Vegas Travel News

Alan Mendelson reports on Best Deals, Best Buys and Your Money

In this pretty straight forward site, Alan Mendelson gives regular updates to all that is happening in Vegas. recent headlines included-"Palazzo Grand Opening Concert", "How Vegas and Gaming Might Change in 2008", "The Shoppes at The Palazzo Announces Lineup of Stores."

No graphics, just info (and we can never get enough Vegas info).

Visit LV New Years Countdown

Visit Las Vegas New Year's Eve Countdown is a guide to everything to do with New Year's Eve, Vegas style. It has a schedule of events, a huge countdown timer and fireworks pictures from past New Year's Eve in Vegas.Here's the link-
Visit Las Vegas New Year's Eve

Pocket Vegas

Pocket Vegas from Hunter Hillegas has links to Vegas info maximized for display on your cell phone, PDA, or iPhone.

From the site-
"Las Vegas Information For Your Cell Phone or PDA

Imagine this: you are in Las Vegas at Bellagio and you want to know if the Italian restaurant there is any good. In the olden-days you would need to find a computer and bring up the ever-trusty RateVegas.com and look it up... Well, no longer! As many folks these days have cell phones that can surf the Web or even BlackBerries that can do even more, we have developed a special version of our database for mobile phones and small screens.

Getting started is very simple! On your mobile phone or PDA, just use the built-in browser to go to the following URL:

http://cell.ratevegas.com

That's it! You will be taken to our special mobile site where you can look up the details on all your favorite Las Vegas hotels, restaurants and other attractions.

Las Vegas On Your iPhone!

There's no doubt that the iPhone is a great mobile platform. While the full Web site runs great on iPhone, we've developed a special interface that is optimized for the screen and works the way you would expect it to. Bookmark the following on your iPhone and get great Vegas info all the time:

http://www.ratevegas.com/iphone/

Vegas TV from LVA

Here is a link from Anthony Curtis' Las Vegas Advisor in which they list in chart form, daily television programs that feature or include Las Vegas in some way shape or form. It's a good way to feed that Vegas fix when you miss the place.

From the site-
"How popular is Las Vegas and gambling? Just take a quick scan of all the programming built around them on this page. We list everything from dramatic series to poker tournaments, from travel specials to sit-com cameos. Check your local listings for the channels and to verify times."

Here's the link-
Vegas TV from Anthony Curtis

Vegas Videos

Vegas Videos brought to you by Mark Adams of VegasTodayandTomorrow. Mark Adams and Hunter Hillegas of RateVegas and TwoWayHardThree have two of the most information packed Vegas sites out there in my opinion. You can rest assured that any offering from these two guys is going to be first rate and worth a view.

In this Vegas Videos page from Mark Adams, there are three videos-

From his site-
ABOVE THE STRIP

ABOVE THE STRIP is a video which combines footage from a daytime helicopter ride around the Las Vegas strip on October 2nd 2007, with renderings of the construction projects down below.

STRIPMORPH

STRIPMORPH is a timeline-morphing of four photos of the Las Vegas Strip taken from the Stratosphere in 1995, 2004, 2005 and 2007. I cropped, tweaked and fussed with the photos so they would be similar enough to create this effect. Interestingly, the biggest change is between 2005 and 2007 due to all the recent construction on the north end of the strip.

In the video, you can see how much construction and destruction has occurred between 1995 and 2007.

NEONCITY

NEONCITY is the first in a series of short videos capturing various neon signs in Las Vegas. I shot all this footage in the wee hours of 9/10/07.

This series is primarily designed to archive the live motion of signs which may soon be removed and may never be restored. While newer signs are featured, things change so rapidly in Vegas, one never knows what will be torn down next. Remember the original Treasure Island sign, it was only about twelve-years-old when it was removed.

Here's the link-
VegasTodayandTomorrow Videos

Fly Las Vegas

AeroTech Specialists "Fly Las Vegas" website offers a glimpse into some spectacular arial photography.

From it's website-
Welcome to AeroTech Specialists Inc.

"AN AERIAL PHOTO IS WORTH A MILLION WORDS"

Our goal is to provide up-to-date aerial photography throughout the Southern Nevada,
Las Vegas area, with a focus on construction activities underway.

