Las Vegas Mardi Gras And Gumbo Festival

The city of Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services invites everyone to the 2nd annual Mardi Gras & Gumbo Festival on Saturday, Feb. 3, at Hills Park, located on Hillpointe Road west of Rampart Boulevard in Summerlin. The fun begins at 11 a.m. with performances by youth gymnastics, dance and step teams. The Blues SchoolHouse Band from the International House of Blues Foundation will entertain from 1 to 2:15 p.m. Admission is free.

A gumbo contest features entries from amateur and professional chefs. All festival attendees may sample the gumbos and cast their ballot for the best. Bowls of gumbo will be available for purchase while supplies last. Food vendors will sell other refreshments.

Test your skill playing a variety of carnival games sponsored by the youth councils from Charleston Heights and Becker community schools. Purchase 20 carnival game tickets for $5.

The event is coordinated by the staff at Becker Community School, located at 9110 Hillpointe Road in Hills Park. Becker, operated by the city of Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services Recreation Division, offers a variety of recreation classes, sports, educational activities and events for ages 3 to adult. The facility routinely offers Spanish, gymnastics, T-ball, tennis, soccer, golf, basketball, ice skating, tae kwon do, parenting, tutoring, cooking, music, art, crafts, ballet/tap, hip hop/jazz and creative dance classes, children’s theatre and day camps. For more information on the Mardi Gras and Gumbo Festival or other Becker Community School activities, call (702) 229-2482.

Golden Nugget Earns AAA Four-Diamond Award for 30th Consecutive Year

For the 30th consecutive year, the Automobile Association of America (AAA) presented the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino with its coveted Four-Diamond award, a record number of years for any lodging establishment in the state of Nevada. Only 14 hotel establishments in the United States have earned the Four-Diamond rating for 30 consecutive years or longer.

The 2007 Four-Diamond award winners were announced by AAA this month. This year, Nevada boasts 19 Four Diamond hotel properties, a new state record. The AAA designation, which rates properties on customer service and quality of accommodations among other factors, exemplifies the Golden Nugget’s standard of excellence in the hospitality industry. Furthermore, the Golden Nugget remains the sole Four-Diamond property located on the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas.

“The Golden Nugget has consistently provided a superior experience to our guests,” said Brett Kellerman, chief operating officer for Golden Nugget. “To be recognized by AAA for 30 years is a reflection of the dedication to the highest quality of accommodations and customer service that has made the Golden Nugget one of the most recognizable names in the hospitality industry.”

In 2006, a $100-million property-wide renovation was completed, as the 60-year-old property enjoyed 14 new changes in as many months. The renovation of the existing footprint and additions such as new restaurants -- Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse and Grotto Italian Ristorante -- and the extraordinary $20-million pool and shark aquarium, The Tank, will continue to solidify the Golden Nugget’s stature as one the premier hotel-casinos in Las Vegas.

Winner of the AAA Four-Diamond Award since 1977, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas is the most luxurious resort located in the heart of Fremont Street in Las Vegas, and consistently receives critical acclaim for exceeding customer expectations. The Golden Nugget offers 1,907 deluxe guest rooms and suites; a high-energy casino featuring the most popular slot and video poker machines, table games, race and sports book and poker room; nightly entertainment; world-class restaurants; luxury spa and salon and The Tank, a year-round outdoor swimming pool complete with a live shark aquarium. In September 2005, Landry’s Restaurants, Inc. purchased the Golden Nugget hotels and casinos in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nev., and embarked on a 14-month, $100 million renovation project, which was completed November 2006.

Preview Las Vegas 2007

The future of Las Vegas looks bright if transportation problems can be solved. That's the message from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Authority president and chief executive officer.

He highlighted the outlook for Las Vegas in 2007 during a business conference called "Preview Las Vegas."

Transportation moved to the top of the list for concerns. Half of our visitors drive to get to the hotels. Workers use the same streets. Now, there's a growing call from the Las Vegas business community to make room for more cars because of the fear that gridlock will stall our economy.

Drivers squeeze through work zones. Drivers maneuver through cones. Drivers wait for construction. It has become part of our daily lives in Las Vegas.

Lee Cazinha, artist, "I have to commute throughout the day. It's surprising there is traffic every hour of the day here. I don't know where it comes from."

Cazinha paints art on people. She does not work at an office, her job is always on location and she often has to deal with valley gridlock.

Las Vegas tourists increasingly notice the problem.

The head of a research firm used by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority put it bluntly. "We cannot turn a blind eye to it. We cannot believe that it will be someone else's problem that visitors will still come when it's inconvenient and those type of things," said Jeremy Aguero, Applied Analysis.

