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| Sunday, January 2, 2005 | PRIOR ISSUE - ARCHIVES |
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| Spa Tower Opens, Herman's Hermits Perform, Vegas Goes Vertical, Jim David Headlines, Celebrities At Brunch, Cher Returns With Village People, Clint Holmes Recovering, Frankie Valli Hits Town, Gladys Knight May Stop, Monsters On Ice, Carrot Top Plays, Elvis' 70th Birthday Celebration, Second 'Canniversary', More... | |
| LAS VEGAS: |
| ATTRACTIONS |
| BUFFETS |
| CONCERTS |
| DISCOUNTS & DEALS |
| GROUP TRAVEL |
| HOTELS |
| LIMOS / CAR RENTALS |
| MAPS |
| NIGHTLIFE |
| RECREATION |
| RESTAURANTS |
| SHOPPING |
| SHOWS |
| TOURS |
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Over the holidays, the Bellagio opened its new 33-story tower with 809 guest rooms and 109 suites on the top seven floors that include two 4,500 square-foot presidential suites. This is the first expansion for the Bellagio since it opened in 1999.
The $375 million expansion project also includes a new upscale restaurant Sensi with tables surrounding the kitchen that doubles as a "culinary theater," four new specialty retail shops, 70,000 additional square feet of meeting space, and a large renovation to the property's spa and salon component. In addition, $110 million was spent to refurbish the resort's existing rooms and suites so they match the offerings in the new tower in keeping with the property's AAA five-diamond status.
A significant portion of the expansion focused on the property's spa and salon. The resort doubled the size to 55,000 square feet, added more workout space, renovated the reception area, and increased the number of massage and therapy rooms. The salon grew to 10,000 square feet and now has 61 stations for hair, make up and beauty treatments.
The classic rock and roll band Herman's Hermits will headline at The Silverton located three miles south of the Strip, off I-15 at Blue Diamond Road, on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. inside The Hideaway Theatre. Tickets are $20, call 1-866-946-4373 or 702-914-8557.
The group became a sensation with their first No. 1 hit record, "I'm Into Something Good." Herman's Hermits, led by one-time teen idol Peter Noone, is still going strong. They were the highest grossing act and biggest recording sellers in the world in 1965 and 1966.
Herman's Hermits have sold over 52 million records and had 23 top-20 hits with tunes like "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter," "I'm Henry VIII, I Am," " End of the World," "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat," "Just a Little Bit Better," "There's a Kind of Hush," "Listen People," along with many others. The band represents the success and staying power from their start as rising pop stars with the British music invasion.
The many talents of lead singer Peter Noone are evident not only in the success of his music, but in television and Broadway as well. He hosted a No. 1 rated show on VH1 for four years, had over 1,000 national television show appearances, and starred in two Broadway shows. Noone was named Cashbox Top Entertainer two years in a row and starred in three major motion pictures. He continues to perform over 200 sold out concerts each year.
There's no question Las Vegas is going vertical. Not only are the mega-resort hotel towers tall with lots of rooms, but now Las Vegas is into tall lifestyle residences. New projects are being announced on a regular basis.
Downtown the City Council has approved the 23-story Newport Lofts to be built at Casino Center Boulevard and Hoover Avenue. The $75 million projects will have a 385-foot building with 168 loft style floor plans ranging from 900-square feet to 1,600-square-feet, priced from $300,000 to $700,000. Two-story penthouse suites will range from 1,700 to 3,000 square feet and start at $900,000. The ground floor will be mixed-use retail with six stories of enclosed parking. The project is expected to break in late May and be completed in the fall of 2006.
Also going up downtown is Club Renaissance Vertical Country Club Condominiums, a 60-floor residential condominium tower. Upon completion, the project is slated to be one of the tallest residential condominium towers in Nevada standing at 705 feet. The tower will be located at the corner of Casino Center Boulevard and Bonneville Street.
Club Renaissance will have two full floors of retail space and feature a top floor 60,000-square-foot country club. In addition, the rooftop will feature a sundeck and infinity-edge pool. Prices will range from $149,900 up to $900,000. Pre-sales by appointment will begin in February.
On the Strip next to the Hilton Grand Vacations is where Sky Las Vegas will build its 44-story tower. The sales office for this project has opened at 2780 Las Vegas Blvd. South next to where the Guinness World of Records Museum was located before it closed last year.
Comic Jim David will headline the Riviera Comedy Club with Hiram Kasten and Steve Lazarus for seven nights beginning on Jan. 10. Show times for the Riviera Comedy Club are 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. nightly. Tickets for the nightly 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. shows are $17.95 plus taxes, call 702-794-9433.
David was teaching Shakespeare to seventh graders in the South Bronx when his students asked him, "What are you? A comedian?" Being a comedian is merely the latest career for David.
Early on, he showed a precocious gift of gab and theatrical flair. At age nine, he made his stage debut as a munchkin in "The Wizard of Oz" and by college had appeared in more than 50 plays. David worked at clubs in New York and across the country, developing his highly personal comedy material that centers on his southern upbringing, his jobs, social views, characters and many real-life experiences that he couldn't possibly make up.
