Close User Name Password

Tag: Survival Strategies View All Tags

Tags: / / / / / / / /

Bring Back Elvis, Hookers and Mobsters: It's Zowie Bowie's Vegas

Where: 11011 W Charleston Blvd [map], 89135
September 1, 2010 at 4:37 PM | by juliab | 5 Comments

UPDATE: Ignore any reference to lobsters you may have seen. As our commenter pointed out, he wants hookers and mobsters back. Which makes a lot more sense. Sorry, we must have got the giggles at the word "hookers" and lost concentration.

Another Wednesday, another My Vegas. It’s hard trying to keep tabs on all the happenin’ stuff in Sin City, so we’re calling in expert advice. From now on, every time we bump into a Vegas celeb, we’ll grill them on where they rate and what they like to do (yes, handily, this can also double as a stalker’s guide to Vegas).

This week, VegasChatter Towers is abuzz with excitement at the imminent return of Zowie Bowie to Red Rock (they kick off their residency Friday night), so to mark our giddiness properly, we asked the pair (Marley Taylor and Chris Phillips) to talk us through their favorite spots. Liking that zebra-print couch they’re on? It’s a VIP booth in the Rocks Lounge, where they’ll be based.

Before we start the video, we’d just like to note how completely enchanted we were by them – we’d been told by lots of people how lovely they were, but they were in the Tom Lowe realms of super-lovely. Funny, too - they more than lived up to expectation. And how lush does Marley look as a brunette? Anyhoo, enough gushing and crushing, here’s where to find them.

more ›

Tags: / / / /

If You Stand By For A Room Upgrade At Hard Rock, You May Be Left Standing

Where: 4455 Paradise Rd [map], 89169
August 31, 2010 at 6:21 PM | by juliana | 4 Comments

Editor's Note: Ok, here's the real deal as to why I am uploading JuliaB's stories. It's not that her flight is delayed and the airport WiFi is on the fritz. No, rather she has taken a Chippendale hostage inside Norm Clarke's house and she is demanding that "Billy" sing and dance to "Baby" by Justin Bieber for the 100th time. She will also not hand him over until someone finds her some powdered chewing gum. LVMPD are hard at work on the negotiations. Until Billy is free, carry on.

A few weeks ago, if you remember correctly, we told you about booking our stay at the Hard Rock and said that they’d tried to persuade us to upgrade over email (called eStandby) before we arrived.

At the time, we said we’d wait till check in, and wondered who on earth would pay a lot to upgrade ahead of time.

Well, now we can report that if you want to upgrade, you’d better do it in advance. When we rocked up (on a Monday night, no less), we were confident of scoring some kind of upgrade – our winning smile and local ID seem to do wonders at most hotels.

more ›

Tags: / / / / / / /

Fish Suppers and Bloody Beers: How to Do Vegas, Chippendales Style

August 25, 2010 at 6:57 PM | by juliab | 0 Comments

Another Wednesday, another My Vegas. It’s hard trying to keep tabs on all the happenin’ stuff in Sin City, so we’re calling in expert advice. From now on, every time we bump into a Vegas celeb, we’ll grill them on where they rate and what they like to do (yes, handily, this can also double as a stalker’s guide to Vegas).

Last week we kicked off with Mr Las Vegas, Norm Clarke. This week, we branch out with what must be two of the hunkiest men on the Strip, Billy Jeffrey and Juan DeAngelo from the Chippendales. We caught them at their calendar launch party at Venus Pool Club. (Excuse us for shouting, it was really loud).

more ›

Tags: / / / /

10 Things Dudes Should Not Do In Vegas

August 24, 2010 at 1:01 PM | by Mr Pappagiorgio | 4 Comments

There are plenty of things to do in Vegas. Many are worth your time and money, while others not so much. We’ve given you Ten Things Not to Do in Vegas but have kept adding to the count so that you can learn from our mistakes.

Today we get even more specific and list Ten Things Dudes Should Not Do in Vegas:

more ›

Tags: / / / / /

Scoping Out the WiFi Options at The Venetian and Planet Hollywood

August 19, 2010 at 6:37 PM | by eastcoastgambler | 3 Comments

Today, we have a special guest post from EastCoastGambler who details his harrowing WiFi experience on a recent trip to Vegas. Enjoy!

I usually don't mind paying for WiFi in my room if I plan on using it, but this trip to Vegas was for relaxing and that meant detaching from my computer as much as possible.

The $17.99 resort fee at The Venetian was optional, thanks to a slot tournament I was participating in, but that also meant I had to pay a la carte for WiFi service when I needed it. So I decided to scope out the free WiFi options at both The Venetian and Palazzo and further down the Strip at Planet Hollywood. Here's what I found:

more ›

Tags: / / / / / /

He Loves Strip Views And Hates Bottle Service: Welcome to Norm Clarke's World

August 18, 2010 at 7:15 PM | by juliab | 13 Comments

What better way to cure your hump day blues than an introduction to our brand new feature, My Vegas? Yes, it’s hard trying to keep tabs on all the happenin’ stuff in Sin City, so we thought it was time to call in some expert advice. From now on, every time we bump into a Vegas celeb, we’ll grill them on where they rate and what they like to do (yes, handily, this can also double as a stalker’s guide to Vegas).

