Cabbies Take To Streets In Successful Protest
Who Is The Best Elvis?
UPDATED: 3:12 pm CDT June 14, 2005
Protesting a proposed new law designed to end so-called "driver kick backs," cabbies in Las Vegas staged a series of rolling protests that produced traffic jams on the busy Las Vegas Strip last week.The law, which was tacked onto an unrelated bill at the last minute, would have made it illegal for drivers to receive what they call gratuities from the staff of the establishments they deliver passengers to.Mostly used in the competitive strip-club industry, tips of $20 are common as a way, they say, of thanking the drivers for bringing fares to the adult establishments.Critics called them kick backs, and say that drivers go so far as to boycott the establishments that don't provide them, refusing to take fares or attempting to direct passengers to other places.Outraged by the proposed law, cab drivers took to the streets -- and not in a good way. Rolling caravans of taxi cabs -- as many as 50 at a time -- went up and down the Strip, honking their horns and blocking intersections, resulting in some pretty messy traffic tie-ups (which could have been much worse had they occurred on a busy, non-summer weekend night when the Strip is pretty much a parking lot anyway).It was even rumored that the drivers were going to stage boycotts of major hotels, and even the airport.But Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn stepped in and declared his intention to veto the bill, so the protests came to a halt, with cab drivers claiming victory in their fight.
Admit it: You've always had a secret desire to dress up in a sequined jump suit, paste mutton chops on your face and shake your hips to "Jailhouse Rock."Now you can do it and not only not get laughed at, but perhaps turn it into a career.The Elvis-A-Rama Museum is holding open auditions around the globe in an effort to find the ultimate Elvis Presley imitator. The museum, located on Industrial Road near Treasure Island, features more than $6 million worth of the King's memorabilia (the largest private collection in the world) and hosts regular tribute shows. But this new competition seeks to kick it up a notch or three.The Vegas auditions will be Aug. 8-9 and will be followed by a series of elimination rounds in Memphis, New York, London, Munich, Moscow, Tokyo, Sydney, Beijing, Honolulu, and Mexico City, all captured for a reality TV show. The winner will be given a $3,000 scholarship and the chance to record a song co-written by Elvis called "If I'd Only Bought Her Roses," which he never recorded himself.If you think you have what it takes to be the ultimate Elvis impersonator, visit the museum's Web site at ElvisARama.com.
MonteLago Village has announced its summer series of Movies Al Fresco, a weekly showing of popular movies at the Events Plaza, outdoors along the shore of Lake Las Vegas. The shows started last week and play through early September and include such recent popular hits as "Meet the Parents," "SpiderMan 2," "Shrek 2" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," mixed with classics such as "My Fair Lady," "Something's Gotta Give," and "An American In Paris."This is a great way to spend a warm summer night in Las Vegas that doesn't involve losing your life savings at a slot machine or partying yourself into oblivion at a nightclub.Admission is free and you can bring blankets and low-backed chairs to help make yourself comfortable on the rolling lawns by the lake. For more information and a full schedule of movies, visit MonteLagoVillage.com or call (702) 564-4766.
As I sit here looking at a very high stack of bills and a very low stack of cash to pay them with, I'm even more depressed by the recently divulged paydays for some of Las Vegas' casino executives. People who worry about bouncing checks should probably skip this story.The biggest winner in the compensation category were Frank Fertitta III and his brother, Lorenzo, bigwigs with the Station Casinos chain (and frequent stars of the reality show "American Casino" about Green Valley Ranch Resort). Frank cashed out some stock and that, along with his salary, netted him more than $94 million last year. Lorenzo was a pauper in comparison, with only $44 million. This was a reward for helping to run the hugely successful company, whose stock price nearly doubled in the last year.Venetian CEO Sheldon Adelson was also high on the list, with a $31 million payday. The difference for him is that the entire check was in salary and bonuses, with no stock options exercised.In all, 16 casino executives received more than $10 million in compensation for their work at the gaming companies in 2004, four times the number of people who managed that in 2003.
Harrah's $9.4 billion purchase of Caesars Entertainment cleared the last major hurdle last week, with approval from the Federal Trade Commission cementing the deal.All that's left is to get a sign-off from the Nevada Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board, pretty much a formality at this point. It is expected to happen around the time you are reading this. When complete, Harrah's will become the biggest gaming company in the world, with more than 36 casinos around the country, six of them in Las Vegas, including Harrah's, Rio, Caesars Palace, The Flamingo, Paris Las Vegas and Bally's.Caesars Entertainment will cease to exist, and Harrah's will run both brands, plus the Horseshoe name, which it picked up in its purchase (and subsequent sale) of Binion's in downtown Las Vegas.
