broke the story, the prosecutor has gotta be shaking his head and the defense attorney wants the judge to remain on the case, of course.

Here's what was on the judge's website: "a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows and a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal," as well as "images of masturbation, public sex and contortionist sex. There was a slide show striptease featuring a transsexual, and a folder that contained a series of photos of women's crotches as seen through snug fitting clothing or underwear. There were also themes of defecation and urination, though they [were] not presented in a sexual context."

Did you catch that last part--"defecation and urination"? Wait until you hear what's in one of the movies the defendant is on trial for... (more)

Flirting table-to-table via some sort of electronic means certainly isn't new to Las Vegas. A few decades ago, in the dark days before the internet, back when the only people who had a cell phone were doctors and real estate agents, there was a bar in a shopping center on East Flamingo & Maryland Parkway (forgot the name--can an old-timer help us?) that had telephones on each table with a large, 2-digit number prominently displayed.

If you wanted to flirt with some babes across the way you just dialed their table number and put the mack on. There was no caller i.d. so they would be looking around, trying to figure out who their admirer was.

We can't say we were all that successful in getting laid using that method and others must not have been either as the place didn't last all that long but we liked the idea of using technology to help us out with our club scene game.

Next Gen: Wireless Nightclub Flirting (more)

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons hasn't had an easy time of things since even before he was elected in 2006. Just weeks before the election, a Las Vegas cocktail waitress accused him of trying to force himself on her in a parking garage; authorities declined to file charges.

Some of the other things: He put a Yucca Mountain supporter on a commission tasked with fighting the proposed nuclear dump. He dismissed the outcry over a hepatitis C outbreak as the result of media "buffoonery".

The FBI is investigating whether he took gifts from a defense contractor while serving in Congress. Photos of the governor on a contractor-hosted cruise show him giving a woman bunny ears and wearing a white cloth napkin as a bandanna. Nevada is also facing an almost $1-billion budget shortfall which doesn't help things.

But The Big Story Is... (more)

Since so many visitors to Las Vegas also decide to check out the Grand Canyon, it's inevitable that we should get mixed up in a rivalry that has reared its head the past several months.

When most people think of the Grand Canyon they think of South Rim which has been a popular tourist attraction for decades. There's also North Rim but that has always been far less visited due to its remoteness. About 14 months ago the Hualapai Reservation opened something on the west rim called the Skywalk, an observation deck with a glass floor that looks 4,000 feet down into a side canyon and also affords a view of the main canyon.

With the Skywalk receiving 80% of its tourists from Las Vegas and quite a bit closer, the South Rim is starting to feel the heat of the Hualapai's aggressive marketing. They've even hired their first-time marketing guy to help the public differentiate between the two attractions.

Now the war of words is kicking in... (more)

If you are a drinker of that often sweet, often German, white wine of the Reisling variety, then you will be in hog heaven next week.

For one week only (June 16-22nd), experience world-class Rieslings from Germany, Austria and Alsace at some top eateries in Las Vegas. Restaurants will be featuring European Rieslings by the glass, offering flights of top quality European Rieslings or creating special Riesling pairing menus that showcase the great pairing ability of this varietal. Make your reservations now!

The List of Participating Restaurants (more)

A California investment group was going to buy the Hooters Hotel and turn it into an upscale boutique hotel. During the past 14 months, the group spent $6 million in nonrefundable fees and other costs related to closing the deal but recently missed a 1/2 million dollar payment so now the deal is off. No word on why the payment was missed but the experts think the tight credit market was the culprit.

Hooters prez says the hotel has 3 options: continuing to operate under the current ownership, looking at another sale offer or looking at expanding the property. The hotel keeps losing money so look for something to bubble to the surface soon.

With the closing of the Hooters Restaurant on West Sahara awhile back, will this mean Las Vegas could soon be Hooter-less? We shudder to think about it...

"Bad Ass Golf Carts". There probably isn't a company name that better describes the products it sells. Bad Ass Golf Carts is a Las Vegas company that sells custom, tricked-out golf carts sure to make your neighbor green with envy!

If you live in one of those gated communities where everyone is toodling around in golf carts, isn't it time you stepped up your game and jammed your cart full of must-haves like TVs, DVD players, an X-Box 360, Satellite Radio, 20" rims and even air conditioning? You know you want it!

Check out the custom Hummer, Benz and even the Laker's cart! Stylin', we must say! (more)

A quick look at the extravagant houses of Wayne Newton, Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller) and, of course, Siegfried & Roy.

Will a high speed train between Las Vegas and Los Angeles ever materialize? It's been something that has been kicked around since the late 70's back when it was something called the "bullet train".

The more recent version sounds pretty cool. Zip along from California's Disneyland to Nevada's adult Disneyland on a 300 mph magnetic levitation train in about an hour? Avoid all that frickin' traffic on I-15? Kick back and enjoy a few adult beverages and check out the other couples heading for some Vegas playtime? What's not to like?

