VegasChatter

Openings / Dream Racing / Race Cars / Adventure / Richard Petty / Las Vegas Motor Speedway / The Crystals / NASCAR / → All Tags

How To Satisfy That Dream Of You, An Italian, And A Ferrari

When renting a Viper or "normal" Ferrari to cruise The Strip just isn't enough, enter Dream Racing. Italian professional race car drivers Enrico Bertaggia and Ado de Micheli have brought a fleet of Ferrari F430 GTs to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. These big red machines aren't even street legal in Vegas and, for the gearheads, sport:

· V8 engine 260 CU IN (4.3L)
· 512HP at 8500RPM
· Top speed more than 200mph
· 0-60mph in under 3.5 seconds
· F1 (automatic clutch) paddle shift

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Sports Illustrated / Beauties and Beats / Supermodels / The Cosmopolitan / The Crystals / Planet Hollywood / → All Tags

The Beauties and Beats Just Don't Stop, Even More Free Music And Supermodels Today

Las Vegas continues to debut its first Beauties & Beats Music Festival today, with lots more music and the added bonus of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models popping up, seemingly everywhere, around town. We enthusiastically previewed the event yesterday and have returned with our in-depth review.

Impeccably run, these events will allow you to get real close to the stars of the magazine and jump around to some up-and-coming bands in The Cosmopolitan's great venues. It's not rocket science, folks. Stunning women plus musicians rocking hard to take advantage of this valuable showcase. And, all events are free.

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VegasChatter Flashback / Social House / Treasure Island / The Crystals / → All Tags

VegasChatter Flashback: Remember When Social House Was at Treasure Island?

Lately, there's been a whirlwind of restaurant news in Vegas. Sadly, most of it is not good. Respectable places like Dos Caminos, BOA Steakhouse, Shanghai Lily and Union at Aria have closed while cheesy, rocker restaurants like Lynard Skynard's BBQ and downmarket burger shops and Mexican joints are appearing in full force.

We're starting to get real concerned about the restaurant scene in Las Vegas. But then we realized, this has been the way its always been. As the poet Chris Rock once said--Brand Opening, Brand Closing.

For example, remember when Social House used to be at Treasure Island? The restaurant's sudden closure was actually one of our first scoops as a little babe. The restaurant actually managed to reincarnate itself a year later in a far better spot than the dowdy TI--The Crystals luxury shopping mall, which is a part of CityCenter. And it looks like the change has done them good. Recent Yelp reviews called the place "scrumptious", "out of this world" and "always solid."

Social House is Open 6 to 10pm Sunday through Thursday and until 11pm on Fridays and Saturday. The restaurant is also open for lunch from 1 to 4:30pm from Friday through Sunday.

Vegas Observations / The Crystals / Caesars Palace / Forum Shops / → All Tags

Las Vegas Has Two Replica Trevi Fountains. One You Know, And...

If you are going to build a replica of Rome's Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain, why not build two? One, you may have walked by many times. The other we think has been hiding from you.

Inside the luxury designer store Fendi, inside the equally luxury Crystals mall, is a really excellent replica of Rome's famed fountain. With Neptune resplendent above his sea horses and Triton escorts. From the outside, you'd probably never notice. Or, hear the rushing water. Which may be the intent. Only a select percentage of shoppers will have stumbled across this surprise. Next time you are here, step inside. The store and the sculpture are worth it.

Here you see the entrance to the store. Nothing unusual to see here.

You can even start to walk in. Again, all looks normal.

Until you take a look to your left and, boom, there it is.

It was built in sections in Rome and shipped over and recreated inside the store. It's the only one featured in any of the worldwide Fendi boutiques. The store's stone floors and wall were equally chosen to reflect a palazzo feel. Staff don't mind if you follow the Italian tradition of throwing a coin with your right hand, over your left shoulder, into the fountain. Make a wish. In Rome, such a gesture is meant to ensure safe passage back to the city. Here? You can probably make your own rules for your wish agenda.

The working fountain does have one occasional side effect for staff. A hard working fountain, it needs to be cleaned regularly and, sometimes, the chemicals irritate the staffers eyes and noses. There's a price for beauty.

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Events / CityCenter / The Crystals / Space / Astronauts / → All Tags

One Of These Days, CityCenter, To The Moon! (Actually, Oct. 14-21)

This VegasChatter member grew up in a time where watching shuttle launches in class were a school-wide event. When the original Star Trek was on TV all the time (albeit in reruns). When we were hopelessly hooked on Buck Rogers, Starman, Battlestar Galactica, V, and more. Even now, all growed up, we are still infatuated with the mystique of the final frontier. Anything that has to do with space, time travel, other life, gets us all geeked out.

So, what does all this have to do with Vegas? Nothing usually (although, there's been talk of building a space museum), but if you're as much of a space geek as we are, you'll want to be in town sometime during October 14-21. That's when The Crystals at CityCenter will showcase an exhibit featuring artifacts from the Gemini and Apollo space programs, from a Lunar and Mars Rover to an Apollo 10 spacesuit. Eee!

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CityCenter / Art / Fine Art / The Harmon / The Crystals / → All Tags

Harmon Hotel's Rose Now Blooms In A New Location

Ever since we heard that the Harmon Hotel would never open its doors, we've wondered about what was going to happen to its rose. Or, rather Rose II, a towering, 26-foot-tall sculpture by Isa Genzken that, until recently, bloomed in the Harmon's porte cochere. Now, we have the answer.