There was no debate over who to kick this off with: Mr Las Vegas, best-by-a-mile gossip columnist, and debonair man about town*, Norm Clarke. We've always been huge Norm fans (we're devoted to his column, and his Twitter is Vegas scoop central), so it’s with humungous excitement that we bring you his top Vegas picks. Précis below, but for the full glory, watch the vids.

more ›

Tags: / / / / / / /

A Trip to NY Is Your Best Bet to Avoid The MGM Grand Traffic

Where: 3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South [map], 89109
August 16, 2010 at 1:52 PM | by Mr Pappagiorgio | 3 Comments

In our ongoing effort to bring you the latest in what’s happening around Las Vegas we do a lot of driving. Which means we do a lot of parking. We dread heading to some casino garages more than others since most aren't empty with a bottle waiting.

Valet is always an option, of course, but some valets are always so busy you can expect a hefty wait, and many always claim to be full on weekends (Caesars and Mandalay Place seem to be permanently full on weekends, and the Palms had run out of space by the time we arrived on Saturday). Which means you're left with self park.

more ›

Tags: / / / / / / /

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

Where: 3570 Las Vegas Blvd South [map], 89109
July 28, 2010 at 7:13 PM | by juliab | 0 Comments

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:

more ›

Tags: / / / /

How to Squeeze Every Last Minute Out of Your Buffet of Buffet Pass

Where: 3475 Las Vegas Blvd S [map], 89109
July 8, 2010 at 1:39 PM | by juliab | 4 Comments

Brandish it, scan it, then get back in line

It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about the Buffet of Buffets. Since our fondness for it palled after their PR-blundering price hike (and the fact that we're still struggling to lose our buffet baby weight after we did the whole seven-in-24-hours thing) we haven’t felt like hitting the buffets, but if you are, here’s how to squeeze as much value as you can out of your $34.99 (for Total Rewards members, $39.99 for plebs).

Some Gossy-loving friends of ours bought the BoB passes at the weekend, intending to use them for lunch on two consecutive days. They hit up the Rio for meal number one, and, the following day, headed over to Planet Hollywood to end it on a high. They got there at 12.30pm – their passes were down to expire at 1.20pm.

Only problem was, the queue was humungous. They asked what would happen if they expired in line, and were told the passes would just expire. Sure enough, by the time they got to the front, it was 1.30pm and they weren’t allowed in.

Fair enough – except then they got talking to the people behind them who told them that what they’d done was to jump the queue and get their wristbands scanned as soon as they arrived, and then gone back to queue for an hour for a table, getting in after their expired time. Clever!

more ›

Tags: / / / /

What Not To Do At A Vegas Show, Or We'll Write About It

June 8, 2010 at 11:50 AM | by Mr Pappagiorgio | 3 Comments

We obviously see a lot of shows in Vegas and therefore witness of lot of strange, sometimes unexplainable behavior. While many of the oddities we’ve spied would be completely unacceptable at a Broadway show, one of the traits we love about Vegas is its laid back ability to be a little more “come as you are” accepting. Some rules still apply, however, and often supply us our WTF moments.

No matter which side of the rules your behavior falls on, you can still expect us to notice, poke fun, and probably write about it. Hopefully our list is more newsworthy useful than this list.

Five Don’ts at Vegas Shows: These can apply most anywhere, but especially in Vegas.

DON’T...

more ›

Tags: / / / /

A Good Guy Fought a Resort Fee And the Good Guy Won

Where: 3300 Las Vegas Blvd South [map], 89109
June 3, 2010 at 11:30 AM | by juliab | 0 Comments

Our top dislike about staying in Vegas? Resort fees. We hate ‘em, we’ll never stop hating ‘em, and we won’t stop calling places out when they “adjust” (read: increase) them without adjusting what’s included.

So we did a little air punching (different from fist-pumping, honest) when we read this story over at East Coast Gambler, about a TI guest who fought the resort fee, and won.

The full story is here at Elliott.org, but in a nutshell, the guy – one George Lilley - booked over the phone, and wasn’t informed of the fee until checking in. When he pointed out that he was unlikely to avail himself of the notary services and weekday admission to Christian Audiger nightclub included in the $20 daily charge, he was basically told to go swivel.

So instead of arguing with the hotel, he took it up with American Express, who have credited is account because:

The merchant has not yet provided the information necessary to resolve your claim.

more ›

Tags: / / / /

VegasChatter's 2010 Field Guide to the Vegas Pool Scene

May 27, 2010 at 1:22 PM | by juliana | 3 Comments

It's the most wonderful time of the year in Las Vegas--pool season. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, an estimated 304,000 people will visit Sin City this Memorial Day Weekend and it's safe to say that most of them will be looking to play poolside.

But where shall they go? Well, we've got some suggestions.

VegasChatter has compiled an essential Field Guide to the Vegas Pool Scene* detailing the hottest pool parties, how to get into them, what to expect when you're splashing around and where to go if you'd rather just lay by the pool in relative quiet.

Like many other unpredictable events in Vegas, the pool parties all offer different things at different times on different days. So what you experienced on a Saturday could be more wild or more tame than what you see on Sunday. We've done our best to keep up with these fickle policies and ever-changing party scenes but let us know when something's changed--for better or for worse.

And on that note, Bottoms Down! Er...Bottoms Up! Come on in, the water's mostly fine, there just might be a floating plastic football mug or two and a deflated inner tube here and there. Oh and some panties. But other than that, JUMP IN!

more ›