I hope wherever you live, you aren't still suffering from the heat wave that has engulfed most of the country over the past week or so. But if you are, get your butts here quick. Our weather may be just as hot or hotter, but at least you can have one helluva good time in our cool hotel/casinos and I mean cool in both definitions of the word.
Having said that, you would think I would use it as a segue into an item featuring one of our hot clubs or sexy shows. Instead, this one is for animal lovers, although anyone seeing it is going to enjoy it. It's called the World Famous Popovich Comedy Pet Theater that features 15 talented cats and eight amazing dogs. It all takes place inside the V Theater in the Desert Passage Mall at the Aladdin.
If you were blown away by the performers in the Cirque shows here, wait 'til you see these furry felines and canine cutups doing their tricks. It's like watching a circus of all animals, which, by the way, are mostly strays rescued from animal shelters. Popovich is an international circus star and multi-world record holder in the art of juggling. You may have seen him and his pets on Jay Leno, David Letterman, Animal Planet and CNN. The show runs from Saturday thru Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $32 if you're 12 or older, 18 bucks under 12 and no charge for kids under 2.
STRIP TRIVIA
Okay, from here on out, it's going to be trivia. Informative, interesting nuggets that will impress your friends, but if you don't like trivia, or aren't a bit of a show-off, stop reading this column and do something worthwhile -- like the dishes, or cleaning out the garage.
Did you know that we have just started a five-year, $20-billion building boom on the Strip that will almost double the number of rooms costing $200 a night or more? Today, those rooms make up about 15,000 of the 75,000 rooms on the Strip. Here are the projects that should be completed by the end of 2010. The $1.8 billion Palazzo with 3,025 rooms; the $1.7 billion Encore at Wynn Las Vegas with 2,054 rooms; the $7 billion Project CityCenter with 7,700 rooms; the $4 billion Echelon Place with 3,300 rooms.
The following projects may or may not make it. The $2 billion Cosmopolitan with 3,000 rooms; the $1.5 billion Fontainebleau with 4,000 rooms; the $1.7 billion W Las Vegas with 3,000 rooms.
MYSTÈRE MILESTONE
The show that changed the face of Las Vegas entertainment is about to celebrate a milestone of its own. Mystère, Las Vegas' longest running Cirque du Soleil show, in its 13th year at TI (formerly Treasure Island) will celebrate its 6000th performance during the 7:30 pm show this Sunday. Fireworks, confetti and balloons will be released during the Mystère finale to mark the event and artistic director Ria Martens will create a special ending with the "behind the scenes" crew joining the cast on stage for the final bow.
During these 13 years, the show has accumulated these impressive figures: 19 miles of bungee; 12,000 cans of Coke used to "mop" the stage; 72,000 red balloons; 247 coats of paint‹or 1/2 inch of paint on stage; 1,661,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen for fog; 8,105,407 tickets sold.
DOWNTOWN PROJECT
And downtown, which is fast becoming a happening place, a $5.8 million project will continue the transformation of three blocks into a designated entertainment district. The newly named Fremont East, which runs from Las Vegas Boulevard east to Eighth Street, will have an arch at each end bearing the new name. In addition, this stretch of Fremont Street will be repaved, with the sidewalks widened and medians added. Construction will start in late fall and take about a year to finish.
CASINO CRITIQUE
I always thought that tips were the lifeblood of casino workers. Without them, nobody would work in a casino as most employees get paid minimum wage and we, who are struggling to get by, are supposed to supplement their income, rather than the hotels, with their huge profits, having to pay them livable wages.
So I am always surprised, as I sit playing, and losing at video poker, when the drink servers go by faster than Secretariat winning the Belmont, shouting "Drinks" without looking in either direction. This does not happen at every casino I've been in, but more than just a few. Unless you're quick enough and loud enough to get their attention, prepare to wait for a very long time for a drink. I don't know, maybe they've all got rich boyfriends or husbands and don't really need the money, but hey, even it that is the case, and I really don't believe it is, how about doing your job properly and taking care of the people that are providing that job?
Okay, I got that off my chest. Next, I'd like to thank those casinos who have put in the payout and change machines so that we don't have to line up at a change booth any longer. Of course, the casinos are doing this to get rid of employees, not because they are concerned about any convenience to the people who are allowing them to build these palaces. Pretty soon, there won't be any employees, except maybe for car valets and technicians.
Recorded voices will welcome us to the hotel where we are checking in by feeding info and our credit cards into machines that dispense our room keys. We'll have to carry our own luggage, but a slightly lower room rate will more than make up for that inconvenience. Robots will deal table games. In the lower to middle end hotels there will be no restaurants, just giant vending machines with full course, pre-cooked meals that we can heat up in the microwave in our room. In the showrooms theater screens will bring us reruns of first-class entertainment. There will also be drink dispensers placed throughout the casino where we'll be able to buy beer, mixed drinks or soft drinks at outrageous prices so we can brag to people back home that we paid 10 bucks for a Coke. I could go on, but I'm too depressed. So before I try slitting my wrists with my dull pencil, I'll call it a wrap.
Good luck and I'll see you on the Strip. And don't forget to check out www.valleyblogs.com
If you have a question or a Las Vegas experience you would like to share with my readers, please e-mail me at lennylv@cox.net. Please include your full name and the city or town where you live.
