Queen, Trump Coming To Las Vegas
Partnership Forming To Run Binion's Horseshoe
UPDATED: 9:15 a.m. EST March 1, 2004
You can say you heard it here first. Just days after I published the letter to me and my readers from Queen band member Brian May, public-relations folks with Paris Las Vegas officially announced "We Will Rock You" will open at the hotel in September.
The musical, which features 25 classic Queen songs, has been playing in London and other cities for more than a year. The Paris Las Vegas production will be the first in the United States.
An update on the still-closed Binion's Horseshoe ... The deals are flying fast and furious and are so complex that I'm not even sure I understand them fully, but here's what appears to be happening: MTR Gaming, a small casino operator with properties in North Las Vegas (Speedway Casino) and elsewhere in the United States, has agreed to buy Binion's in a partnership of sorts with Harrah's. Harrah's will manage the casino for at least a year and retain rights to the Horseshoe name, while MTR will manage the hotel and take the Binion's name. The important thing is they are aiming to have the lights back on by April 1 and host the World Series of Poker on April 22. This is all if they can settle the dispute with the various people who own the parcels of land the Horseshoe sits upon. Apparently, the land is leased by a conglomeration of landlords who claim they hadn't been getting paid by the old owners. The new MTR/Harrah's deal has no compensation built in for that missed rent and the landlords are threatening to scuttle the deal if they don't get the back rent they are owed. Harrah's and MTR are basically saying "tough noogies," which has not ingratiated them with the landlords. Those are my words, not theirs, by the way.
A group of local small casino operators has agreed to an option to purchase the still-closed Castaways hotel just east of downtown. I hadn't even heard of the tiny casinos these people operate, so I won't bother to list them here, but whether they'll actually manage to leap over all the hurdles and raise the necessary cash to get the joint back open is seriously questionable.
First NBC, now the world? Donald Trump officially has a gaming license in Nevada, after the state gaming commission gave him unanimous approval last week. What "The Apprentice" mastermind is going to do with that license is still in question, and the Donald is not letting any cats out of any bags. Some speculation has placed him in partnership with Phil Ruffin, owner of the New Frontier, or redeveloping the Riviera but in statements to the commission he cast doubt on both of those ideas.
There's been a slight delay in the opening of the Las Vegas Monorail project, now scheduled for late March instead of this week. Operators of the system will only say that additional testing is required and it has absolutely nothing to do with the Jan. 5 incident where the driveshaft fell out of one of the monorails and fell on the roadway beneath, narrowly missing cars and pedestrians.
There was a really interesting story in the Las Vegas Review Journal about some of the city's cab drivers "long-hauling" passengers. That's where they take them the long way to their destination in order to boost fares. It's a relatively minor problem but you should be aware of the situation and the advice given in the very well-written article. The investigative reporter also details how some cabbies even acted as pimps, attempting to ply him with offers of various sexual escapades with girls of all stripes and colors while he was in town. Here's the link to that story.
An update on the still-closed Binion's Horseshoe ... The deals are flying fast and furious and are so complex that I'm not even sure I understand them fully, but here's what appears to be happening: MTR Gaming, a small casino operator with properties in North Las Vegas (Speedway Casino) and elsewhere in the United States, has agreed to buy Binion's in a partnership of sorts with Harrah's. Harrah's will manage the casino for at least a year and retain rights to the Horseshoe name, while MTR will manage the hotel and take the Binion's name. The important thing is they are aiming to have the lights back on by April 1 and host the World Series of Poker on April 22. This is all if they can settle the dispute with the various people who own the parcels of land the Horseshoe sits upon. Apparently, the land is leased by a conglomeration of landlords who claim they hadn't been getting paid by the old owners. The new MTR/Harrah's deal has no compensation built in for that missed rent and the landlords are threatening to scuttle the deal if they don't get the back rent they are owed. Harrah's and MTR are basically saying "tough noogies," which has not ingratiated them with the landlords. Those are my words, not theirs, by the way.
A group of local small casino operators has agreed to an option to purchase the still-closed Castaways hotel just east of downtown. I hadn't even heard of the tiny casinos these people operate, so I won't bother to list them here, but whether they'll actually manage to leap over all the hurdles and raise the necessary cash to get the joint back open is seriously questionable.
First NBC, now the world? Donald Trump officially has a gaming license in Nevada, after the state gaming commission gave him unanimous approval last week. What "The Apprentice" mastermind is going to do with that license is still in question, and the Donald is not letting any cats out of any bags. Some speculation has placed him in partnership with Phil Ruffin, owner of the New Frontier, or redeveloping the Riviera but in statements to the commission he cast doubt on both of those ideas.
There's been a slight delay in the opening of the Las Vegas Monorail project, now scheduled for late March instead of this week. Operators of the system will only say that additional testing is required and it has absolutely nothing to do with the Jan. 5 incident where the driveshaft fell out of one of the monorails and fell on the roadway beneath, narrowly missing cars and pedestrians.
There was a really interesting story in the Las Vegas Review Journal about some of the city's cab drivers "long-hauling" passengers. That's where they take them the long way to their destination in order to boost fares. It's a relatively minor problem but you should be aware of the situation and the advice given in the very well-written article. The investigative reporter also details how some cabbies even acted as pimps, attempting to ply him with offers of various sexual escapades with girls of all stripes and colors while he was in town. Here's the link to that story.
This Week's Trivia
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This week, we are asking for family vacation photos and our viewers will vote on their favorite. 
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