My Vegas Today

Apparently, this Facebook thing is all the rage.  The kids like it, companies are trying to make money with it, and you don’t have to spend fifteen minutes trying to figure out how to update all your followers/friends/fans in 140 characters.  I have a personal page on the Facebook and have now added a “FAN” page for the Living in Las Vegas Podcast.

Are you feeling fantastic?  Want to see videos that aren’t added to our main website?  Then click the thingy below and join the fun!

 

One of our favorite things to do here in Las Vegas is to hang out at the LA Comedy Club.  We’ve been fans of the comedy club since it launched at Palace Stations.  It’s now located downtown at the Four Queens Casino.

Jay, the promoter for the show, has invited me to offer any local Las Vegan the opportunity to attend any show from Wednesday to Sunday FOR FREE**!!

Show times are Wed, Thur, and Fri at 8PM, and Sat at 7PM and 9PM.  This weekend features comedians Willie Farrell and Rick D’Ellia. 

There is no drink minimum.  No “catch”.  Jay is giving away these tickets to thank LV locals for making the LA Comedy Club the #1 comedy club in Las Vegas.

To get your free tickets, give Jay a call at 702.510.1611.  Tell him Scott from the Living in Las Vegas Podcast sent you!

 

** Free?  Well, there is a $4 “printing fee”.

As was mentioned during the beginning of Episode 74 [CityCenter: ARIA Hotel and Casino and Crystals], one of the greatest Christmas gifts ever bestowed on me is the deer you see pictured to the right.

The problem?  He has no name.

I think we’d all agree that if he’s to suffer the challenges associated with looking regal above the Whitney Villa entryway pictured, we should at least provide him with a name.

That’s where you come in.

In the comments below, give us your best suggestion for a name.  Funny, regal, thought-provoking. . .all are exactly what we’re looking for.

The winner may select any of the following as a token of our undying gratitude:

1. A round of drinks on Scott
2. A free copy of ChristmAcoustic, ChristmAcoustic II, or Guitjazzathon
3. My unending love and support
4. Two rounds of drinks on Scott and Deer
5. The secret to some fun little magic trick

Thanks in advance for playing along.  The winner’s suggestion will be placed on a fancy name plate just below his, er, head.  Let the creativity begin!

This is the first of a BUNCH of videos I took at the CityCenter’s Aria and Crystals properties for Episode 74. This video is all of us driving up to the property, getting turned away from valet parking, and watching a guy fall asleep standing up.

For A TON of other videos, visit the new Living in Las Vegas YouTube Channel.

This morning, the local NBC station ran 3 hours of live news about a shooting at the main Las Vegas courthouse.  According to reports, a lone gunman entered the building and immediately started firing.  Two officers were shot, one fatally. A guard was shot and killed. A marshal was shot and injured.   The gunman was killed as well.  (There was helicopter video on the NBC channel showing the body of the shooter.) 

Below is a video taken by a guy in the area for jury duty.  The number of shots is unbelievable (I counted over 50).

Warning: Some adult language is heard in the video.

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After a reasonable number of libations (Sonic Blaster and Tropica Cocktails were the Signature Drinks of the evening) and some amazing cheese fondue, we had a lot of fun playing Guesstures with our New Years Eve guests.  Here’s a handful of clips from the evening.

Melissa and I want to wish all of our Living in Las Vegas Podcast listeners a very Happy New Year!  For us, the New Year celebration will be an intimate one—we’re having a few friends over to the Whitney Villa to join us and our daughter Savannah and her boyfriend Dak for some adult beverages, games and joyous noise.  (You might be surprised how many drinking games can be created by combining Wii Fit with Mr. Boston Platinum Edition Drink Mixing Guide.)

We know that 2009 has been a rough one for many folks.  We were fortunate to have steady employment and pretty good health throughout the year.  For those in more difficult times, we’re putting out warm thoughts on your behalf.  I sense that 2010 will be an exciting and recuperative year for many folks in need of such relief.  If you fit into that category, be prepared for a great year!

Finally, thanks for playing along with the two of us over the course of the last few years.  January 12, 2010 will mark the four-year anniversary of the show, and during those four years, we’ve made great friends and have had some wonderful times!  We are grateful for both.

Happy New Year, Everybody!  Have FUN and be SAFE!

Christmas Gathering

Last weekend Melissa and I had a GREAT time joining a bunch of friends we’ve made via the LiLV Podcast for dinner and drinks at Buca Di Beppo, on Lake Mead Blvd.  Besides enjoying the company of Jacob, Sally, Alicia, David, Cheryl, Brad, Sally, Kerry and Perry, we were joined by the Pope himself.

Hard to beat that!

Afterwards, Melissa, David, Alicia and I headed down to Frankie’s Tiki Room. 

I’ve included a link to some photos I’ve uploaded on Picasa.  (Some of those Frankie’s photos did not make it online.  Yikes!)

Merry Christmas to all!

The new BB King Blues Club and restaurant at the Mirage is open for business. It has been open for a few weeks now. This is a casual dining restaurant with live music playing at night. The house band plays blues and rock music. They are very good, and loud! This is a small venue for a live band, it seats around 500 people. The stage is in the middle of the floor facing the dining tables and the bar. There is space for people to get up and boogie to the tunes. They do have guest artists and bands performing there. Check the calander for the dates you will be visiting.

The food is southern down home cooking and bbq. I had the pulled pork bbq sandwich, fries, slaw and pickle. The food was excellent. This will be one of my fav dining stops from now on. The prices are reasonable and the portions of food is good. The staff seemed very friendly.

They have a small gift shop at the entrance to the restaurant. BB Kings is located across the walkway from the Beatles Revolution lounge. So easy for you to find. Here is the link to the website: http://www.bbkingclubs.com/

Give BB a try, you will enjoy the food and the music!!

The new MGM City Center project is finally opening for business on the strip. I walked through the new Crystals shopping mall on Wednesday December 16. Very few shops were open. Everything is very elegant and opulent. The large mall will be easy walking for the hoped for large crowds of visitors and shoppers. The fountains, statues and art work make for a very pleasant visit. However, the shops are just more of the same high end stores already in all the hotel shopping malls. Lois Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi, Tiffany, Bulgari. I also went to the opening of an art gallery Wednesday evening before the gala opening of the Aria Hotel. A nice gallery, but similar galleries already at Caesars and the Venetian.

The hotels are just as high end as the fashion and jewelry stores. The Mandarin Oriental, Vdara, the Harmon, and Aria. The Aria is the only hotel that will have a casino. The casino opened to the public on Thursday December 17. The Aria also has the new Cirque du Soleil "Viva Elvis" show. Tickets for the show are available now. There is a new tram that runs from the Monte Carlo to City Center to Bellagio. Be prepared to walk a long ways. The tram stations are at the back end of the hotels.

After walking around part of the City Center and the Crystals shopping mall, one gets the impression this is only for the wealthy, the very wealthy. MGM said they hoped this would become the downtown of Las Vegas for everyone. There is not much here for the people who live and work in Las Vegas. If you work in the casinos or hotels, there is nothing here you can afford to do. Really, nothing new here. I was very unimpressed by the whole City Center project. MGM better find plenty of millionaires to buy the condos in theses new hotels. I don't really see how these new hotels can compete with the established strip hotels like Bellagio, Wynn, Encore, and Venetian.

Like the City Center project blocks out the sun on the strip, MGM hopes it does not block out their future.