VegasChatter

Tags: Survival Strategies / Caesars Palace / United Airlines / Safety / Crime / Do Not Do / News / → All Tags

Staying Safe on the Strip (And What Happens When You Don't)

Lots of people around O’Sheas and Margaritaville + lots of traffic = hazard. Stay safe!

If you’re anything like as neurotic as us, you’ve probably panicked about what would happen if you got ill on holiday. (In fact, if you’re as neurotic as us you’ll have put off booking holidays because there might be a new outbreak of swine flu/SARS/palsy going round by the time you reach your destination.)

But what happens in Vegas if you’re ‘took ill’ (actually ill, we mean, not hungover ill) and can’t make your flight back? Unfortunately for them, some friends of a friend of ours have just found out.

On Monday night, standing outside Margaritaville waiting to cross the Strip, they were hit by a truck that mounted the curb in a hit and run (he has been caught, never fear).

Seeing as they were in hospital and stuff – the last one was released yesterday afternoon – they had to return a day later than planned. They were staying at Caesars and flying with United. Here’s what our friend reports:

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Tags: Cheating / Crime / Scandals / Do Not Do / Casinos / Blackjack / Monte Carlo / → All Tags

Don't You Forget: Casino Security Will Mess You Up Quick

"The real crime here is not having Kate Bosworth is this picture, Larry."

You’ve seen how Hollywood plays out the scene. Casino security monitors the blackjack table from the eye in the sky, confirms the savvy gamblers cheaters are counting cards, then sends Larry Fishburne down for a loooooooooong, slow walk to the table. Then either a calm discussion convinces the heroes culprits to follow security to the “office”, or chips are jammed into pockets before the winners scoundrels head for the exits. In both cases, security never breaks stride or works up a sweat.

While we believe most things we see in movies and are anxiously awaiting our turn to fly to another world and hang out with hot, blue skinned chicks, Hollywood seems to underestimate just how quickly casino security can move.

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Tags: Caesars Palace / Crime / News / WTF / → All Tags

Is Caesars in Denial About One of its Guests Getting Mugged?

Careful while crossing these late at night, folks

Not great news for Caesars – a guest was mugged and abducted while walking back to his room on Friday night, and his room was ransacked by the culprits.

It’s not like it happened on the premises – he was kidnapped while crossing a footbridge connecting Flamingo and the Strip as he was walking back – but we’re not sure that Caesars is dealing with it in quite the right way.

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Tags: Casinos / Crime / Cheating / Gambling / → All Tags

The Economy, Tips and Winnings are Down, Therefore Cheating is Up

The LV Sun 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.

Some examples of the ballsy crimes include:
· 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 The Silverton Casino.
· Four casino workers at Planet Hollywood were arrested for falsifying poker room payouts to show that players had won jackpots when they hadn’t. Then these workers took the money for themselves.
· A ticket writer at the Caesars Palace sportsbook was caught stealing chips used for bets and then having an associate cash them out.

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Tags: Crime / Trouble / How-To / Marijuana / Drugs / Vice / → All Tags

How To Score Weed In Vegas

Everybody must get stoned, Bob Dylan once famously sang. The same sage wisdom could apply to many a visit in Vegas. Sometimes, after getting drunk, gambling, losing money, drinking while losing money, seeing a show, losing more money, drinking away sorrows at an eardrum-shatteringly loud club, and waking up with your head in a toilet while housekeeping persistantly pounds away at your room door, a little mellowing of the harsh is the right fix, at the right time. Unfortunately, among the legal vices available in and around Vegas - prostitution (in certain parts of Nevada), gambling, and open-container drinking - possession of the sticky icky isn't one of them. And on that note: somewhat difficult to get your hands on if you're not a local. Until now. See, what you didn't know is that Vegas is a dedicatedly weed-smokin' town. Here's how to get your hands on it.

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Tags: ATMs / Defcon / Hackers / Casinos / Crime / → All Tags

Speaker at Hacker Conference Says ATMs in Las Vegas Have Been Hacked

So we all know now that both Twitter and Facebook were hacked today, leaving Twitter basically dead to the world for a few hours and Facebook loading slower than a dial-up connection. All of us micro-bloggers flailed about wondering who the heck we were going to tell about our nasty tequila hangover or the new color we painted our toes--in other words--WWAKDO? What Would Ashton Kutcher Do?

Thankfully, service was restored and all is normal on the oversharing-through-Twitter front. But is all ok with ATMs in Las Vegas? PC World article says that Las Vegas ATMs may have been suffering from a hacker attack as well. And the person who pointed this out was a speaker at a popular annual Hacker conference.

The case came to light after Defcon hacker conference presenter Chris Paget tried to withdraw $200 on Sunday from his account at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. He wanted to buy a metallic copy of the Bill of Rights, a joke gift designed to set off airport metal detectors from the magicians Penn and Teller. The ATM "whirred and chugged," Paget said, "but no money came out." His account, however, was debited.