There are a bunch of different categories to check out which are further broken down-

Categories:
	-Under Construction- Airports Cool Pictures Fremont Street Golf Courses Lake Havasu Lake Las Vegas Las Vegas Strip Laughlin Stadiums Arenas

Here is the link-
Fly Las Vegas

Las Vegas Chips

Las Vegas Chips is a photo site displaying Las Vegas Casino Chips with an extensive listing all broken down by name alphabetically. There is also an Excel spreadsheet with the values of the different chips. Simple and straightforward.

Here is the link-
Las Vegas Chips

Owners of Vegas Casinos

Here is a simple page from Nick Christenson showing who owns each Las Vegas Casino. It is basically a chart which gives each casino name, owner, stock symbol and notes when relevant. Nick is the same guy that brought us Las Vegas Casino Death Watch .

Here is the link-
Owners of Las Vegas Casinos

Make Your Own Vegas Sign

This is a fun little site that lets you customize your own Vegas sign. Not much explaining to do, but the image above was created in less than 20 seconds using it. Kitchy I know, but fun nonetheless.

Here's the link-
http://atom.smasher.org/vegas/

Vegas Lists

One of Hunter Hillegas' offerings, VegasLists.com is a fun and unique site to visit and participate in for any Vegas Lover. Hunter is never content to simply put forth a run of the mill information site. His sites always present Vegas information by pushing ordinary technology to bring in the person reading and encourages them to participate and collaborate weather it be commenting on his blog TwoWayHardThree, or adding lists to his VegasLists, its all about community and encouraging participation among fellow Vegas Junkies.

The most dedicated individual can only do so much adding to a particular site, but when you have a community of people with a common love and passion adding information, the results can be very powerful. Hunter's media empire is a testament to that theory. Props are in order.

About VegasLists.com- There are lists that cover just about everything you might want to know about Vegas inculding-

Best Las Vegas Web Sites (Hunter)	Best Place To Play 'Spot The Hooker' (Hunter)
Best Suites in Town (Mike E)	Most Overrated (Hunter)
Most Annoying Thing in Vegas (Hunter)	Secret Hideaways (Hunter)
Best Hotel Swimming Pools (Mike E)	Most Underated (sox)
Best Booze in Vegas (chuckmonster)	Best High End Hotels in Las Vegas (Hunter)
$1 Black Jack (Hunter)	Worst Stuff About The Venetian (Hunter)
Notable Las Vegas Bars (Hunter)	Lists That Someone Should Create (Hunter)

It also has a section where you can create your own lists, and save some of the lists that others have created in your favorites, a comments section, and a whole lot more.

I highly suggest you check this bad boy out.
Here's the link-
VegasLists

Vegas and Food

VegasandFood is one of the most useful Vegas research websites out there. It is written and photographed by a wonderful couple who take pictures of their dining experiences and have a vast collection of reviews available in their online database for you to check out. There is also a section of Hotel room pictures. I love these types of sites that are written by everyday folks like you and me and aren't the product of some big corporate marketing team. You get the real deal here baby, nothing sugarcoated.
From the blog-
"I'm a Japanese girl who loves Vegas and food. This blog is all about food at restaurant, at home, and Vegas trip with my husband and all the food and rooms we get for free."
Here is the link-
VegasandFood

Freemont Street Experience

A very cool website with flash video showing the Freemont Street Experience. A must visit site for all Downtown Vegas Lovers.
From the web site-
"About the Fremont Street Experience
There is always something going on at the Fremont Street Experience located in the heart of downtown Las Vegas on the historic street that started it all. The world-famous, one-of-a-kind entertainment venue is home to Viva Vision, the biggest big screen on the planet. More than 12 million lights in the Viva Vision canopy and 550,000 watts of concert quality sound pumped to speakers throughout the venue produce an incredible array of eye-popping imagery and heart pounding music. Viva Vision shows appear nightly on the hour beginning at dusk and are free and open to the public. The giant LED screen towers 90-feet above a pedestrian mall lined with unique retail shopping kiosks and two permanent performance stages. Ten legendary casinos line Fremont Street Experience with more than 60 restaurants and thousands of loose slots. Free concerts, special events, and roaming street performers entertain the nearly 17 million visitors who come to experience the vintage Vegas attraction each year."