Rose II has been replanted in front of The Crystals, just feet from Las Vegas Boulevard. The move must have been an amazing feat, too, to have been done so quietly because the stainless steel and aluminum sculpture weighs more than 1,000 pounds.

But, now it's relocation begs another question -- does this mean that the Harmon is one step closer to demolition?

(Photo: Momentum.MGMResorts.com)

VegasChatter Reviews / Beso / The Crystals / CityCenter / Eva Longoria / Steakhouses / → All Tags

Beso Just So-So

A Travelzoo voucher for Beso has been kicking around Pappagiorgio Central for a couple months now. With the future of the CityCenter restaurant on shaky ground, we figured we'd better use it before management decides not to honor our credit any longer, or worse Eva's place closes altogether.

Care to relive our experience with us?

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TAG Heuer / The Crystals / Shopping / Mastro's Ocean Club / Wine-Tasting / → All Tags

TAG (Heuer) It At Crystals

Earlier this summer TAG Heuer launched their first North American flagship store at The Crystals. The 800 square foot retail gem offers not only the brand's classic watches, but cufflinks, eyewear that flexes and bends (we saw it!), and leather goods.

Being located in CityCenter's luxury shopping center means the boutique will offer something that can't be found elsewhere. Limited edition collections are often introduced exclusively to the Vegas shop before being released worldwide. Most recently the Link collection made it's debut in Vegas before touring the world a month later at $1,890 to $3,900 retail.

The boutique displays watches on the low end of approx. $1,000 all the way to a $110,000 timepiece under the watchful eye of several security cams. Need a cellphone that's completely untraceable? Nab one at TAG for anywhere from $4K to $10K. We hear they're popular in other countries where it's a status symbol to whip it out on the table. Sounds like a power lunch in D.C. with different measuring sticks but hey different strokes for different folks.

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Restaurant Week / Three Square / Restaurants / Fleur / Lake Las Vegas / Loews Lake Las Vegas / Tropicana / The Crystals / Mastro's Ocean Club / Social House / Wolfgang Puck / → All Tags

The Diners Are Coming! The Diners Are Coming!

After weeks of planning, calculating, and scheming, it's time for action. Las Vegas Restaurant Week 2011 starts today and runs through September 11. Two weeks of glorious gluttony for the benefit of charity. Since we originally crunched the numbers and mapped our way through lunch, dinner, and even breakfast/late night, we caught some noteable additions to the Three Square menus. The total number of restos participating is now over 125.

First up, we take full credit for the late inclusion of the previously most notable omission: Mandalay Bay's Fleur obviously preferred to avoid the wrath of VegasChatter and is now offering not one, not two, but three RW menus: Lunch for $20.11, and Dinner for $30.11 or $50.11. Personally, knowing the brilliance that is Hubert Keller, we'd go for the $50.11 dinner that covers four courses, including his famous Braised Short Ribs.

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The Linq / Total Rewards / Caesars Entertainment / Players Clubs / Imperial Palace / Flamingo / O'Sheas / MGM Resorts / M Life / The Crystals / → All Tags

Linq Plus Total Rewards Equals Plenty of Options

Caesars Entertainment revealed more details about The Linq this week. There's a big ferris wheel errr…observation wheel. They're replacing O'Sheas and Imperial Palace. They're also adding approximately 40 restaurants and shops in the area in between the Flamingo, O'Sheas and Imperial Palace. Lots of stuff planned for The Strip in the next couple of years.

After digging a little into The Linq, we found the following nugget on how Linq and Total Rewards will play with each other.

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Fashion's Night Out / Shopping / Forum Shops / The Crystals / Events / Matt Goss / CityCenter / Trump Las Vegas / Fashion Show Mall / → All Tags

Fedoras At The Ready, Matt Goss Is Hosting Fashion's Night Out

If fashion is sexy, then Matt Goss is definitely fashionable. He’s also fashionable in the Vegas sense, in that he seems to think that every time he doesn’t wear a fedora, a fairy dies. So yes, Matt Goss and Fashion’s Night Out – why haven’t they thought of this before?

Goss will be appearing at the Forum Shops on Thursday 8 September to crown one lucky person Las Vegas’ Best New Designer. Before that, there’ll be fashion shows around the reflecting pools and, far more excitingly, lots of stuff going on in the various shops. Tarot readings at Eric Andrew Collection, choccies and champagne at Michael Kors, free facials and martinis at Fresh and a DJ/party at H&M are among the activities. The restaurants will be doing special menus too, not that that’s very fashion.

For full details check out the website. btw, last year saw an appearance from Thunder Down Under. We're not taking sides.

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Free WiFi / Planet Hollywood / Starbucks / Coffee / Total Rewards / Comps / The Cosmopolitan / Miracle Mile / The Crystals / → All Tags

Two Cool Things We Discovered at Planet Hollywood While Getting Hot Joe

A couple weeks ago, we mentioned The Beat as one of our new favorite coffee shops and a good excuse for us to head downtown. We can listen to cool music, grab a good cup of coffee and use their WiFi. We dig all of that.

One morning at Planet Hollywood, in desperate need of coffee, we found something old had returned to Starbucks along with something new. Returning was a quick skip line for Diamond Total Rewards card holders. The lines are about 20-30 minutes long in the early morning making this is one of our favorite perks of being a Diamond card holder.

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