Archive for October, 2010

Tuesday, Oct 26, 2010

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If you’re looking for some great free things to do in Vegas, there are some amazing treats for you and the family awaiting. Many casinos in an effort to bring in more and more business are offering elaborate shows free for the family in an effort to bring more warm bodies into their casinos and out of their competitors. This is a win win situation for tourists and locals alike who are seeking entertainment that will leave a little money in their pockets to spend at the casinos (which is exactly what the casinos were hoping for).

One of the great shows that is available free to families is the Fall of Atlantis Show at Caesar’s Palace. This particular show is a laser, water, and light show that features wonderful animatronics action. Also notice that the show’s platform is actually a salt-water aquarium. You can see divers feed the fish each day at 1:15 and 5:15 while another staff member is on hand to answer any questions you may have and explain a little about the facility. You can actually take a tour of the facility at 3:15 each day. Enjoy watching the gods as they entertain you rather than us entertaining them.

The Cambridge Community Center offers a free movie and popcorn each Saturday at 1:00. Each week a different movie will be shown and children under 12 must bring an adult to keep them company. You can check out which movie will be playing by checking out the posting on Friday.

Another great Vegas freebie is daily performances of the Hawaiian Marketplace Island Performers. These performances take place throughout the day from 11:00 am until 10:30 pm and feature wonderful dances that will remind you of the island. See hula dancers, fire and knife dancers, musicians, lei makers, and animatronic birds. The performances are free and take place at the Hawaiian Marketplace.

For the Elvis fan in all of us you can see Pete Vallee perform as Big Elvis from Monday to Thursday with shows that take place at 3:00 and 5:00 pm at the Barbary Coast Casino. The admission for this show is free and he brings in quite a crowd with his vocal talent and heartfelt renditions of Elvis’ ballads.

M & M World should need no introduction. It is a wonderful and yummy place to visit. More importantly it is a free place to visit. This museum is open Sunday through Thursday from 9 am until 11 pm and Friday and Saturday from 9 am until midnight. This really is a neat attraction to visit and is much more than initially meets the eye. Take a stroll, look around and make sure you see all there is to see or you just might miss something fantastic.

For another sweet freebie, you really must make plans to visit Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory. The admission for this self-guided tour is free as is the first sample, but who can eat just one chocolate? Be sure not to leave this tour empty handed, as you’ll be kicking yourself once you get back to the room and have a craving for something sinfully sweet. In addition to the chocolate factor is the Botanical Cactus Garden that is open from 8:30 until 7:00 daily. Another great thing to see on this particular tour is the Living Machine, which as waste-consuming ecologies that turns 32,000 gallons wastewater each day into water that is clean enough to use for irrigation purposes.

The Marjorie Barrick Museum of History, which is located on the University of Nevada Las Vegas Campus, is another place to go and learn while being entertained. Admission is Monday through Friday from 8:00 until 4:45 and on Saturday from 10:00 until 2:00. Admission is free and the museum is closed on all state and federal holidays. This museum offers a great display of Western culture and the history of ancient Mexico.

No matter what your specific interests are there are plenty of wonderful things to see and do in Las Vegas that do not put a strain on the pocketbook at all.

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Tuesday, Oct 19, 2010

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Winning in Vegas isn’t about going home rich; it’s about not going home broke. You’ve probably heard many horror stories about people loosing it all their very first night in Vegas. The sad truth of the matter is that it happens quite often because it is so terribly easy to do. Casinos have many tricks (whether deliberately contrived or accidentally achieved) that help you make poor decisions as a result of slightly impaired judgment. The bells and whistles of casinos are fun for the first few hours, after that they tend to become dull and mind numbing. You’ll even find that those who have been at the casino for a while will show slower and less enthusiastic responses to jackpots after a few hours. This is part of the process. We become number and mindlessly feed our 1′s, 5′s, 10′s, 20′s, 50′s, and 100′s into the machines and loosing count along the way.

Casinos are also kind enough to allow many people ups and downs along the way. They are quite smart in doing this. Many people find that they can get pretty far ahead early on and then are surprised to suddenly find themselves falling behind at an alarming rate. When they have you is at the moment you put yet another bill into the machine intending to get back the money you lost. Most of us manage to get back our original investment but decide that we want what we had won earlier and end right back at the bottom again starting the entire process over. Don’t do that, I can tell you it hurts the next morning when you’re kicking yourself for being stupid.

This of course brings me to my next point. Ever see a sunrise from the inside of a casino? Me either, but I’ve walked out into the blinding light of day before. It’s very easy to loose track of time in a casino. It’s dark in there and the only lights are quite often from the slot machines and blinking neon signs. There are no indicators for the passage of time and unless you are clock watching, which most of us are not when we’re having fun, it is quite easy to lose many hours of time and find yourself suddenly very tired and making poor decisions and taking risks you’d normally not take rather than cashing out and going back to the room for the night. This is another one that generally hurts when you wake up.

In order to avoid things like this set a vibration alarm on your cell phone and have it buzz you when it’s time to go. Only bring in a certain amount of cash into the casino and when that’s gone it’s gone. Don’t go back to the room and get more money or make costly trips to the ATM. Those trips will suddenly add up and find you with no true idea of how much money you’ve spent or have left in your bank account.

You can quite easily win at the casino game on your trip to Vegas as long as you remember that you are playing at a casino and making a conscious decision not to be played by the casino. Common sense will help out some but avoiding traps is the difference in spending your ‘mad money’ at the casino and going home busted or spending your next few paychecks at the casino long after your vacation is over.