Las Vegas Nightlife by Jeremy Womack

Here is the Blog brought to you from uber Vegas Nightlife guru Jeremy Womack.

Jeremy is in the know and features regular updates to the local Vegas nightlife scene.
From his Blog-
"I am a photographer. It's my job to bring you regular updates to the in's and out's of Las Vegas Nightlife. I work with magazine's like Las Vegas Weekly & Las Vegas Life. I am also doing something that isn't being done in the Las Vegas Nightlife scene, and that is photojournalism. Not only is JeremyWomack.com a great source to read about Las Vegas Nightlife news, but you can also see what it's all about through my eyes."

There are several categories along the right hand of the page which include- The Top 5 List, People in The Scene, DJ Spotlight and Vegas Nightclub Video Reviews.

Vintage Vegas Pics

This is a link to a thread on Vegasmessageboard.com/forums in which folks have posted their vintage Vegas photos. It is an amazing collection of photos. One thing that struck me in the photos was that excitement and happiness on the faces of the folks in different generations experiencing the wild newness and cutting edge that Vegas offered. I don't know if that last sentence made sense to you but it sums it up for me. Even though its a totally different generation with different haircuts and clothes, you could read that excitement on their faces the same way you read the excitement on the faces of people getting off the plane at McCarron today.
A particular Thank you goes out to someone that goes by the appropriate name "VegasAddict" who share some great photos from his grandparents collection.

Here is the link-
Vintage Vegas Pics

New City Vegas

Here is a message board for Vegas locals and people interested in Vegas in general. It is billed as-"Beyond the glitz - a peaceful place for Las Vegas locals"
Check it out and browse the different categories if it's something that interests you.

Here is the link-
New City Vegas

Harrahs Hotel Info

Brought to my attention from Elvis66 (Don) from the VegasRex forums is HetInfo.com
The best way to describe this site for someone like me that has no clue about such things as Harrahs "ADT" or "Prop Scores" is from the horse's mouth, so copied directly from it's site-

About Harrahs Hotels Info

"This site is not owned or subsidized by Harrahs Entertainment in any way, shape or form. It is owned by individuals that like visiting Harrahs Hotels, and is focused on making the player’s visits more entertaining. We are not here to scam or defraud the Harrahs system, but to share with one another our secrets on maximizing our value.

This site is not about gambling or gaming in any way, shape or form. We are merely a travel-aid for future visitors.

This site is dedicated to the travelers and players who visit the Harrahs chain of hotels and casinos throughout the world. Our primary focus is on those looking to maximize their entertainment dollar while minimizing frustrations and aggravations because of the lack of good, honest information on the web or in person."

The site explains Prop scores, ADT, Harrahs Total Rewards Program, and also has a Harrahs Offer Database.

If you plan on gambling at Caesars, Bally's, Paris, The RIO, Imperial Palace, or Harrahs, you owe it to yourself to check this site out.

Here is the link-
Harrahs Hotel Info

Vegas Deals Direct

Vegas Deals Direct is a blog listing current Vegas promotions on such things like Car Rentals, Flights, Food and Drink, Gambling, Shows, Tours, Vacation Packages, and Weddings.
It is a very simple and less is more kind of layout which I like (although you would never know it from my blog).
Here is the link-
http://www.vegasdealsdirect.com/

The Die Is Cast

The Die Is Cast is Davis G Schwartz blog in which he examines everything about gambling. From his blog- "

David G. Schwartz
has been praised as "gaming's leading historian" and is widely recognized as an astute observer of the many facets of the culture of chance. His first book, Suburban Xanadu, established him as an authority on gambling and related issues. His second, Cutting the Wire, considers the relevance of gambling prohibition in the Internet age. Roll the Bones, his third book, takes in the entire sweep of gambling history, from the dawn of time to the present day.

Schwartz was born in Atlantic City and worked in the casino industry there, specializing in security and surveillance, though he also had a formative early stint as Mr. Peanut. He's got a Ph.D. in U.S. History from UCLA and, since 2001, has been the Director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, which means that he not only studies gambling, but also encourages others to do so. He's also taught a range of subjects, running the gamut from hospitality security to writing creative non-fiction, but mostly focusing on gambling and history. For his full bio, check out the media page.