President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter, LVCVA, says road conditions must change before tourists get sick of maneuvering traffic jams. "All of us have to work together. We need to work together with the private sector as well as the governor's office, legislature, as well as the local government to come up with solutions there," Ralenkotter said.

Those solutions could not come fast enough for business owners. But there are a number of road project designed to elevate traffic.

Interstate 15 is being widened to 10 lanes from I-215 to Spring Mountain. Work will be finished in April. Then the next phase starts from Washington to Craig Road.

The US-95 widening project should be completed at the end of this year and some local roads near the Las Vegas Strip will are also being worked on.

In 2006, Las Vegas set a record for the number of visitors at more than 39 million people, about half drove to the valley. By 2009, Las Vegas will have an estimated 43 million tourists.

Thanks to Edward Lawrence

World Series Champ, Jamie Gold, Dropped by Team Bodog

Bodog ended their relationship with World Series of Poker champion Jamie Gold Thursday, citing a desire to refocus their marketing efforts away from America.

"In light of our decision to cease all offline marketing initiatives in the U.S., and instead refocus our efforts … in Europe and Asia, Bodog has ended our business relationship with Jamie Gold," Bodog spokesperson Susan Mainzer said in a statement.

Mainzer said the decision had nothing to do with Gold's ongoing legal battle with Crispin Leyser over the $12 million first place prize at the 2006 WSOP Main Event. "Bodog has enjoyed its association with Mr. Gold and wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavors," she added.

Gold, a former talent agent, secured his $10,000 entry into the 2006 WSOP Main Event through Bodog by promising to get celebrities to play in the tournament wearing Bodog advertisements.

Gold enlisted the help of Leyser, a television executive, to meet Bodog's celebrity quota. According to Leyser, Gold agreed to split his winnings in exchange for Leyser's help and then refused to pay after winning the Main Event.

In August, U.S. Chief District Court Judge Kathy Hardcastle ordered Harrah's to place half of Gold's winnings in a Clark County, Nevada, trust fund pending the lawsuit's conclusion.

Bodog still has endorsement deals with American poker players David Williams, Josh Arieh, and Evelyn Ng.

Thanks to Ryan McLane

Station Casinos Buyout Offer is too Low Say Shareholder Advisors

An investment group advising some Station Casinos shareholders on Thursday called the 82-dollar per share buyout offer from the founding family "inadequate." CtW Investment Group is urging a special board committee to reject the offer.

CtW which works with pension funds that hold about two-point-seven million shares, or just under five percent of the company. It says the offer made in early December by the Fertitta family and an affiliate of Colony Capital should have been at least 97 dollars a share.

After the group's release, Station shares rose a dollar-and-ten cents or one-point-three percent to 83-dollars and 7-cents in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The group said the 82-dollar per share offer didn't fairly evaluate at least a billion dollars in land holdings in the Las Vegas area that could be licensed for casinos, nor management contracts with tribal casinos and other joint ventures.

Station had no comment on the letter.

Rick Rizzolo Gets 1 Year and 1 Day in Prison, Must Sell Crazy Horse Too Strip Club

Convicted strip club owner Rick Rizzolo has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for tax evasion. 48-year-old Rick Rizzolo is also required to sell the Crazy Horse Too club and compensate a man paralyzed in a beating by club employees. Rizzolo's expected to start his prison term by May 22nd. He also was fined 250-thousand dollars after pleading guilty in June to conspiracy to defraud the government.

The club -- as a corporation represented by Rizzolo's lawyer -- pleaded guilty in U-S District Court in Las Vegas to racketeering. It's expected to foot most of the 17 million dollars in financial penalties.

The company acknowledged that employees padded customers' bills and used force to compel customers to pay disputed charges.

One tourist -- Kirk Henry from Olathe, Kansas, is due to receive 10 (M) million dollars to settle a separate civil lawsuit alleging he was paralyzed when he was beaten by club employees in 2001.

World Poker Tour Begins 6th Season in May

The World Poker Tour has released its schedule of events for its sixth season, and the lucrative, made-for-TV tournament poker circuit will again have a strong Las Vegas presence.

World Poker's Season 6 begins in May with a tournament at the Aviation Club in Paris, followed by two consecutive events on the Strip: the Mirage Poker Showdown (May 19-23) and the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship (May 29-June 2).

Later in the season, the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic will take place Dec. 13-18.

The Bellagio will also reprise its role as the host of World Poker's season-ending tournament, the World Poker Tour Championship, April 19-25, 2008.

With a couple of additions or changes possible, the sixth season of World Poker figures to include 14 full-fledged open tournaments along with two special events: the fourth "Ladies Night" at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles and a celebrity invitational at Southern California's Commerce Casino. Buy-ins for the open tournaments range from $5,000 to $15,000, with the exception of the championship event, which carries a $25,000 buy-in.

