December 27, 2005 | 9:27
am
UFO Digest has picked
Las Vegas as the location for the #1 UFO story of 2005! Between June 21- July 15 the Prophet Yahweh promised to come to Las Vegas to summon spaceships for the media. This is apparently old hat for Prophet Yahweh who claims to have summoned more than 1,500 UFOs or spaceships in the past. The difference:
There is a difference between UFOs and spaceships. UFOs are usually small flying objects: glowing orbs, metallic spheres, satellite-type flying machines, etc. And, their flight patterns suggest that they are not of this world. But, spaceships are large futuristic vehicles that are clearly designed to carry passengers in like you see in the movies.
Wow, I did not know that. Thanks, Prophet Yahweh. Anyway, back to the story, in the past Prophet Yahweh has only summoned the otherworldly objects for his friends (Dude, great party trick). But this year the plan was to summon them for all Las Vegans to see, and especially to bring them "on-demand" for the media to film and photograph. What happened?
Honestly, I don't know; I never got the press release back in June; the Prophet left me off his media list. Yeah, I admit my feelings are a little hurt. Still, he promised all Las Vegas would see the spaceship (it was to hover over Nellis Air Force Base) and I was here throughout that period. Of course, the spaceships could have just gotten lost in the shuffle of a busy convention or holiday weekend. Anyway, whatever happened or didn't happen, UFO Digest signaled out the Prophet Yahweh's efforts for the #1 honor. Congratulations on this dubious honor and remember we have Area 51, too. Say it with me people: What happens in Vegas...
December 27, 2005 | 8:05
am
Australia's wealthiest man has died and Las Vegas is in mourning. No, one who actually met or knew Kerry Packer in Las Vegas talked about him. An Australian media mogul, Packer was one of the highest high-rollers in Las Vegas history said to have won and lost tens of millions of dollars around town over the years. According, to the front page obituary in the Las Vegas Review Journal:
In Las Vegas Packer reportedly won $20 million from MGM Grand in 1995, lost a similar amount at baccarat tables at the Bellagio in 2000 and lost about $29 million at the same resort during the following year in which he was rumored to have been wagering up to $150,000 per hand.
Like most Whales (the term used for high rollers) Packer liked his privacy and purchased it with big tips. Still, now that he is no longer with us, I am trying to reach out to casino hosts and others who know first hand of his adventures here to bring you true tales of a Whale.
(photo by Will Burgess/Reuters)
December 24, 2005 | 11:10
pm
Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan have been arrested after being tracked to a supermarket parking outside Boston. Where, according to the Review Journal:
officers swarmed the couple, Titus was inside his truck, a MUG root
beer at his side. Ryan was inside a nail salon at the shopping center,
Canton, Mass., Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz said at a Friday night
news conference, according to the Boston Herald.
"He was inside his vehicle," Berkowitz said. "She had gone in, I believe, to get a manicure."
December 23, 2005 | 7:31
am
The
Review-Journal offers substantial coverage this morning of the two body builders wanted in the murder of 28 year-old Melissa James, their live-in assistant, whose corpse was found in the trunk of a burned out Jaguar. Craig Titus apparently admitted to police he had an affair with James. Also, Titus and his wife accused their alleged victim of embezzlement and theft, too, before running away from authorities:
They said they had recently evicted her for embezzling from them but they had not filed a police complaint. Both told investigators that James had stolen Ryan's car, though they did not report the theft to police.
The two gallants are still at large though their alleged accomplice, 23 year-old Anthony Gross, has been captured. The Review-Journal also has a heartbreaking interview with the victims mother who says of the suspects:
I find it hard to believe they had anything to do with it because she trusted them as friends.
According to the R-J, expecting her child home for the holiday, the mother of Melissa James, Maura, had gone to the Newark airport to meet her daughter's flight only to go home alone and start making the hospital and other calls one makes when a loved one vanishes, all ending with the coroner's call to her. How very, very, sad.
December 22, 2005 | 7:04
am
The Mirage has a new trainer for a day program at
the Dolphin Habitat. For $500 per person tourists can spend much of the day with Mirage trainers as they tend to the dolphins. The experience includes a continental breakfast, a cd containing photos of your day of the dolphins, a free T-shirt and a certificate of completion. I have no cynical joke to put here beyond the obvious observation that $500 seems a bit pricey. After all, why should visiting with a Dolphin cost more than seeing Elton John and a Cirque show combined? But then consider that it can't be cheap to keep a dolphin habitat going in the middle of a desert.