As part of the ongoing Las Vegas Centennial celebrations, 100 couples from all over the world got married at the same time under the Fremont Street Experience canopy last week.The betrothed took part in a competition to have their weddings completely paid for (including air fare, hotels, bachelor and bachelorette parties, gowns, flowers, and more) and included people from across the U.S., plus a couple from Germany and another from Korea.As with any wedding, there were more than a few bumps along the path to marital bliss. Several of the couples got cold feet at the last minute and organizers had to scramble to find stand-ins to meet the 100 mark. But it was Vegas, after all, so by the time the minister started the "dearly beloveds," everyone was in place and ready to get on with their lives together.
Admit it: You've always had a secret desire to dress up in a sequined jump suit, paste mutton chops on your face and shake your hips to "Jailhouse Rock."Now you can do it and not only not get laughed at, but perhaps turn it into a career.The Elvis-A-Rama Museum is holding open auditions around the globe in an effort to find the ultimate Elvis Presley imitator. The museum, located on Industrial Road near Treasure Island, features more than $6 million worth of the King's memorabilia (the largest private collection in the world) and hosts regular tribute shows. But this new competition seeks to kick it up a notch or three.The Vegas auditions will be Aug. 8-9 and will be followed by a series of elimination rounds in Memphis, New York, London, Munich, Moscow, Tokyo, Sydney, Beijing, Honolulu, and Mexico City, all captured for a reality TV show. The winner will be given a $3,000 scholarship and the chance to record a song co-written by Elvis called "If I'd Only Bought Her Roses," which he never recorded himself.If you think you have what it takes to be the ultimate Elvis impersonator, visit the museum's Web site at ElvisARama.com.
MonteLago Village has announced its summer series of Movies Al Fresco, a weekly showing of popular movies at the Events Plaza, outdoors along the shore of Lake Las Vegas. The shows started last week and play through early September and include such recent popular hits as "Meet the Parents," "SpiderMan 2," "Shrek 2" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," mixed with classics such as "My Fair Lady," "Something's Gotta Give," and "An American In Paris."This is a great way to spend a warm summer night in Las Vegas that doesn't involve losing your life savings at a slot machine or partying yourself into oblivion at a nightclub.Admission is free and you can bring blankets and low-backed chairs to help make yourself comfortable on the rolling lawns by the lake. For more information and a full schedule of movies, visit MonteLagoVillage.com or call (702) 564-4766.
As I sit here looking at a very high stack of bills and a very low stack of cash to pay them with, I'm even more depressed by the recently divulged paydays for some of Las Vegas' casino executives. People who worry about bouncing checks should probably skip this story.The biggest winner in the compensation category were Frank Fertitta III and his brother, Lorenzo, bigwigs with the Station Casinos chain (and frequent stars of the reality show "American Casino" about Green Valley Ranch Resort). Frank cashed out some stock and that, along with his salary, netted him more than $94 million last year. Lorenzo was a pauper in comparison, with only $44 million. This was a reward for helping to run the hugely successful company, whose stock price nearly doubled in the last year.Venetian CEO Sheldon Adelson was also high on the list, with a $31 million payday. The difference for him is that the entire check was in salary and bonuses, with no stock options exercised.In all, 16 casino executives received more than $10 million in compensation for their work at the gaming companies in 2004, four times the number of people who managed that in 2003.
Harrah's $9.4 billion purchase of Caesars Entertainment cleared the last major hurdle last week, with approval from the Federal Trade Commission cementing the deal.All that's left is to get a sign-off from the Nevada Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board, pretty much a formality at this point. It is expected to happen around the time you are reading this. When complete, Harrah's will become the biggest gaming company in the world, with more than 36 casinos around the country, six of them in Las Vegas, including Harrah's, Rio, Caesars Palace, The Flamingo, Paris Las Vegas and Bally's.Caesars Entertainment will cease to exist, and Harrah's will run both brands, plus the Horseshoe name, which it picked up in its purchase (and subsequent sale) of Binion's in downtown Las Vegas.
As part of the ongoing Las Vegas Centennial celebrations, 100 couples from all over the world got married at the same time under the Fremont Street Experience canopy last week.The betrothed took part in a competition to have their weddings completely paid for (including air fare, hotels, bachelor and bachelorette parties, gowns, flowers, and more) and included people from across the U.S., plus a couple from Germany and another from Korea.As with any wedding, there were more than a few bumps along the path to marital bliss. Several of the couples got cold feet at the last minute and organizers had to scramble to find stand-ins to meet the 100 mark. But it was Vegas, after all, so by the time the minister started the "dearly beloveds," everyone was in place and ready to get on with their lives together.
The Full Story
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In Next Week's Column
Next week: The latest from Las Vegas.Plus, don't forget to send your questions about Las Vegas. I've got room for more, so send them in today!Click here to go to the main page of Vegas4Visitors.com and see all of the fantastic resources Vegas4Visitors has to offer you when planning your next trip to Las Vegas.Rick Garman is the head writer for Vegas4Visitors
