Although we had a pretty good time in the spa at the Westin Casuarina the other week, we couldn’t help noticing that the casino was, erm, a little odd. Not just odd as in tiny (although tiny it is); odd as in weird.

There’s a weird lay out – you come in through the casino, and check in is tucked wayyy over to the right of that. There’s a weird bad quality screen dangling from the ceiling showing sports (one at a time), and the sports book looks like this: ]]> juliab 2010-03-30T14:10:14-05:00 36.1152040 -115.16549 http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/2010/3/2/162223/7703 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.vegaschatter.com/files/45679/21pic16.jpg" class="top"> <p><i>"The real crime here is not having Kate Bosworth is this picture, Larry." </i> <p>You&#146;ve seen how Hollywood plays out the scene. Casino security monitors the <a href="http://www.vegaschatter.com/tag/Blackjack"><b>blackjack</b></a> table from the eye in the sky, confirms the <strike>savvy gamblers</strike> cheaters are counting cards, then sends Larry Fishburne down for a loooooooooong, slow walk to the table. Then either a calm discussion convinces the <strike>heroes</strike> culprits to follow security to the &#147;office&#148;, or chips are jammed into pockets before the <strike>winners</strike> scoundrels head for the exits. In both cases, security never breaks stride or works up a sweat. <p>While we believe most things we see in movies and are anxiously awaiting our turn to fly to another world Mr Pappagiorgio 2010-03-03T16:42:43-05:00 http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/2009/12/1/18333/8821 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.vegaschatter.com/files/1425/ariaexterior.jpg" class="top"><p> With the debuts of <a href="http://www.vegaschatter.com/tag/citycenter">CityCenter</a> darlings <a href="http://www.vegaschatter.com/tag/Vdara">Vdara</a> and <a href="http://www.vegaschatter.com/tag/mandarin%20oriental">Mandarin Oriental</a> this week, nobody seems to paying much attention to <a href="http://www.vegaschatter.com/tag/Aria"><b>Aria Resort & Casino</b></a>, which opens Dec. 16.<p> Still, because Aria is the only one of the bunch to offer gaming, we're already is geeked.<p> Officials have been <a href="http://www.arialasvegas.com/amenities/casino.aspx">relatively mum</a> about what the new casino will look like. One thing they&#146;re willing to reveal: the 150,000-square-foot gaming floor will be bathed in &#147;pools of illumination&#148; (their phrase, not mine) from natural light.<p> Technically speaking, Aria&#146;s gaming floor is the second to boast some degree of natural light; some of the gaming salons at <a href="http://www.vegaschatter.com/tag/encore">Encore</a> receive a portion of their light from windows Whalehead 2009-12-01T19:30:45-05:00 http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/2009/10/19/114738/89 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.vegaschatter.com/files/1425/tislots.jpg" class="top"><p> <a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/oct/19/stealing-house/">The LV Sun</a> reports that in this down economy, crimes against Las Vegas casinos are on upward trend. And not all of these crimes are committed by "Catch Me If You Can" people. The Sun reports that with tips for casino workers down 40 percent, it's not surprising that some of them are in on the game.<p> Some examples of the ballsy crimes include:<br>&#183; A man who exploited a slot machine glitch that allowed him to multiply the money he inserted into slot machines then cash out with 10 times that amount. Victims include <a href="http://www.vegaschatter.com/tag/silverton casino">The Silverton Casino.</a> <br>&#183; Four casino workers at <a href="http://www.vegaschatter.com/tag/planet hollywood">Planet Hollywood</a> were arrested for falsifying poker room payouts to juliana 2009-10-19T11:52:12-05:00 http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/2009/8/6/17617/53927 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.vegaschatter.com/files/22650/ITCondo.jpg" class="top"> <p>We can&#146;t say we&#146;re too bullish on this new project but, given its relatively high-profile location, we figured it was worth a blurb. <p>The <a href="http://www.lvrj.com/news/52572062.html"><i>LVRJ</i></a> is reporting the Las Vegas City Council &#150; either out of eternal optimism or outright desperation to see some positive development get under way in its jurisdiction, we&#146;re not quite sure &#150; has approved plans to <b>build a new casino/retail complex </b> on the north northeast corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. <p>This is the site the City originally approved as the location for Ivana Trump&#146;s high-rise condo tower several years back, right across from the magical Bonanza Gift Shop. Like so many other grand Vegas condo plans, however, Erika Pope 2009-08-07T11:44:31-05:00 Search VegasChatter string http://www.vegaschatter.com/search/