The World Poker Tour is in the midst of its fifth season, which began last May at the Mirage and concludes in April at the Bellagio. Each final table on the World Poker Tour is taped for later broadcast on the Travel Channel.

Doug Dalton, director of poker operations for the Bellagio, described how parent company MGM Mirage's alliance with the World Poker Tour has benefited the organization's bottom line beyond the realm of the poker room.

"We have some of the top poker players in the world, the ones that you guys see on TV all the time, coming into our casino," Dalton said. "They don't just play poker. They play big-limit slots, they play craps, they play 21. You see an increase in your customer base for the pit, which comes from poker."

Thanks to Jeff Haney

NASCAR Banquet Moving to Vegas?

NASCAR's annual awards banquet might move from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, where it has been held since 1981, to Las Vegas as early as this year. The site has not been finalized but the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority met with NASCAR officials in December.

"With the growth of the sport, more people want to attend the banquet. More people want to have functions during the banquet. This town thrives on big events," said Las Vegas Motor Speedway general manager Chris Powel

The Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame

The Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame was the creation of Tim Arnold, who opened Pinball Pete's in Lansing, Michigan in 1976. Always a pinball fanatic, when Arnold moved to Las Vegas in 1990 he took his roughly 1,000 arcade and video games with him. Originally housed in a tennis court, the games were featured in a series of "Pinball Fun Nights" hosted by the Las Vegas Pinball Collectors' Club. In 2006, Arnold's collections was transformed into the Pinball Hall of Fame, a not-for-profit charity.

Holding roughly 200 pinball machines and a few standup arcade games, the "Hall of Fame" is essentially Arnold's personal collection. I asked Arnold what he thought of pinball simulations, such as PinMAME and Pro Pinball: "They're like kissing your sister," he said. "All the game consoles, the personal computer—they killed the arcade. But there's nothing like it."

Thanks to Mark Hachman

10 Acre Real Estate Parcel on Las Vegas Strip for Sale

Destination Villas, in partnership with Anjomi and Associates Realty, announces a rare and exclusive opportunity to purchase a prime 10-acre lot on the Las Vegas Strip. This property is located on the rapidly developing southern end of the Las Vegas Strip at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and Cactus Avenue. The surrounding property includes approximately 5.8 billion dollars worth of developments, which have either commercial construction or are in the planning stages. This site offers approximately 600 feet of Las Vegas Boulevard frontage. It is ideal for a hotel casino, high-rise condominiums, timeshares or mixed-use development. See what's new at HomeVisions

Land prices are expected to continue to escalate at an accelerated pace as the demand for prime real estate exceeds the supply within the commercial tourist zone. The ever present demand for such land is expected to continue to bolster land prices in the foreseeable future. Land along the strip is increasingly harder to come by, making this property of particular valuable. To preview the property visit http://www.destinationvillas.com/2506.html.

The property is located on Cactus Avenue. Cactus Avenue is the double section line gateway to Las Vegas Boulevard South and a planned interchange from Interstate 15 will make it an easy commute for both residents and non-residents. The resort/tourism industry still dominates the local economy. Tourism numbers show steady growth, as they have for the better part of three decades. Keeping visitors coming back for more remains a high priority, and providing them with high-rise condo alternatives on the strip is a must.

Hooters to be Sold?

One year after opening, the ownership of the Hooters Casino Hotel here has signed a letter of intent to be acquired by an investment group led by NTH Advisory Group LLC for $95 million in cash and the payment of certain accrued royalties. The buyers also would be responsible for any repurchases, and related costs, of the sellers’ $130 million (in principal amount) of 8 3/4% Senior Secured Notes due 2012.

Formerly Hotel San Remo Casino and Resort, Hooters Casino Hotel is located one-half block from the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. The property, which has 696 hotel rooms, has been unable to maintain an average hotel occupancy anywhere near the 95% that is the norm for Las Vegas hotels.

The property is owned by 155 East Tropicana LLC, which is a partnership of EW Common LLC and Florida Hooters LLC. Neil Kiefer, the CEO of 155 East Tropicana LLC, says the offer was unsolicited and “will provide an attractive return to the company's owners, yet allow the owners who are not interested in the transaction to maintain their ownership interests, subject to certain limitations."

NTH Advisory Group, LLC, is a Santa Monica, CA-based casino and hotel development and advisory firm led by Richard Bosworth. If the deal goes forward, it could close as early as the end of June or as late as April 30, 2008.

As part of the preliminary agreement, NTH is required to deposit $1.1 million in an escrow account on Feb. 12. The deal could be canceled for any reason during the ensuing two-month inspection period, according to a regulatory filing.