Dr. Schwartz writes a great deal about gambling, and you'll find some of that here. There are also book reviews, lots of stuff about Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and even some writing about writing.

On the static, non-blog pages, you can learn about his speaking, writing, and consulting. Or, if you dare, browse the image galleries, wherein hides the collection that has made art critics weep, habitual gamblers shudder, and aesthetes of all stripes cringe: the world's largest digital gathering of casino carpet pictures. It's not for the overly-sensitive."

Here is the link-
http://www.dieiscast.com/

Spy On Vegas

Spy on Vegas is where you go to see pics of the beautiful people in Vegas. Hotties galore at all the Vegas Clubs and events are featured by its band of roving reporters. I wanna know how you get that job! There are many categories of picture galleries from Sexiest Vegas Servers to Club Patrons, Events, Nightspots. You can see some smoking hot folks partying in the best nightclubs on the hottest nights. It also has lists of upcoming club events.

Here is the link-

http://spyonvegas.com/index.php?query=default

Old Vegas Chips

OldVegasChips.com is a site owned and operated by Pete and Chantal Rizzo. If there is a rare casino chip you want chances are they have it or know where you can find it. The site has about 30 different categories, way too much to list but it is very interesting.

From the site-"Collecting Casino Chips and Poker Chips is a Great Hobby! We have been collecting poker chips, casino chips, gaming tokens, & silver strikes for quite a few years now. We also sell the finest Las Vegas casino chips, poker chips, clay chips, hard rock casino chips, gambling supplies, and casino collectibles. Our poker chips for your home poker game come from the finest poker chip company. They produce poker chips and casino chips for casino games such as Poker, Roulette, Baccarat, Craps, & Blackjack. Let's not forget gambling supplies and casino supplies too! Our casino chips, Las Vegas slot club cards, and Las Vegas hotel room key collections are online for the world to see.Poker chips and casino chips are our specialty. Look at our Casino Chips For Sale, and Home Poker Chips - it is a great resource for anyone who is interested in Casino Chip Collecting. Looking to see Rare Casino Chips and poker chips? You came to the right place! We have on display: Sands casino chips, Dunes casino chips, Landmark casino chips...I am sure you get the picture now... Collecting casino chips and poker chips is the best!Please look to us for Casino Supplies, Clay Poker Chips, Casino Poker Chips, Poker Supplies, Casino Supplies, Casino Playing Cards, Casino Chip Trays, Playing Cards, Dice, clay chips, Hard Rock Chips, and of course limited edition casino chips. We also run Las Vegas Casino Chip and Poker Chip Auctions on Ebay as well! Las Vegas Chips are what we love to collect!Our poker chip cases casino supplies, and poker supplies are high casino quality. We have over 6 different poker chip cases and 4 pages of poker supplies and casino supplies! Home poker chips and casino poker chips can be found on 12 full pages! Whether it is Hard Rock Chips, pokerchips, poker supplies, clay chips, playing cards, or anything casino related - you know you will find it right here. Poker Chips are our specialty :) If there are any suggestions you may have - please e-mail us. We are constantly improving and upgrading due to our customer's input. This website is here because of you - and we thank you for your business and support!Old Vegas Chips is the place for Casino Chips, Poker Chips, Poker Supplies, Casino Chip Supplies, & Playing Cards.

Here is the link-
http://www.oldvegaschips.com/index.html

Vegas.com Spreads

On Vegas.com they have a page that shows the current spreads for the major sports at different Vegas Casinos. Pretty straightforward and interesting to see the fdifferent lines offered at the different spots.

Here's the link-
http://www.vegas.com/gaming/

Las Vegas Casino Death Watch

Las Vegas Casino Death Watch is a fairly simple site from Nick Christenson. It is devoid of fancy graphics but jam packed full of interesting news items pertaining to hotel/casino closings in Las Vegas.
There are three sections-
Preamble -- About this document.
Recent News -- The last year's worth of relevant news items.
The List -- Which casinos are being tracked, and what state do we think they're in?