But, alas, it seems there's never any progress towards the realization of the project. Until now, that is, even if it's just a tidbit. A transportation bill just made it through Prez Bush which included $45 mil. in funds to pay for the environmental studies of the train.

Hey, it's progress, I guess...

Chinatowns in every other city come from a large population of, well, Chinese concentrated in one neighborhood with resultant shops, stores and restaurants nearby. Las Vegas didn't have that. Not at all.

So, in 1994 when a guy named James Chen decided to build an open-air strip mall a few miles west of the Las Vegas Strip on Spring Mountain Road and call it "Chinatown Plaza" most of us laughed and thought it was just another crazy idea in a town that has had far more than its share of crazy ideas.

Then, when Wu, a Chinese friend of ours, took us to the Emperor's Garden restaurant and then to Sam Woo's BBQ (loved 'em both) and told us it was the most authentic Chinese food in town and "just like home" we were impressed and thought, that it may not be a China town but if it means a few more good restaurants then it's cool with us.

And then, every time we had a bite to eat there or drove past the place there was another shop and then another building and then another block or two with faux oriental architecture. While it wasn't a typical Chinatown it was becoming very popular and becoming famous all the way back to China. Who woulda thunk it?

A look at Las Vegas' Chinatown.

(While we're not cig smokers, Las Vegas seems to have a higher concentration of smokers than other places so maybe this product will satisfy both the smoker and the non-smoker.)

It kinda looks like a cigarette. They say it feels like one between the fingers. With the smoke-like emission coming out of the "smoker's" mouth it sure does look like a violation of last year's state-wide ban on smoking (casinos exempt, of course). And the clincher: it delivers the needed nicotine to quench the cravings. Plus, ya don't need to step outside into the gusty wind or scorching sun for your cig fix! And local bars are selling them like hotcakes!

It's the NJOY electornic "smoking" device and it delivers a hit of nicotine while exhaling water vapor.

The biggest question: Is the device lifestyle-friendly? Does it leave your breath ready for intimate action? Sounds like it does... (more)

"Here's how you can tell it's summer. That thing on Donald Trump's head? It jumped off and chased an ice cream truck."
-- David Letterman

Ok, so we gotta admit we don't have a bunch of "death metal" on our iPod right now but if you are a fan of the genre or you like the show "Metalocalypse" on the Adult Swim section of the Cartoon Network, now's your chance to see Dethklok, the band from the show, in concert at the House of Blues on Saturday.

Wait a minute, see a heavy metal cartoon band in concert? WTF? Well, it's a long but actually quite interesting story and Jason Bracelin of the LV R-J has the scoop.

Not sure we'll be at the H.O.B to catch Dethklok slam us with "Better Metal Snake", "Briefcase Full of Guts", or "Dethharmonic" (off the cd "The Deathalbum", of course, which is the largest selling death metal album of all time, btw) but we're really tempted. If only it didn't start at 6:30.

Death metal at 6:30? Whoever heard of such a thing?! We need more time than that to get our death metal edge on! Then again, it will get us in the mood for the Sex Pistols that follow at 8:00!

Here's one of those logic questions from jr. high:
The old pirates show at Treasure Island is to the "Sirens of T.I." as the old "Masquerade Show in the Sky" is to X.

X = what?

X = the new "Show in the Sky"! The Rio Hotel decided that the free, safe show they used to have going on in their Masquerade Village needed to be sexed up a bit so they've added "stunning dancers" doin' their thang wearing top name "eye-popping" designer outfits by DKNY, bebe and, woo hoo, Victoria Secret!

That is, when they are wearing fancy outfits. In one of the 3 different shows--the bath/spa scene specifically--the girls cavort around on stage in bath towels (probably stolen from the Rio's suites).

More on the new "Show In The Sky" (more)

The Las Veas Sun has put together a site which shows video of all the major Las Vegas hotel implosions over the years.

The bottom of the page starts with the Dunes implosion in 1993 and ends with the latest one, the Riviera in 2008. Wait a minute, the Riv is still around, isn't it? Hmmm... Maybe it was the Tropicana. The Sahara? It must be Circus Circus or Imperial Palace. Well, it wasn't any of those but they are all on the demolition man's to-do list, we're sure.

Oh, yeah, it was the New Frontier implosion late last year--that's right. Anyway, the website gives a brief history of each imploded hotel and some footage of the destruction, just in case ya missed it.

If you like your burlesque then you will be in heaven for the next several days as the All-Star Burlesque Weekend is here!

This will be the third time the event has been held in Las Vegas and they are really moving up in the world. While the organizers feel the Weekend's style fits better downtown, there's really no place big enough to hold them. The first year they used the Celebrity Theatre (near Hogs n Heifers) and last year things were split between the Plaza and Krave.