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Tags: Crime / Do Not Do / MGM Grand / Hotwire / → All Tags

How We Had Our iPod Stolen At The MGM Grand

HotelChatter's contributor, Londontown, has come over across the pond for a visit to Las Vegas and will be rounding up some Vegas Observations for us this week.

Stupid alert – last week we took to heart the maxim that Vegas is for doing things you wouldn’t normally do, and did a dumb thing. Unfortunately, not a fun dumb thing – no waking up on a sidewalk or forking over a wad to go see Criss Angel. No, we did the dumb thing of letting our security guard down. And we paid for it.

We wanted to book a night on the South Strip through Hotwire, found a four star hotel going for just $66, and snapped it right up, hoping (through cross-referencing on betterbidding.com) that it would be either the MGM Grand or New York New York. Result – it was the MGM, which would have cost us $109 if we’d booked with the hotel direct.

There were no upgrades or freebies thrust our way at check-in, unlike at Planet Hollywood (which we wrote about over on HotelChatter), but we were fine with that, what with the excitement of staying at the MGM.

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Tags: Lists / Crime / Survival Strategies / Las Vegas Police / → All Tags

The 10 Surest Ways To Get Arrested In Vegas

Las Vegas might be the city where "What Happens Here, Stays Here" reigns, but despite the scandalous catchphrase, Sin City actually has a bonafide legal system comprised of real-life laws and a police squad to enforce them. You don't say! But do tourists know about this? Not really. How about pit bosses and casino mobsters? Yes. The LVPD? Not so much.

Thousands of tourists are arrested here every year. Most of these arrests are not OJ-holding-up-memorabilia-dealers-at-palace-station type arrests. That's right, the vast majority of Las Vegas bookings are your garden variety dumb crimes and yes, alcohol is almost always involved.

So pay attention as we clue you into the 10 Surest Ways to Get Arrested in Vegas. Who knows, maybe this list will resonate with you the next time you are in Las Vegas at 3 AM and have had a bit too much to drink, not that it's meant to be a checklist or anything.

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Tags: Crime / MGM Grand / Casino Heists / News / → All Tags

MGM Grand's High-Limit Slots Area Gets Robbed

And we thought casino robberies only happened in flashy, star-studded action movies starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney. But it was a real-life occurrence early Friday morning at the The MGM Grand when a robber approached the high-limit slots area with a gun and demanded money. From the LA Times:

A hotel spokeswoman says a cashier in the high-limit slot machine area complied with instructions to turn over money, and the casino was cooperating with police. Cassell says the man was in his 30s, with an average build, dark hair and dark clothing.

The man then fled the casino and reportedly met another person outside where they sped off on a motorcycle together. The police are investigating but they have no further identifying details or what type of gun was used. Also not disclosed was how much cash was stolen.

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Tags: Vegas Celebs / Kelly Monaco / Crime / Planet Hollywood / Peepshow / → All Tags

Peeping and Thieving Tom Strikes Kelly Monaco's 'Peepshow' Digs

If Kelly Monaco’s performance as the shy but sexy Bo Peep in Peepshow at Planet Hollywood seems a tad more vulnerable this week, we certainly understand.

Reports surfaced over the weekend that Monaco was a victim of a break-in and theft at her Planet Hollywood penthouse in the early morning hours last Thursday. Monaco awoke around 4 a.m to the sound of a burglar rifling through her living room. Thankfully, he never made it into the bedroom, where she was hiding behind the bed. She emerged from the room once the noise died down, and called Las Vegas Police Department.

The police report has not been released, and details of what was taken are not known. TMZ is reporting that Monaco has hired a personal security team that will remain with her for the duration of her stint in Peepshow. Considering what a sexy show Peepshow is, that's a plush security job for some very lucky Rent-a-Cop.

[Photo: John Ganun]

Tags: Concerts / Paul McCartney / Hard Rock / Crime / → All Tags

Paul McCartney Fans Caught Red-Handed at The Hard Rock

While Vegas security brings out the big guns for shows of, shall we say, an urban nature (we see you 'Lil Wayne) or those that attract the young and and rowdy (umm, too many to mention), perhaps it's the older crowd they need to keep an eye on.

Yesterday at The Hard Rock, where The Joint will be jumping come Sunday as legend Paul McCartney ushers in its new era, a few of his fans, who were clearly lost in the pre-glow of the concert—or were, more likely, channeling their inner Bernie Madoff to make a few bucks on eBay later on—were detained for theft. TMZ reports that three people in their 50s stole boxes of the hotel's magazines featuring McCartney on the cover.

Those crazy Baby Boomers.

Meanwhile, if you need to satisfy your love of The Beatles in Las Vegas you can always do it by getting tickets to the LOVE Cirque Du Soleil show at The Mirage, sipping drinks at the Beatles Revolution Lounge or by seeking out the Fab Forever Beatles Tribute Band at The Four Queens Hotel and Casino.

[Photo via Pixadus]