Breaking Vegas News, Fire at the Monte Carlo!

A three alarm fire broke out today at the Monte Carlo Hotel
and Casino on the Las Vegas strip presumed

started on the roof area by a welders torch, even though the
cause has not been officially confirmed. MSNBC is reporting
that there are no injuries and the fire is extinguished along the
west and south sides. It broke out around 11am pacific time. The
video shows charring in the penthouse areas of two wings of
the casino. They are awaiting a press conference from the
Clark County fire officials to see if there is any structural damage
to the hotel. The fire was on the outside of the building.
Video shows parts of the sign on the facade burning.
They are also reporting that the Monte Carlo is hoping to get
the gaming tables and the casino up and running this evening.
We'll see.

The fire officials evacuated the top 15 of the 32 floors and then
firefighters went door to door to make sure everyone was
evacuated and safe.

Fire officials believe there was something flamable like
insulating foam that caused the dense black smoke. They also
believe that most of the fire was outside the hotel and not in
the interior of the hotel. That's why they believe that it
was roofing materials involved.

The hotel has 3 thousand guest rooms and the hotel guests
are being taken to the MGM Garden Arena area to await
news. I expect the comps to fly when the hotel reopens.
This is the weekend in Vegas when thousands drive in from
California. If the hotel is down for any amount of time this
weekend, it will translate into a huge financial loss for the
MGM group. (Time to tighten the machines again?)

The good news: NO INJURIES!

Free Attractions In Las Vegas, Its FREE and its Vegas, Baby!

There are a lot of must see free attractions
in Las Vegas. If you need to while away an
afternoon or evening, we've got lots of suggestions!

Here are some of my favorites:

People watching. Free, the minute your plane touches
down at McCarren airport. Its everywhere, you can't
avoid it. Staring is optional, sometimes its encouraged.




The Conservatory at the Bellagio. It changes by the
seasons and its always worth a visit. The flowers are
always blooming and there is always water bouncing
around. A must see! Sometimes you can even watch
them set it up and its just amazing.

The Fountain show at the Bellagio. Its am amazing show
of water that dances to music. From Frank Sinatra tunes,
to country to Italian tenors, it will send chills down your spine
as the water hits heights and twirls to the music.

The Volcano at the Mirage. The huge volcano spews
flames and explodes over a tropical lagoon.

Seigfried and Roy's white tigers. Just inside near an
entrance is a glass enclosed white tiger habitat. These
are some gorgeous animals! Most of the time they
are sleeping, but sometimes they'll be walking around and
jumping into the water.

The aquarium at the Mirage. Located just behind the
check in desks in the main lobby, there are fish of all species
swimming around an entire aquarium wall. Really a nice
stop late at night when the lobby isn't full of people checking
in and out of the hotel. While you are in the lobby enjoy the
fragrance. They must pipe in tropical scents because you'll be
transported to a tropical escape.

The Sirens of TI show at Treasure Island. Singing,
dancing, cannons firing, fireworks and ships sinking.
The show has been revamped from a kids show to
an adult entertainment show. Strollers aren't permitted.

The Lion habitat at the MGM. Lions in a glass enclosed
habitat. You may see lions playing with a rubber ball or
sleeping on an overpass as you walk under the passage.
Wow, adult lions have huge feet. Free and fun, especially
if the lions are awake and moving around.

The Fremont Street Experience. Downtown in old
Las Vegas, there is a canopy of about a kabillion lights
that do overhead shows complete with music. Fun for all
ages!

The Masquerade Parade in the Sky at the Rio.
A complete Las Vegas show on the main stage with dancers
acrobats and singers, but then the magic starts! Parade floats run on
a track on the ceiling with dancers as the parade floats
overhead. The performers throw Mardi Gras beads and if you
are lucky enough to catch them, make sure you wear them!
You can even buy tickets to ride in a float!

Las Vegas Hotel Review: The Rio

The Rio has a Carnivale fun theme that really
rocks. Its almost like a city unto itself. You might want
to leave, but why? You've got great food, entertainment,
a casino, a spa, a wedding chapel, shopping, hot lounges,
nightlife and even the Lucky Strike lanes!

The Rio used to bill itself as the only all suite
hotel in Las Vegas. To be fair, they weren't
really suites. They were just huge living room
bedroom combinations with a bath. But in 1990,
this place was revolutionary.