Some analysts are skeptical of the deal in part because there are few details with regard to how NTH will put it together. The notes responded well, however, trading at 95 cents on the dollar Monday afternoon, up 10 cents from the price they were fetching immediately prior to the announcement.

Thanks to Brian K. Miller

Venetian Casino Resort in Las Vegas to Host CEO Poker Tour July 2-10

EO Poker, an Executive Games company, has announced the Venetian Casino Resort in Las vegas, will host a 2007 CEO Poker Tournament, where players will battle over the green felt of the poker table for an exclusive Tiffany Championship bracelet, cash, trophies, prizes, and bragging rights. Event date: July 2-10, starting at 6:00pm.

The Venetian Casino Resort in Las Vegas will be hosting the CEO Poker Tournament in 2007 says William Peraza, CEO, CEOPoker and Executive Games. "The luxurious location will enable participants to play poker in an exclusive poker room, while enjoying the amenities of an amazing resort.

Players will experience the grandeur of renaissance Venice at the world's largest four star resort, where participants can play golf at several of the southwest's greatest championship courses and come home at night to the beauty and grace of old Venice.

The Venetian will treat CEO Poker players to a unique array of amenities and attractions including the Canyon Ranch Spa Club, nineteen fine restaurants, featuring an unparalleled six James Beard Award-winning chefs. The Tao Nightclub featuring a grand terrace with stunning views of the Las Vegas strip and the Venetian's casino is designed in the spirit of the Doge's Palace. When not playing poker, participants and their companions can enjoy spectacular shopping at the eighty boutiques of The "Grand Canal Shoppes" along the quarter mile Venetian Streetscape including functional gondolas and singing gondoliers. Additionally, players can enjoy the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum and Madame Tusaud's Wax Museum.

The CEO Poker Tournament at the Venetian will be open to all players wanting to compete and network, while playing Texas Holdem. Executives will battle for an exclusive Tiffany 2007 Championship bracelet, cash, trophies, prizes that include a Harley Davidson, and bragging rights. Buy-ins start are from $500-$5,000.

A listing of the events can be found by clicking the link: CEO Poker Tour.

Trump's Apprentice Coming to Las Vegas?

NBC and The Donald are are considering whether to shoot a full season of "The Apprentice" in Las Vegas. Donald Trump says every other year, the famous show during which he fires one candidate every week, could be held outside New York. That fits with the view of NBC senior Vice President Craig Plestis.

Trump says the television executive is talking about Miami, Las Vegas and Chicago as possible candidate sites for the show.

Las Vegas dealmaker Jack Wishna, who is working with Trump on his hotel-condo tower on the Strip, says Sin City has an excellent shot of hosting the show.

A Las Vegas episode of "The Apprentice" will be part of this current season, which was shot in Los Angeles.

Stardust Contines Implosion Preparations

If it isn't steel or concrete, it's being removed from the shuttered Stardust hotel tower.

In preparation for the planned mid-March implosion of the 32-story building, construction crews have been busy the past few months removing everything from inside the tower that wasn't already auctioned off.

Most visible to passers-by is the removal of the tower's purple-tinted window glass. From a distance, observers can see straight through several of the upper floors.

Boyd Gaming Corp. closed the Stardust Nov. 1, ending the casino's 48-year run on the Strip. The property is being demolished and will be replaced by the planned $4 billion Echelon Place. The mixed-use project is expected to include one large hotel-casino surrounded by several boutique hotels and entertainment attractions.

The Stardust site, now 63 acres, is expected to grow by 24 acres once a swap of the Barbary Coast to Harrah's Entertainment in exchange for some adjacent land closes.

Much of the property's low-rise buildings will be demolished before the implosion, which is expected to take place in the early morning hours for minimal disruption to traffic along the Strip and Industrial Road. Controlled Demolition of Baltimore, which has handled many implosions of closed Strip casinos over the years, is working with New York-based LVI Services on the Stardust removal.

Boyd Gaming spokesman Rob Stillwell said the removal of items from the Stardust's 1,500-room tower, which the company opened in 1991 as part of a $100 million expansion of the resort, includes everything that isn't part of the steel-and-concrete structure. "The idea is to minimize as much of the debris from the implosion as possible," Stillwell said. "We're doing what we can to recycle as much of the material as possible. The result is that all that will be left is the steel and concrete."

Stillwell couldn't give an exact cost for removing the Stardust from the Strip skyline, but he said it was "in the millions."

Thanks to Howard Stutz

Pussycat Dolls are Hot Enough for Caesar’s Palace

Pussycat Dolls fans get ready to gamble!