Palms-based N9NE Group saw potential and snarfed 'em up so now they are going big time, taking over various parts of the Palms including the Ghost Bar, the Playboy Club and the pool. Hopefully, someone will build a venue large enough downtown one of these days and they will return.

The main event is Saturday's Miss Exotic World Burlesque Pageant but there are parties and happenings for the next several days. And, as LowLife's in particular are aware "it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!" so the Palm's Lounge will be swingin' with the Royal Crown Revue Friday and Saturday evenings. See you there!

The Lowlife Event Listing and a Burlesque Weekend Press Release

Several months ago we posted a story and a map about how a large Australian firm named Crown (owned by billionaire James Packer) was going to build the United States' tallest hotel tower on the site of the old Wet 'n' Wild (next door to the Sahara).

Well, once again the tight credit market has derailed yet another Las Vegas building plan and Crown will take a $44 million write-off on their investment.

Crown still owns nearly 20% of the $2.9 billion Fontainebleau resort south of the Wet 'n' Wild property which looks like it's moving ahead as scheduled.

I know we all get the urge now and then but just in case you were actually thinking about doing it, it's probably not a real good idea to dive off the bridge over the southern end of the Bellagio fountains.

Some ingenious dude, described as a male 40-50 years old, thought it would be cool to do so right up until he discovered the water is only 4 feet deep in that spot. And then there's that unforgiving concrete bed. Ouch!

He had to be fished out by a hotel service boat, bleeding from a nasty cut to the head, with a very messed-up arm and an extremely dazed look.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a Darwin Award nominee...

...and don't you forget it!

Should you visit the new Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas you will see Donald Trump's name and initials literally everywhere:
"Trump leaves no doubt about his ambitions. The hotel's logo--a T emblazoned across a map of the globe--is woven into napkins, embossed onto coasters and stationery.

Trump is omnipresent: His name appears nearly three dozen times within the guest room, whether on his namesake magazine, a catalog for daughter Ivanka's jewelry collection or on the bath toiletries.

He named the main restaurant with his initials, DJT, and put his favorite dishes on the menu (Mr. Trump's Butter Whipped Potato Puree, Mr. Trump's Butter Lettuce Salad)."

While The Donald seems to have the branding aspect down, according to this less-than-glowing review, it appears the hotel is still working the kinks out of some of the other areas.

After another construction worker's death on Saturday--that makes six at CityCenter--the laborers decided to walk off the job calling the site's safety conditions unsafe.

The huge $9.2 billion dollar project is due to open in late 2009 but has seen more than its share of on-the-job fatalities with four occuring in 2007 and two already this year.

Perini Building Co. is the general contractor and and has built many large buildings here in Las Vegas including the Paris, the Luxor and the Hard Rock. Their website states: "Perini's exceptional performance on fast-track projects of immense proportions have set the Company above all others."

Maybe CityCenter is too fast-tracked and too immense for Perini to manage safety issues properly...

Update: The workers return.

In UFC star Tito Ortiz's new book, "This Is Gonna Hurt," his girlfriend, porn queen Jenna Jameson, writes: "Criss Angel came up and started hitting on me. He was like, 'Hey, baby, want to go for a ride in my Lamborghini?' I said I had my own Lamborghini and I walked away. Later that night, he found out that I was dating Tito and he came over to apologize. ... He was really groveling. He ended up calling Tito and leaving a message apologizing and asking for forgiveness. People are so intimidated by (Tito), and he's real good about keeping the wolves away from my door."

So why do we re-print this stuff? To show that Criss Angel is a "hey-baby-playa"? To help Tito figure out a new line of work since he lost his most recent--and last--UFC fight? Or, to have an excuse to post a pic of Jenna Jameson?
Gee, that's a tough one...

If you haven't seen “Phantom, the Las Vegas Spectacular” at the Venetian, you're missing not only a decent show but one of the better special stage effects in town: the 1-ton chandelier riden by the Phantom of the Opera that nearly crashes down on the audience every night.

Here's a look at the designer of the sophisticated prop, David Rockwell, who has had his creative hand in all sorts of things around town, including restaurants Simon at Palms Place and Dos Caminos at the Palazzo and he's also one of the team of architects working on the $9.2 billion CityCenter project.

While Rockwell may have been the architect of the contraption, Fisher Technical Services built the thing. Here's some insight into the technical side of the exploding chandelier, which has been called the most complex piece of scenery anywhere in the world. (more)

The Review Journal dug around and found a bunch of sweet deals area hotels, shows and restaurants are offering. Some are for locals but many are for everyone.

For example, get discounted rooms (along with some other incentives thrown in) at the Mirage and the Golden Nugget or grab 2-for-1 Mamma Mia! tix.

Grab 'em while they're hot!