Camp Vegas

Las Vegas is like a summer camp for adults. This is the premise behind the city's new "Camp Vegas" campaign.

Mayor Oscar Goodman, Holly Madison and Wayne Newton were on hand to "Effectively begin summer in The Entertainment Capital of the World almost two months ahead of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere."

As part of the campaign the famous Las Vegas Sign will be changed to read "Welcome to Fabulous Camp Vegas Nevada" which is sure to confuse many unsuspecting visitors arriving by car. The sign will remain this way for the next 36 hours, or until vandals rip it down, whichever comes first.

To cap off the festivities, traffic along Las Vegas Boulevard was stopped as bikini-clad skydivers descended upon the strip. Plans are in the works to also have skydivers at Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium inviting fans to start their summer early in Las Vegas.



Source: LVCVA Press Release.
Photo Credit: CelebrityGossip.net

Harrah's Raises Buffet of Buffets Price

Harrah's has raised the price for their 24 hour all day buffet deal. As of today the price is $34.99 for Total Rewards members (and their companions under 21), and $39.99 for non-members. The old price was a flat $29.99.

UPDATE: As of March 3, 2011 the price has risen again to $44.99 for Total Rewards members, and $49.99 for non-members. Please check directly with Caesars Entertainment for current pricing.

Harrah's reason for raising the price:

During our initial test period, the response from our guests was overwhelming. The Buffet of Buffets proved so popular that it made it challenging to maintain reasonable wait times. In order to ensure that our guests receive the level of service they expect and deserve, we adjusted the price to better manage the demand for the Buffet of Buffets pass.

Even with the new price it still seems like a decent deal. If you are someone who can carefully plan your time in Vegas (not always easy) you could definitely get your money's worth and theoretically even get four meals in (not saying it would be a good idea).

If this deal really is this popular I wonder how long it will be until we see a similar offering from the MGM, Boyd, or Stations properties?

View from Veer Rooftop Pool

Someone posted this YouTube video from the east Veer tower pool area. The view is nice, but it would probably be nicer without Cosmo and Harmon in the way of the center strip and the Bellagio fountains. The pool area is a little small, but since this is a residential building maybe they aren't expecting a lot of pool traffic. Either way it will be a while before the building is full considering the slow sales.

Las Vegas - the 26th Most Fun City?

It is routinely referred to as "The Entertainment Capital of the World" but apparently Las Vegas is only America's 26th best city to have fun in.

This according to a study by Portfolio magazine. Now, I can understand that Las Vegas doesn't have some "fun" things that other cities may have. No professional sports teams. No water sports or skiing unless you want to make a day trip out of it. Vegas is probably also lacking in the "culture" department (although they were ranked a respectable 29th in that category).

Vegas got ripped off in a few categories that just don't make much sense though. 81st in shopping? You can pretty much find any high end retailer on the Strip, and a couple of different outlet centers nearby. 44th in food and drink? Doesn't every top chef in the world have a restaurant in Vegas? 88th in Low-Impact sports (like golf)? I'm pretty sure that Las Vegas has a ton of golf courses.

One possibility is that they weren't counting the Strip, because most of it isn't actually in the city limits of Las Vegas... but they list the population as 1.8 million, when the population inside the city limits is only 550,000 so that leads me to believe the whole metro area was considered.

Another thing that I thought of was maybe they were counting the "locals" experience and so they left out many of the "tourist" attractions. That kind of makes sense, but there's nothing stopping a local from taking advantage of the great restaurants and other fun things that are available to tourists.

Source: Portfolio.com

Neil Diamond could be coming to Caesars

Rumors are heating up that Neil Diamond will be coming to Las Vegas with a residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Robin Leach first reported the rumor a couple of months ago, stating that Caesars wanted him for"His extraordinary number of hits through four decades of music and the merchandising opportunities for the Cher-Celine boutique at The Colosseum."

If this proves true it would give the Colosseum a solid lineup of Cher, Diamond, and Celine Dion coming in 2011.