Caesars Palace has dolled up a whole new gaming area inspired by the queens of burlesque song and dance, The Pussycat Dolls. According to a press release straight from Sin City, The Pussycat Dolls Casino will feature a mixture of sexy slot machines; blackjack, craps and roulette tables, a big six wheel and merchandise area, all indicative of the brand's sexy burlesque look.

The pit is scheduled to open the first week of February and will be located directly across from the Pussycat Dolls Lounge inside PURE Nightclub, where the Las Vegas Pussycat Dolls can be seen performing five nights a week. Hours of operation are scheduled for Tuesday - Sunday from 10PM to 4AM.

"The opening of the Pussycat Dolls themed gaming area allows us to extend the entertainment, excitement and energy of the Pussycat Doll brand into one of our most high-traffic areas which is adjacent to our Race & Sports Book, Poker Room, and the Pussycat Dolls Lounge inside PURE Nightclub," said Caesars Palace president, Gary Selesner. "The Pussycat Dolls are one of the hottest acts in the world today, and the Pussycat Dolls Casino will be yet another must-see attraction at Caesars Palace, complimenting the recent openings of Rao's, Qua Baths & Spa and Restaurant Guy Savoy."

In order to capture the energy of the Pussycat Dolls Lounge, a portion of the table legs come complete with fishnet tights and stiletto heels. Sparkling pink fabric and leopard-print covered chairs, themed table felts adorned with the Pussycat Dolls logo and sexy dealers in custom-designed outfits add to the sultry setting. Sounds like a gay man’s bedroom to me!

The main attraction is seen in the center of the of the oval-shaped pit, as chandeliers illuminate two go-go dancers in bronzed cages, sashaying to an intricate light-and-sound show.

"The Pussycat Dolls have been a part of my life for more than a decade and it's incredible to see the brand expand from a burlesque show, to the biggest female pop group today, to a reality TV series and now this," says Robin Anti, creator of the Pussycat Dolls. "The fact that we're going to have an entire gaming area within Caesars Palace, the most iconic and luxurious hotel on The Strip, speaks volumes to the quality of the Pussycat Dolls brand and the experience this will offer guests."

Don’ cha wish you could work in the new Pussycat Dolls Casino? Well maybe you can. Open casting calls for the Pussycat Dolls Casino are scheduled for Saturday, January 20th from 10am to 4pm inside the Pussycat Dolls Lounge at Caesars Palace. Robin Antin will be on hand auditioning six to eight dancers who will be perform inside the themed pit. All dancers must be 21 years of age or older and have a valid photo ID. Audition times must be arranged prior to January20th. To schedule you must call 702-889-2900.

Today the pit… tomorrow Billboard!

Thanks to Duane Wells

Poker Players Who Use Drugs Face Dangers

Long before the game became a celebrated primetime event, poker was considered a vice and frowned upon by moralists. It was a game reserved for wiseguys in smoke-filled back rooms, drinking hard liquor, their mouths were replete with expletives. Today, there are penalties for using the F-word, smoking is banned in most poker rooms and the game has been taken up by many upstanding citizens of both sexes.

However, there are still vices everywhere we look. Booze is served free of charge at most poker games or tournaments, and poker rooms are strategically placed near sportsbooks or at the back of casinos where players face the temptation to wager on a game of chance. The streets of Las Vegas are filled with people who will hand you pictures of busty ladies who offer all sorts of personal services. Buffets feature a decadent array of all-you-can-eat, high-carb, high-cholesterol meals. And finally, many poker players consume volumes of over-the-counter, prescription or illicit drugs.

I’m not here to preach or condemn; rather, I’m here to review the issue of substance use and abuse among poker players, why we find this phenomenon in the poker world, what agents are most often used, and how they may affect the play of poker players. I don’t want to paint the picture as a clear black-and-white issue. All drugs, from cocaine to aspirin, have certain therapeutic benefits, along with clear risks associated with their use, and all drugs have the potential to be abused. It’s the ratio of good versus bad that determines the safety of a drug.

Why do poker players take drugs?

To answer that, we need only answer the question of why we play poker to begin with -- we get a thrill out of it. Most of us are thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. We all remember the thrill we felt when we dragged our first big pot, made our first big score in a poker game or made the final table in a major tournament. It’s intoxicating and, in and of itself, addictive for many of us. From there, we are hooked and we strive to experience that sensation again.

Drugs may help a player, but the consequences are heavy too.

Increase adrenaline
Drugs like cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and other stimulants affect adrenaline function in the body. I have never personally taken cocaine or crystal meth, but I imagine it simulates many of the feelings that I experience when I have a win of over $10,000 in a tournament. However, most poker players aren’t fortunate enough to be able to go out and win a tournament. In fact, most tournament players are lucky to win anything over 10% in the tournaments they enter, which require hours and sometimes days of play. For many, the easy shortcut is to take a hit of a stimulant that can artificially reproduce these highs.