The Rio was a big, friendly, rocking, fun place with some
of the best video poker around. It basically was a locals
casino since there wasn't easy access to the strip at the time.
The same employees were there from the beginning and
remembered your name. It had great food at low prices
and the buffet was legendary. Rio Rita was running
around the casino with a fruit basket on her head
conducting impromptu casino contests and giving
out prizes.

Harrah's took over and messed with something good.
They Harrahized the place. Gone is the good video
poker. Gone are the employees who remembered
your name. The food prices skyrocketed. The buffet
declined and is slowly regaining some of its former
glory. Its just not the same. Sadly. Its Harrah's.

The rooms in the Masquerade Tower are easy to
access and the hallways are wider and brighter.
If you self park, you can walk into the casino, take an
escalator and be at your hotel elevator in a minute.


The rooms, er, suites, are a huge room with a sofa,
chair, cocktail table, eating table with two chairs and
your bed or beds. The bathrooms have a shower tub combo
a little bit of marble. The sink and vanity are outside in a dressing
area so someone can shower while others have access to the
mirror area and sink. Regardless of what tower you are in,
the rooms have awesome floor to ceiling windows.

They used to have coffee pots and refrigerators in this dressing
area, the last time we stayed the coffee pots were history.
When we asked about it, they mumbled some lame answer
about 9/11 and against code. I think they just wanted me to
head down to Starbucks and get some high priced high
octane caffeine.

The rooms are comfortable, clean and the toiletries are
basic. The towels are average. Its not high end here, but
its really spacious and comfy. Its a great room to relax
from the casino and the nightlife.

The pool here is an experience. There is not one but
four pools and one has a sand bottom. How fun!

The Rio has so many dining choices from the cafe, buffet to
Indian, Italian, seafood and Mexican restaurants, its hard
to decide where you want to eat. If you want to club and
party, hit the Voo Doo Lounge. Its 51 stories above the strip
and the view is freaking amazing!

Don't miss the free Masquerade Parade in the Sky show
in the Masquerade village. Its a song, dance review with
a twist: the floats are on the ceiling. If you are lucky,
you can catch some mardi gras beads they throw from
the floats. Or you can pay and be on the float in costume.

Harrah's may have changed the place, but its still a fun
place to stay AND play.

Las Vegas Hotel Review: New York New York

New York New York Hotel & Casino has the huge
statue of the Statue of Liberty marking its front,
along with a tug boat spewing water, a bridge and
the famous NYNY roller coaster speeding around
the property. There's a lot going on here!

I remember watching them assemble the
Statue of Liberty. I watched as they put the arm and torch
on the statue. I've seen Miss Liberty dressed in a huge
tee shirt. And who could ever forget the 9/11 tribute
that was on the grounds?

I had heard a lot of negatives about NYNY, but since
they invited me to stay, and it was comped, oh, hell yes.
I heard the rooms were small. Yes, they are. But they
are comfortable and well appointed. They have sort of
a cool cosmopolitan vibe. They remind me of a
midtown NY hotel. As my husband said, DUH...that's what
its supposed to look like! Nice sized bathroom with the
usual toiletries, the requisite marble and shower.
The room has a safe, tv, desk, everything you need, AND
its really clean. Oh, nice thick towels, too.

I heard that the noise from the roller coaster can blast
you awake and keep you from sleeping. So I requested
a room away from the roller coaster and they obliged.
I asked people whose rooms were near the coaster about
the noise. One said it was horrible,
the others said it wasn't that much of a problem since it stops
running at 11pm during the week and midnight on weekends.
I'm not in bed that early in Vegas, so I wouldn't notice it. ;)

The hotel rooms are in the towers and you have to zigzag
down the halls from building to building to get to your room.
The buildings are connected by corridors. It wouldn't have
been that difficult if I wasn't dragging my suitcase and running
my mouth and not paying attention to the hall. I ran smack
into one of the walls. I just pretended
to be tipsy instead of a total ditzy blonde.

The hotel has a food court area that looks like a
New York city street. Their cafe is called America
and has the coolest 3 D map on the wall.
Decent food, large sized portions, good service.

Husband loves the ESPN Zone. Its a huge sports bar
with tv's everywhere blasting out sports. It used to be
the Motown Cafe. It has the usual man bar food, sliders,
subs, cheese fries and stuff that you eat when watching
sports. All you need is a sofa and a remote. Its a good place
to park the men while the women go shopping.

