Love must really be in the air. First off, our Web site,
lasvegas.com, introduced something called Love Lines. Readers can send in a message (limited
to just a few sentences) to their Significant Other, telling them how
much they love them. These messages will be judged and the winner
gets something like a million dollars - no, no, just kidding.
There are some great prizes however. Anyway, the response has been
overwhelming, which restores my faith in Valentine's Day and Cupid,
not to mention raging hormones. Secondly, I came to work this
morning and immediately felt an excitement in the air, other than
what usually occurs when I arrive. Scanning the room I was almost
blinded by the glare coming off the ring finger of Corrina,
lasvegas.com's marketing supervisor.
If I remembered correctly, when I left Friday, Corrina's fingers were
bare. To bring you up to date, we have had an inter-office romance
going on for the past year between the beautiful Corrina and the
handsome Greg, director of technology development for lasvegas.com.
They make a great couple, both being what we call "good people," so
it was nice to see them take the next step. A step, by the way, that
surprised the hell out of Corrina. "We had talked about it in a
general way," says she, "but I thought if it was going to happen, it
would be on Valentine's Day." That was Greg's plan, but time waits
for no man, and for Greg, the sooner really was the better.
To sum up, the ring is beautiful, Corrina's jaw is sore from smiling
so much, and as for Greg, hey, you know what these tech guys are
like, he just takes it in stride and wonders if he'll have the ring
paid off by the time he has to shell out for the wedding. Don't
worry, Greg, if you need a hand, your fellow workers will be more
than happy to chip in. Just don't ask me. From all of us at
lasvegas.com I'd like to congratulate both of you on your engagement.
AN X-CELLENT DEBUT
Who would have ever thought the XFL would kick off with a sellout
crowd at Las Vegas's Sam Boyd Stadium, despite the fact the game was telecast locally. But that's just what happened
when more than 30,000 screaming fans saw their hometown Las Vegas
Outlaws shut out the New York-New Jersey Hitmen 19 to zip Saturday
night. I would never have admitted this in the past, but I think the XFL is going to
succeed here, where other major sporting ventures have failed. Let's
keep supporting them, and it doesn't hurt that the sports books will
take bets on the games.
Staying with the sports books for a moment, it will soon be legal
(Feb. 7) to bet on UNLV sporting events, something that has never
been allowed in our state. I don't know if you're aware of this, but
there's been a battle brewing at the federal level to ban betting on
all college games at Nevada's sports books.
Legislation probably will be introduced to Congress this year, with
the very popular and powerful Sen. John McCain as one of its sponsors.
Shame on you, Senator. There is no question that if passed, it would
deliver a devastating blow to our sports books, which don't generate
much profit as it is for the casinos.
As for you sports gamblers who figure that's the way to go if you
want to be a winner, you may have to think again. In the 12-month
period from November 1999 to October 2000, here's how sports gamblers
fared at Las Vegas books: Baseball bettors lost $14.7 million and
basketball bettors dropped $25.3 million. But it was the football
bettors who took the biggest bath at $28.9 million. So much for
"sure" things.
CULTURE COMING UP
For all you people longing for some culture in our town, the two
Guggenheim museums at The Venetian will be opening this fall, "by
Sept. 15" say officials. A spokesman for the Guggenheim Foundation
said the museums will be on par with Guggenheims in New York,
Venice, Italy, Berlin and Bilbao, in terms of architecture and
significance of the exhibitions. Can't wait. It's going to be a great
addition to our city, adding to our growing reputation as the best
travel destination in the world.
SOMETHING FOR EVERY MUSIC FAN
Let's take a look at the music scene for those of you who want to
take a break from the tables and slot machines. If you like jazz,
mark March 10 on your calendar. Jazz pianist David Benoit will be at
Sunset Station's Club Madrid doing two performances (7 & 9 p.m.)
Tickets run from $22.50 to $32.50. This guy's good.
And you'll never guess who's going to be at the Club Madrid March 31
for two performances (7 & 9 p.m.). None other than hemp-head, movie
star and comedian Tommy Chong (pictured at right). You gotta remember Cheech (Cheech
Marin, who now stars on the TV series "Nash Bridges") and Chong in
their classic counterculture movies, "Up In Smoke", "Nice Dreams" and
"Still Smokin'". Well, Chong's back on stage, and if you want to relive
the hippie era, don't miss his show. Tickets go for $17.50 to $27.50.
If you're a Jerry Lee Lewis fan like I am, he'll be rockin' at Sam's
Town Live! at Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall March 23 & 24. He'll
do one show each night at 8 p.m. and it'll set you back either $22.50
or $30. You can't go wrong at either price. So there you are -- some
jazz, some comedy, and some good ol' fashioned rock 'n' roll. Can't
beat that with a stick.
READER RANT: LAS VEGAS & KIDS
So let's close with another e-mail from a reader on his Las Vegas
experience. It comes from Randy Sanders, editor of The Lubbock
Avalanche-Journal. "I just read your column on kids and Las Vegas and
wanted you to know that in 1990 I was there on one of my many trips
and told a friend that Vegas was in danger of losing its focus.
"Excalibur was being overrun with young families, and I said the
folks with children would never spend as much as a married couple,
because they'll want to eat cheap, see the sights instead of gamble
and will have to go to bed earlier than a married couple.
"Too bad the big corporate giants didn't see it! As columnist Bob
Greene or Roger Simon (can't remember which) said: 'Las Vegas is a
family destination only if your third-grader knows the odds on the 6
and 8.' Cheers."
Good luck, and I'll see you on the Strip.
• • •
Have a question, comment, or idea for a future column? E-mail me at lennylv@lvcm.com
And you'll never guess who's going to be at the Club Madrid March 31
for two performances (7 & 9 p.m.). None other than hemp-head, movie
star and comedian Tommy Chong (pictured at right). You gotta remember Cheech (Cheech
Marin, who now stars on the TV series "Nash Bridges") and Chong in
their classic counterculture movies, "Up In Smoke", "Nice Dreams" and
"Still Smokin'". Well, Chong's back on stage, and if you want to relive
the hippie era, don't miss his show. Tickets go for $17.50 to $27.50.