Enhance performance
People also take certain drugs to enhance performance. Some people get nervous and use alcohol to calm their nerves. It hides their fears when they are running a bluff with a marginal hand. When I won my first tournament, I started my day at the final table with a double shot of bourbon because I was feeling tense. It made me feel calm and composed, and I went from the smallest stack at the table to the winner. There is no question that I got lucky, but it also gave me the swagger I needed to bully the table when it got shorthanded. TJ Cloutier described Bill Smith, the 1985 World Champion, as the greatest player in the world when he was slightly drunk. However, TJ also said he was about the worst player in the world if he drank beyond a certain point. So there is a balance. Alcohol can temporarily enhance your play, but there is also the danger of going overboard and then diminishing your faculties.

Improve endurance
Poker players may also use substances to improve their endurance or maintain their energy. Caffeine is still the most widely used drug for this purpose. It’s perfectly legal and offered right there in the casino. And it’s no longer limited to coffee and sodas; it’s a key ingredient in many energy drinks. There are also herbal derivatives like ginseng that are making their way into the milieu of stimulants and that are designed to heighten awareness and energy. Other stimulants are also employed for a more profound effect. There are drugs like Adderal, Ritalin and Phentermine, which are prescription drugs for ADD and weight loss, and amphetamines/stimulants that are widely used to keep players awake at the table, even though they are prescribed primarily for other purposes. Finally, there are players who use cocaine and crystal meth not to get high, but as a stimulant to stay up for many hours, if not days, of play.

Drugs and depression are a bad mix.

Relieve depression
Poker players have also been known to turn to drugs for depression. Playing poker is a vocation or hobby that is filled with peaks and valleys. The highs can be pure ecstasy, but the lows can be completely earth-shattering. If depression is treated with the guidance and supervision of a physician, the result can be a positive and stabilizing influence. However, a lot of poker players prefer to save their money for the tables and resort to self-medication. This is when it becomes most dangerous. Cocaine stimulates the opposite of depression, euphoria, which makes it a potent antidepressant. The problem with cocaine is that it is too potent and creates a great high, but leaves the user terribly depressed once it wears off. This cycle increases the demand for that stimulation and ultimately leads to addiction.

when is drug use good or bad?

The issue of whether a drug is useful or dangerous comes down to a margin of error. There is very little risk of harm to someone who takes a Tylenol to relieve a headache, even though taking an entire bottle will kill him in about 24 hours. There is much less margin for error with cocaine use. Yes, there is an immediate performance-enhancing component to its use as it increases alertness and allows you to play for days. It may also cover your depression for a few hours, but I would never recommend it as treatment. If you use cocaine, you’re likely to become addicted, lose your good judgment and have an early heart attack. The long-term destruction of lives simply fails to justify a small chance for the short-term benefits.

Finally, I offer another warning: When players get into using stimulants, they are often faced with insomnia. So they will use sedatives to counteract the effects of the stimulants. In medicine, we call that “chasing your tail.” In my own practice of medicine, I do prescribe some stimulants for some patients and sedatives for others, but I try never to prescribe both types of drugs to the same patients, because it creates a dangerous cycle.

Thanks to Dr. Mark Burtman

MGM's CityCenter's Magnitude Can Leave You Speechless

In his poker-room days, Bobby Baldwin was known as "The Owl" because, as Card Player magazine put it, he was "a 15 percent better poker player than any man alive."

Walk into the room that holds the models of MGM Mirage's $7 billion gamble, Project CityCenter, and if you're an investor, you pray The Owl is still on his perch. He is shepherding the project to its scheduled opening in November 2009.

The magnitude of this thing isn't for the dull of mind. Baldwin gave the Las Vegas Sun a rare glimpse for those outside these cloistered offices.

The model resides in a space reminiscent of the map room in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Enter, and words seem to fail you. It's one thing to build, say, a single structure of inspiring scope and innovation such as Hoover Dam. Try wrapping your mind around seven major structures, designed by separate architects, built to open the same day.

They are there, laid before you, sprawling over a good 30 feet - miniature buildings, cars, trucks and roads struck from clay and balsa and glue and plastic. From the Jetson-esque, circular offramp-thing on Harmon Avenue meant to enable drivers to valet their cars with ease, to the spaceship-shaped lighting pods lining a pool of fanning waters, to a roof designed to be a work of art from on-high, there are too many variables to comprehend.

Now in his mid-50s, Baldwin revels in the explanations. He describes how things go together, how many hours of work are involved in various elements, how much money went into this or that roof or wall or roadway.