One of my favorite restaurants is here. Il Fornaio has great
Italian food. Problem is the service sucked all five times I was
there. Last time the waiter said they were out of
bolognese sauce. Come on, no Italian restaurant is EVER
out of bolognese sauce. Couple came in after us, had a
different waiter, got bolognese sauce.
Damn! Their home made bread is to die for, and its
baked there. You can dine inside or outside which is
actually a faux garden area in the casino. My hope is to
sometime get a good waiter. I know they
have them, I've seen them. I just always get the guy
on his first day.

The casino is a bit difficult to maneuver. The casino looks like
its set in central park. It really has the feel of being in a city.
They have some faux rock boulders near the bridge and
I always manage to trip because I don't always watch
where I'm going. They annoy me!

The machines are tight here. I did see a big jackpot the last
time we were there. We got up from a machine, a woman
sat down, put in a $20 bill and hit for 8 grand on the first pull.
It was oh, so painful. The video poker is just so so. Not great
pay tables. Lots and lots of penny games, including those
annoying 20 line million reel spinners that make
way too much noise.

If you like nightlife and bars, this place has Coyote Ugly and
9 Fine Irishmen as well as the Times Square bar. Lots of
partying goes on here!

Interesting hotel, fun casino and it can get really loud.
If you like loud and boisterous, this is your happy place.

Las Vegas Hotel Review: The Luxor

Pyramid power, baby. The the MGM group took
over Luxor Las Vegas, they want to change its theme,
but when its already shaped like a pyramid,
what changes can you do? I personally love
the Egyptian theme, the Obelisk, the Sphinx and
the giant light. Don't change it! It stand out.
What I hate is the huge liquor bottle
advertisement plastered on the side of
the pyramid.

They are revamping the inside to take out a
lot of Egyptian decor. They've jumped onto
the hot night club bandwagon by introducing
LAX nightclub. They are adding a lot of new
bars and clubs. What they need to do is
improve the food at the buffet.

Rooms in the pyramid are Egyptian inspired,
sort of basic. Beds are not comfy like the new
ones they are introducing at the other MGM
properties. The rooms DON'T have safes which is
a pain when you want to leave stuff in your room.
You have to rent a safe deposit box downstairs
for your valuables.The windows in the pyramid
slant inward so when you go to look out you'll
smack your forehead on the glass.
Why don't the maids see the
spots on the windows and clean them?

Bathrooms are basic, they have Bath and Body
works products which ups them in my estimation.
The towels are thin. Thin and hard. They
need new towels, those fluffy ones that
they have at the other MGM properties.

The tower rooms are nicer, brighter and larger
but a pain to get to because they are off
the main area and you have to go down a maze
(supposed to be like a Pyrmaid maze) to get
to the elevators. If you are in the tower,
check in at the East valet and desk, it will
be so much easier to maneuver. Its still a bit
of a walk to the casino.

The suites in the towers are nice. They are
two rooms, a living room with a wet bar, TV,
sofa, refrigerator and small eating table and foyer.
You have your bedroom with another TV.
You'll have a large marble bathroom with a big vanity,
robes, slippers, double sinks and another room
with a shower and a jacuzzi tub.


Bedroom of tower suite



Living room of tower suite.

The plus of the Luxor is the staff. They
are awesome, friendly and helpful. They
do their best to help you figure out the
Luxor. Lets face it, this place is confusing.
There is construction going on in the casino
and it should be nice when its done.

The Pyramid Cafe serves decent food in huge
portions. I've seen celebs eating in there.
Its your basic hotel coffee shop fronting
the casino. If you want to get away from
the noise of the casino, ask to be seated
in the back.

There is a free tram that will connect
you to Mandalay Bay or the Excalibur. From
the Excalibur, its a short walk to NY NY
and the MGM. There are also walkways
if you feel like walking and they have
shops and restaurants.

The Luxor is the home of Criss Angel, the
Mindfreak illusionist, who will be opening next
year in their Cirque production. You might
cross paths with him in the hotel as he lives
in the penthouse of the pyramid. You
can check his shooting schedule at his
production office located at the end of
the Giza shops on the main floor. His fans
will love his cars sprinkled around the property
at the main valet and the east valet. His
bikes are inside near his production office
and his retail shop.

The Luxor is a decent place to stay in
an easy to navigate location. I stay here
when I get a great slot club offer and I
can't say I'm disappointed. If they would
just get better towels!