Hiram Kasten created and starred in his own Off-Broadway show, "Whose Act Is It Anyway?" He directed the award-winning play, "Other Than My Health, I Have Nothing." His TV credits include "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Sabrina," "Mad About You," "Cybil" and many more.
Steve Lazarus is a Yankee Stadium hot dog vendor turned comedian. He has a lot to get off of his chest with a mother that drives him nuts, not finding the right girl, hating infomercials and being annoyed with the way times have changed.
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Been hearing nice comments on the Celebrity Champagne Brunch held every Sunday at the Plaza downtown. It's hosted by Magnum P.I.'s Larry Manetti and features surprise weekly performers. Cost is $19.95 and it goes from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sensi, is now open in Bellagio's new Spa Tower. It has a menu based on four complementary cuisines - Italian, Asian, Grilled and Seafood classics. To spotlight the chef's straight forward approach, Japanese design firm Super Potato crafted an interactive 'stage' setup through a minimalist, earthy décor. The distinctive dining design incorporates four open kitchens in a sunken arena in the middle of the dining room that provide diners an intimate proximity to the expert preparation techniques in action. Sensi also features two chef's tables on opposing sides of the kitchen complex, seating up to six and eight. These unique, single-piece tabletops - one wood, one stone - were hand-chiseled and carved by monks with the intent to preserve the delicate imperfections of the natural materials. Another new restaurant that opened last month is the Mix. It is located on the 60th floor of THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. One of the highlights of this eatery is the panoramic views of the Strip. Other elements include a small jewel-like champagne bar in the lounge, a wraparound terrace with heat lamps, and a chef's table with a clear view of the kitchen and battery of chefs preparing meals. The kitchen is central to both the bar and lounge and the dining room. Dinner hours are from 5 to 11 p.m. nightly. Yet another new restaurant that opened last year is the Capital Grille located on the third floor of the Fashion Show mall on the Strip. The eatery seats 275 and is part of a chain of 20 owned-and-operated restaurants in nationwide locations. In Las Vegas the Capital Grille is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, and dinner nightly. The Capital Grille offers three private dining rooms: The Club Room that seats 24 and has a drop-down audio-visual screen and DSL data port connection for presentations; the Wine Cellar with floor-to-ceiling wine racks that seats up to 20; and the Tasting Room that also seats as many as 20 guest and can connect with the Wine Cellar for additional seating. This restaurant features steaks that are dry-aged on the premises and has a wine list of more than 900 selections and 24 wines by the glass. There are also personal wine lockers for lease annually. Part of the décor are 16 commissioned portraits of people who relate to Las Vegas such as Liberace, the Rat Pack, Howard Hughes, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, Elvis Presley and lesser know folks like Pat McCarran, Del Webb and Helen J. Stewart. Cher will return to Las Vegas on Jan. 29 with her Farewell "Never Can Say Goodbye" Tour at the MGM Grand. The Village People will be appearing with her. Harrah's popular headliner Clint Holmes had a surprise surgery for colon cancer that was detected early on during a routine check up. Holmes is trying to be back to work this week. Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons will headline at The Orleans, Jan. 27-30, and after that he will be performing about 12 weeks this year at the Flamingo when Gladys Knight isn't headlining. There's talk that Knight doesn't plan to stay on after her three year contract ends. Carrot Top will headline the Hollywood Theatre at the MGM Grand from Jan. 6-19. Each year he plays 15 weeks in Las Vegas and headlines another 100-plus concerts across the country. Caught the special on-stage appearance of Queen's legendary guitarist Brian May in the "We Will Rock You" musical at Paris-Las Vegas. The show is a rock concert with a campy theme and when you add the special guest appearance, the packed house was on its feet. Exciting experience for everyone in the audience! Disney on Ice will present Disney / Pixar's Monsters, Inc. at the Orleans Arena, Jan. 19-23. Sonny West, Elvis' personal bodyguard will join the festivities surrounding Elvis' 70th Birthday Celebration at the Cannery. Jan. 7-8. He will join Ed Bonja, Elvis' official photographer and tour manager, to help tell the story of Elvis with personal anecdotes and reflections. Texas Station in North Las Vegas has some country acts lined up for its Dallas Events Center. Charley Pride is booked on Jan. 22, followed by the Oak Ridge Boys on Feb. 18 and Merle Haggard on March 11. Regis Philbin is squeezing a headlining engagement at the Golden Nugget downtown into his busy schedule. He'll appear in the Theater Ballroom on Jan.14 and 15. "USA Today" recently ran a front-cover highlighting the poker craze and how kids are jumping on the bandwagon. The Cannery located in North Las Vegas at the corner of Craig and Losee roads is celebrating its second anniversary with special "Canniversary" events during the month of January. Some special events include the chance to win up to $1,500 each Thursday in January during the $50,000 Canniversary Cash Giveaway, and the Food and Beverage department is featuring month-long specials such as two-for-one enchiladas at Casa Cocina and a $14.95 Steak and Lobster Tail special at Victory's Café.
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