He walks between two sections of the model, held on tables 4 feet high, and points to works of art and fascination that he guarantees will be one of a kind, given that MGM Mirage spent several million dollars for research and development "to do products not seen anywhere else." You want to break out a cell-phone camera, but photos aren't allowed, in part because nothing is set in stone. The architects are constantly working and tweaking various pieces. A tower designed by James KM Cheng, a firm from Vancouver, British Columbia, was eliminated to make room for open space.

"We've had many, many models, some of which are crushed," Baldwin says. Then he smiles: "Some are crushed by me."

Everything about CityCenter is outsized. Even the "construction trailer," the building we're standing in, is part of a two-building, $40 million complex that is something of a rarity. Not only was it meant to bring together this team of some of the best architects, bean counters, contractors and artists in the world, but after construction, it will be demolished to make way for future expansion of CityCenter.

Baldwin chuckles about Vegas one-upmanship, as casino owners try to outdo each other with even bigger, even more fantastic. CityCenter jumps along that spectrum, if for no other reason than it is the most expensive private project in history.

A few more figures:

# At its peak, Baldwin says, CityCenter will employ 8,000 construction workers.

# When finished, it will employ 12,000 people, adding to MGM Mirage's employment base of 60,000, the largest in Nevada.

# The people-mover alone, linking all the buildings in the 18 million-square-foot project, will cost $150 million.

The place is full of other wonders, including a self-shaping ice sculpture that will consist of several vertical blocks of ice, each of which has metal rods at its core that reach different temperatures along its length, creating irregular blocks as the ice melts. "Ice Henge," one reporter whispered.

In the main retail building, which acts as CityCenter's entrance from the Strip, ceilings will reach to 100 feet because of a Daniel Libeskind-designed roof that is a multifaceted and sky-lighted structure designed to save condo residents the visual blight of looking down upon a plain roof. "And it won't have a painted sky," Baldwin said, referring to the Vegas-style casino staple of faux blue skies and painted clouds. "Here, you can actually look up and see the sky."

Asked by a wiseguy where the bowling alleys and buffets will be found, Baldwin smiled. "It's not a place to get the buffet. This is definitely a tourist destination ¦ It's not designed to cater to locals."

On that point, CityCenter is a disappointment that falls short of its original billing two years ago. It was foreseen then as a "live-work" community. Residents working in CityCenter office buildings would take the people-mover to their CityCenter condos. The idea stopped urban planners in their tracks. It was hailed as a potential model for cities the world over.

In its most recent incarnation, however, no plans exist for office buildings. If you work at CityCenter, you're more likely to live in the suburbs than in one of its $500,000-and-up condos.

Some buyers, however, are obviously interested in the place. Only two weeks after public sales began, CityCenter has reservations for 1,500 of 2,700 condominiums.

It's gone so well, in fact, Baldwin says he's starting to think about keeping the planners, designers and others together to do something more, perhaps on MGM Mirage's 300 acres of under- or undeveloped Las Vegas land. "After you figure out how to do one of these things, you think economy of scale" and how keeping everyone together would enable another project to be done at less cost. "Let's have some fun."

At a smoky table in Binion's Horseshoe, where Baldwin won the World Series of Poker in 1978, you can imagine The Owl saying the same thing.

Thanks to Joe Schoenmann

Maxim Hotel to Squeeze 2,160 Units on Less Than 8 Acres

Talk about a tight fit.

As land along the Las Vegas Strip has become scarcer, developers wanting the prestigious address have had to become more creative.

One example of this creativity is the Maxim hotel. It is planned to be wedged into 7.7 acres near the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Circus Circus Drive. The billion-dollar casino/hotel/condominium project, first reported by the New York Times last June, will have branding by men's lifestyle magazine Maxim.

Concord Wilshire, a newcomer to the Las Vegas market and the casino industry in general, appeared at the year's first Clark County Planning Commission meeting. Its plans call for a vertical, mixed-use development with 300 hotel rooms and 1,860 condominium units. The current design shows three towers built on top of 175,000 square feet of casino, dining and retail space, with additional convention space.

Pending an airspace determination from the Federal Aviation Administration, the towers would range in height from 625 feet for the south tower to 732 feet for the east one. The Wynn Las Vegas is currently the tallest hotel on the Strip, at 600 feet.

The California developer assembled the parcel in late 2005, paying $50.7 million for the land. While Concord Wilshire goes about the business of gathering use permits and deviations, the land is currently being used as a staging area by M.J. Dean Construction for the $325 million, 45-story Sky project, which is nearing completion next door.

The Maxim project will be wedged in behind a Travelodge, with the condominium project Sky Las Vegas and the new Hilton Grand Vacation towers to the east, and the Circus Circus RV park and parking garage to the north and west.

