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Believe it or not, there’s more to Las Vegas than hotels and casinos. Just a few minutes west of the madness is Red Rock Canyon. I took my uncle there this weekend. We spent about an hour and a half driving slowly through the park on the 13 mile scenic loop stopping often to take photos.
Tix4Tonight is a good way to save money on tickets to many of the popular Las Vegas shows. They offer discounts of up to 50% off box office ticket prices.
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Be sure to print out this coupon to save $2.00 the Tix4Tonight service charge (per ticket).
One of the perks of living near a master-planned community but not in a master-planned community is that you get to enjoy amenities like a neighborhood park without having to pay hefty association dues. Exploration Park was built by Focus Property group as a community center for Mountain’s Edge residents but I get to enjoy it too.
The park features several play areas for children based on their age. One is modeled after an Old West town but scaled down and kid-sized. There are volleyball and basketball courts and large fields of grass where dogs and soccer players run freely. The coolest attraction has to be the trails that wind up and down the large peak that dominates the park. It’s a challenging hike to the top but you are rewarded with views of the entire Vegas valley if you make it.
Exploration Park is located on Buffalo Drive just south of Blue Diamond Road and directly across from the Mountain’s Edge Visitors’ Center. Read more about the park in the LVRJ.
Two friends where in town this week and they were looking to play a round of golf. I don’t play golf so I was not much help with recommendations. There were several websites they checked to find a golf course but none were very good. These sites either lacked comprehensive listings or did a poor job showing actual locations. So I decided to make my own compilation of Las Vegas Golf Courses.
This map charts all golf courses and golf clubs in the Las Vegas metropolitan area (Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City). Click on the blue icon for more information about a specific location.
Cher will begin performing at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace starting in early May. She will be doing over 200 shows in the next three years. Tickets start at $95.
“I started in Vegas at Caesars, so I’ve come full circle,” the 61-year-old performer said in a statement. “I’m back and I plan to give my fans the best experience yet. I think everybody knows I only do things in a big way.”
Cher joins Bette Midler who starts her stint as Celine Dion-replacement at the end of this month.
300,000 football fans are expected to watch Super Bowl XLII in Las Vegas this year. I honestly don’t see the draw: sure it’s fun to watch the game with a couple hundred rabid fans but all the sports books are crazy crowded and it’s tough to make a bet or find a place to sit.
The casinos are expected to take in a record $100M in wagers this year. Sounds like a lot until you consider that many estimate total Super Bowl gambling will top $10B (most of it illegal and unregulated like office pools). On top of that, with the Giants winning outright (the spread was Pats -12) it looks like the sports books had a tough weekend.
But don’t feel too sorry for them. The brilliant Vegas business model comes through again: tonight I saw hordes of jersey-clad Giants fans giving back their Super Bowl winnings and more at the card tables. Viva Las Vegas!
Zagat’s 2008 Best of Las Vegas Guide is out with ratings and reviews of over 745 restaurants, nightclubs, golf courses, hotels and retail shops. Joel Robuchon and Mario Batali got top honors for their restaurants and Tao was voted the most popular nightclub. The best overall hotels are the Four Seasons, Bellagio, Wynn, Venetian and Ritz-Carlton. Wait - there’s a Ritz-Carlton in Las Vegas? Yep, it’s located out on Lake Las Vegas.
We partied at LAX in the Luxor this weekend. It’s been one of the hottest clubs since it opened so we decided to check it out. We arrived at 10:30pm and the line was already out of control. Luckily we had reserved a table and were ushered right in.
The venue was great with lots of different areas for hanging out and all sorts of beautiful people milling about. The staff was great polite, courteous and not snobby at all. Unfortunately, the party itself was not so great: the music was a little cheesy for my taste and the champagne cups, martini glasses and even cocktail glasses were plastic. Is real glass too much to ask for when you are shelling out $500+ per bottle?
LAX is definitely a hot-spot to visit if you want to see and be seen but I’ll be looking for a club that plays more house music (1015 I miss you!). Call (702) 280-3600 for table reservations (recommended so you don’t have to stand in line).
Every year party-goers flock to Las Vegas to ring in the new year. They brave the cold and wind on the Strip to catch fireworks at midnight or cram into one of the many bars and clubs offering champagne toasts and balloon drops. Admission to these parties start at $150 and go as high as $250 for some of the more popular clubs. Jay-Z’s grand opening for the 40/40 club will cost you $800 per person! Big pimpin’ indeed.
We locals prefer to stay away from the madness and celebrate with friends and family at home. A City Life poll found that 60% of area residents planned to stay at home.
A new shopping and entertainment destination opened on the south-end of the Strip today - just don’t visit right away. The idea of an open-air mall with retail stores, dining, entertainment venues, residences and business offices is cool but it’s really windy and cold and only half the stores are open. I went opening weekend and had a miserable experience. No doubt the owners wanted to debut Town Square in time for holiday shopping season but many visitors (including me) were disappointed by the number of “coming soon” construction signs versus open storefronts.
I recommend visiting in the spring when it’s warmer. If you do go in the next few months be sure to drop by H&M. This was easily the second most popular destination next to the one set of public restrooms located in the children’s play area. And wear a warm jacket!