From the site-"This is Nick Christenson's Las Vegas Casino Death Watch page. Here we track the hotel/casinos that we feel are most likely to close their doors in the near future.
This page focuses on the larger Las Vegas Strip and Downtown hotel/casino combination properties. We're not going to make quite the same effort to keep track of the locals places since unless their name has "Station" or "Coast" in it, they all look to us like they might close their doors at any time. Of course, these days there aren't that many locals joints that don't have "Station" or "Coast" in their names. Also, these properties don't tend to have the same sort of history associated with them that the more familiar names do."

Here is the link-
http://www.jetcafe.org/~npc/gambling/casino_death_watch.html

Las Vegas Focus

Las Vegas Focus news is a blog about weekly events that are happening in Sin City. It's pretty basic and stripped down without alot of clutter but effective listing of what is going down. Here are the ctegories- Boxing Comedians Events Golf Holiday Event Implosions Las Vegas Las Vegas Hotels and Casinos New Projects Nightclubs Promotions Restaurants Shows Sweepstakes Tournaments Transportation

Here is the link-
http://www.lasvegasfocus.com/news/

A2Z Las Vegas

Links? You want links????? Well A2ZLV.com provides them in spades. Thanks to Grifster from the Las Vegas Advisor forums for passing on the link to A2ZLV.com

Hotel Ratings, Hotel Promos, Buffet Reviews, Conventions, Transportation, Golf, History, Webcams, Shows, you want it? You got it right here.

The site is well laid out, simple to navigate and pretty straight forward. A great resource.

Here's the link-

http://www.a2zlv.com/

Vegas Freebie

Thanks to mikuaraman from the LVA forums for the site that asks "Are There Free Things to do in Las Vegas?"

Not only do they ask, but do they ever deliver an answer.

From VegasFreebie.com-"Yes! There are a lot of things to do for free in Las Vegas. Casinos are competing with each other to attract customers. To lure people into their casino, they are willing to spend lots of money on free attractions. This is one of the things that makes Las Vegas the greatest place on earth to be entertained without spending any money.
We have compiled a list of freebies so that next time you visit Las Vegas, you can take a break from gambling without pulling out your wallet. We have lists of all of the attractions sorted by locations and sorted by category.
We also have a section listing free transportation in Las Vegas.

Here's the link-

http://www.vegasfreebie.com/

Las Vegas Weekly

The website for the Las Vegas Weekly is a treasure trove of what is hip and happening in Las Vegas currently.

It bills itself as "THE INTERSECTION OF ARTS // ENTERTAINMENT // CULTURE + EVERYTHING ELSE THAT MATTERS" The informative calendar of what is going on around town is a must read just before anyone is going to fly off to the promised land.

There is News, Arts and Entertainment, Restaurant Reviews, A Beautiful People Contest that you can vote in, an Everything That Matters Today section which gives the lowdown on huge events happening today, Party Schedules, much too much to list here.

There you have it, check it out.

Here's the link-

http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/content/index.php

Sparky's Las Vegas Links

Sparky's Las Vegas Links is run by Sparky Goldstein. A Jack Russell terrier from fabulous Las Vegas. Sparky has an impressive list of Las Vegas Links and deals to check out. It's a whole lot to get through but there is certainly something there for everyone if you have the patience to wade through it all. Sparky's owner is a frequent contributor on the Las Vegas Advisor Forums. He is very knowlegable and is usually helpful if you have a Vegas question you need answering, find him over there.

Here's the link-

http://members.cox.net/sparky-dog3/

Lucrative Pain

Today's link is a blog by Christina a Las Vegas massage therapist (not the happy ending kind). Funny or sad that you have to qualify that she is legit, but in fairness when you think Las Vegas and massage I bet more folks are thinking they are the happy ending type.

Anyway she has a decnt blog in which she talks about her adventures and misadventures in massage therapy and its a pretty good read. A whole lot less salacious than the Flirtatious Distaster Blog but a good read nonetheless.

From her Blog-"Certified and Licensed Massage Therapist working on the Strip...madness ensues!"

Here's the link-

http://lucrativepain.blogspot.com/

Vegas Hotel Room Pics

Have you ever been trying to decide where to stay but want to get an idea what the rooms really look like? Not the promotional pics, but ones taken by real people. Well Rob LoBue from lvcasinoinfo.com has this page devoted to pictures of most Las Vegas Hotel rooms.

Here is the link-
http://www.lvcasinoinfo.com/hotelrm_pics.html