Planning Commission members expressed concern with the tight fit, questioning local attorney Greg Borgel about traffic flow into and out of the project, not only for guests but for delivery and emergency personnel as well.

While staff for the commission urged that a pedestrian mall lead into the property to help bring people in, Borgel argued that a half-circle driveway, looping behind the Travelodge -- which he said he expected to disappear one day -- from the Strip to Circus Circus Drive was essential. Without it, the property would not have a guest entrance on the Strip and would leave the property without a Las Vegas Boulevard address, which, in turn, would devalue the Maxim.

The developer is also currently seeking a gaming partner and has received inquiries from potential suitors, both local and from outside Nevada. The meeting was attended by Concord Wilshire executive David O'Malley, who identified himself but declined to discuss the project.

Concord Wilshire is scheduled to next appear before the County Commission on Feb. 7.

Thanks to Arnold M. Knightly

The Business of Gaming Forum Scheduled for February 22-23, 2007 in Las Vegas

ALM’s Strategic Research Institute will present its 2007 The Business of Gaming Forum February 22-23, 2007, focusing on player loyalty programs, new technologies, and casino marketing and sponsorships. This two-day conference in Las Vegas will center on maximizing casino marketing and player reach; creating and strengthening player loyalty programs; and identifying sponsorship opportunities. Speakers include some of the gaming industry’s best and brightest experts in establishing player retention, building loyalty platforms, strengthening casino management, and developing marketing campaigns. The conference agenda features a range of business and marketing session topics vital to the success of the gaming industry, including data mining, third-party marketing, establishing real-time communication with players, data integration and creating brand loyalty.

Conference highlights include sessions on:

* The Future of Gaming
* Incorporating Third Party Marketing and Expansive Sponsorships into Player Loyalty Initiatives
* The Importance of Data Warehouse to Player Loyalty
* Creating a Customer Marketing Database
* Case Studies in Customer Retention


The Strategic Research Institute is part of ALM’s Conference and Trade Show Division, one of North America’s largest producers of educational and networking events for business leaders and the legal profession. The division offers more than 300 conferences and two leading industry tradeshows, as well as conferences in Europe and Asia. Attendance at the division’s events, which span a broad range of topics including law, finance, natural resources, life sciences, multi-cultural marketing, real estate and healthcare, will exceed 40,000 executive-level decision makers this year.

Headquartered in New York City, ALM is a leading integrated media company, focused on the legal and business communities. ALM currently owns and publishes 34 national and regional magazines and newspapers, including The American Lawyer®, Corporate Counsel®, The National Law Journal® and Real Estate Forum®. Other ALM businesses include Law.com®, the Web’s leading legal news and information network, Law Journal Press books, newsletter publishing, court verdict and settlement reporting, production of professional educational seminars, market research and content distribution. ALM was formed by U.S. Equity Partners, L.P., a private equity fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP. More information on ALM’s businesses and services is available on the Web at www.alm.com.

What Do You Get When You Combine the NFL with the World Series of Poker?

What do you get when you combine the NFL with the World Series of Poker? A team style variation of Texas Hold'em, called the PokerBowl. It's a competition being organized by the U.S. Poker League in which 6-player teams from 25 cities will compete in Las Vegas for bragging rights and one million dollars. The competition begins on May 1st, 2007 in Las Vegas.

Many of the competing cities such as Pittsburgh, San Jose and Atlanta have already begun holding open tryouts to find talented players for their teams. However, some have already signed professional poker players willing to represent their hometowns. David Williams will play for Texas, Phil Gordon for Las Vegas, Steve Dannenmann for Baltimore and T.J. Cloutier for Dallas.

Scott Fischman, an original member of 'the Crew', considered by many to be poker's first team, is putting together his own squad of Jewish players, including Mike 'the Mouth' Matusow and possibly Michael 'the Grinder' Mizrachi. Other notable names in the PokerBowl field include Phil Hellmuth Jr., Phil Laak 'the Unabomber', Jennifer Tilly, Antonio Esfandiari, James Woods, Elizabeth Shannon, Danny Masterson, Tex Barch and Jenna Fischer.

Although 'team poker' is now set to makes its national debut in the PokerBowl, it has taken years of dynamic progress to reach this level. This is because in the predominantly player-independent sport of poker, collusion, the act of players conspiring with a common strategy, is generally frowned upon. However, it's this same ingredient that is getting players excited about the prospect of team poker, offering them a chance to employ new strategies.

"Team poker is a whole new ball game," says Antonio Esfandiari, known in the poker world as 'the Magician.'

The PokerBowl's team style allows for players who have been knocked out to still have a stake in the game as long as their team is still alive. It also allows for easy and exciting viewing given the sports team nature where most major cities will have representation.