(photo by Francine Orr/LAT)
December 22, 2005 | 6:41
am
A former Texas high school wrestler who weighed 140 pounds at that time, Titus has been called "the bad boy of bodybuilding" by some publications as a result of his temper, his strong opinions and a stint in jail.
The article explains:
Las Vegas police were hunting for the high-profile couple Wednesday in connection with a body found last week in the trunk of a torched 2003 Jaguar. The 5-foot-8-inch, 250-pound Titus and his chiseled 120-pound wife are both charged in arrest warrants with murder and third-degree arson, according to police.
The victim, apparently, was a 28 year old woman who lived with the couple.
I am sure this is a story sick and juicy enough for the cable news channels; quick somebody alert Nancy Grace!
*Thank you to everyone who pointed out my earlier error. The Mr. Olympia title was never won by Titus
December 22, 2005 | 6:29
am
I got a call last night from a spokesperson for Las Ramblas, the $3 billion proposed hotel/condo/casino development backed by among others actor George Clooney. She called to deny a report on the Buffet that the project is in trouble and will be either canceled or put on hold. "The project is moving forward and there is NO truth to the rumours suggesting otherwise," she said. Though at this time she said she was unable to elaborate further. Still, according to her, everyone at Las Ramblas is dumbfounded where the rumour is coming from. We will see.
(photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty)
December 21, 2005 | 8:26
am
Recently, I toured South Coast (the new property in the Coast/Boyd empire), a $600 million casino resort opening on Las Vegas Boulevard some miles south of Mandalay Bay on December 22. Providing the tour was veteran Coast marketing director, Tom Mikovits, and I used the opportunity to ask him something I have always wondered about. Why do casino floors have such loud and busy carpets? The prevailing theory I have always heard has the flavor of an urban myth: the ugly carpet is to make customers look up from it in order to keep their eyes focused on the slot machines. But Mikovits offered a more logical and obvious answer: foot traffic. "The primary consideration in making the carpets look as they do at casinos is because of the heavy foot traffic. There are about 20,000 people giving foot traffic to a carpet each day and we try to make it so it has a longer life." Even so, according to Mikovits, casino rugs tend to be replaced every couple months because of the wear.
December 21, 2005 | 8:04
am
Congratulations to local headliner Elton John and his partner David Furnish who were united in a civil ceremony in Windsor today! Despite Las Vegas' a reputation as a place where anything goes, Nevada has been extraordinarily conservative on this issue with voters here being among the first to feel the need to "defend" marriage. It is a pity because imagine how much revenue could be generated by the wedding chapels and other businesses in town if we could just be a little less bigoted? Consider: Didn't Nikki Hilton's and Britney Spears' recent and brief Vegas marriages mock the institution more than the love between John and his partner? Done preaching.
December 21, 2005 | 7:30
am
As predicted
on the Buffet yesterday the county has decided to repeal the rule preventing taxi cabs from getting kickbacks for delivering customers to topless bars based on the fact that it would be too hard and expensive to enforce. In fact, according to the Review-journal, taxi drivers are getting bribes from other businesses as well:
(Caveat: I support the free coffee; no one should be falling asleep behind the wheel and I am notorious for my own Diet Pepsi consumption.) So, the County has decided to abandon this area of enforcement altogether and leave it to taxis and businesses to sort out how much additional bribe a taxi driver deserves for delivering a customer who has already paid the taxi a full fare for the trip.
Apparently, the clubs owners are already crumbling on a deal to present a united front to stop paying these kickbacks to cabbies - our own OPEC announcing a short-lived production quota. So, what does this mean for customers wanting to take a taxi ride to a topless bar or anywhere else? Don't ask your driver for advice; do your research and know where you want to go; insist on being taken there. And, always remember there is no such thing as free advice or tips in Las Vegas even if it does not cost you anything. Think of talking to humans here (at least, in their work capacity) like seeing an advertisement. Most locals you contact for "impartial" advice on restaurants, production shows, nightclubs or topless bars including concierges, bell desk employees, valets and, of course, taxi drivers generally have been recruited to market answers to all of these questions to you.
(photo by Wendell Donahoo/HBO)