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Tuesday, Oct 12, 2010

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The Las Vegas Hilton is one of the more luxurious offerings on the Vegas Strip. This hotel has a lot to offer its guests by way of luxury and amenities including several packages that are amazingly generous by comparison to most other hotels along the strip. If you aren’t seeing a package that is appealing to you be sure to call and see if you might be able to negotiate a more suitable package.

In addition to world class accommodations and a fully functional casino the Las Vegas Hilton also has some of the best shows running along the strip. Current acts include the likes of Barry Manilow and Menopause the Musical. Future acts include big names such as Johnny Mathis and the Asian Fusion concert series.

Perhaps the most famous attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton however is the Star Trek Experience. The experience is completely out of this world and will have you flying through space in a completely immersive experience that even those who weren’t serious fans of the show can appreciate. This is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before or are likely to enjoy again. There is also a museum that is home to many items from the television series as well as the movies. This is a great addition to your vacation experience even at the rather hefty price tag it commands ($34.99 for adults and $31.99 for children as of this writing and subject to change). If you’re going to splurge on one thing during your stay at the Las Vegas Hilton I highly recommend that this be that one thing. There is also the Nemesis Package, which will allow for a reduced rate when purchasing tickets for the Star Trek Experience along with a two-night hotel stay.

Keep in mind if you’re actually coming to Las Vegas for the gambling and not to go Trekking through the galaxy, the casino offers tournaments rather regularly and you should really check to be sure there isn’t a tournament that interests you during your stay or around the times you are considering your stay.

It is fairly safe to say that while there are many fun things to do in Vegas these hotels and casinos would really appreciate your business in the casino seats rather than watching the shows, riding the rides, and playing the games.

The Las Vegas Hilton also has a full service spa and offers some attractive spa packages to its guests. You’d be doing your body a favor to check out the many packages that are available and combining them in order to get the maximum value for your spa dollar along with your spa visit. You might also consider trying to work a spa comp into your package when booking your room. You’ll never know unless you ask.

There is all manner of shopping at the Las Vegas Hilton and you should be able to find nice gifts for others as well as a few nice gifts for yourself. If you don’t find what you’re looking for here you are close enough to other shopping opportunities, if you drag yourself away from the spa that is that it’s no serious problem to go out and find those perfect gifts, trinkets, and tokens of your good time while visiting Las Vegas. Of course, you simply must visit the Barry Manilow store while you’re here and have fun playing with all the nifty toys inside. You also never know when you’ll find that perfect gift for friends and family and this store may be the ideal place to look.

If you’re looking for a completely luxurious experience for you stay in Las Vegas there are few places that will suit you better than the Las Vegas Hilton. The good news is that you can arrange for your luxurious treatment to be had at a fraction of the price it would cost elsewhere if you pay careful attention to the specials that are available and book accordingly.

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Tuesday, Oct 5, 2010

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Las Vegas Schools Open New Schools and Hire New Teachers

New Schools Equal New Hires

Las Vegas Schools have ten new schools opening for the 2006-2007 school year. Nine are brand new schools, while one is a replacement of Rancho High School. This is part of a long term plan to meet student population demands and create modern facilities. The schools opening in August are six elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. The new elementary schools are Hayden Elementary, Schorr Elementary, Steele Elementary, Thompson Elementary, Ward Elementary and Wright Elementary. The middle schools are Johnston and Tarkanian and the high schools are the new Legacy High School and the replacement Rancho High School. All these new schools create the need for more teacher and support staff. With this in mind Las Vegas Schools is engaging in a very active recruitment process including holding a recruitment fair this summer to be held at the Desert Rose Adult High School. In the area of academic staff Las Vegas Schools are hiring over one thousand new staff and teachers. But academic staff are not the only ones needed to keep a school running. These new member schools of Las Vegas Schools are also in need of bus drivers, transportation aides, vehicle mechanics and substitute food service workers.

The New Rancho High School

The newest edition to Las Vegas Schools is the placement of the old Rancho High School. The new design may seem surprisingly familiar to the students. The new Rancho High School is based on the same design used in most suburban shopping malls. The new 330,000 square foot school was built on the site of the former schools athletic field. The old school will be torn down later in the school year. The new Rancho High School follows a two story mall design and the total building cost was around 75 million. The money came from the Las Vegas Schools 3.5 billion capital improvement plan approved by voters in 1998. The new design did cause a little concern but it actually creates a very functional and friendly space which can add to the success of a school. The Rancho High School principal plans to divide the school into four distinct sections each with its own assistant principal and student services. These sections will possibly be divided based on grade level or program type. Rancho High School is well known for its magnet programs that aim towards the medical and aviation fields. These magnet programs will have new offices and special facilities on the new Ranch High School campus. The ROTC will also have a new area. The Rancho High School ROTC is one of the largest in the U.S. and the facility will be able to accommodate over five hundred students. The Ranch High School replacement is part of a long term replacement plan by Las Vegas schools. The plan was to replace five existing schools Sunrise Acres Elementary, Wendell Williams Elementary and Rancho High School are the first three with Booker Elementary and Virgin Valley Elementary to follow.

Rancho High School is Second to Have Mall Design

Rancho High School is the second Las Vegas School to have the mall design. The first was at Buffalo and Grand Teton. The mall design creates a new and unique space that provides natural light and fresh air to the classrooms while creating a more secure environment than a conventional school design. Both the current principal and the president of the construction company building the new school are former Rancho High School graduates, who are extremely pleased with the modern replacement.

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