New York: best and worst city in schismatic survey

If you want to travel like a local, then it makes sense to know something about your destination … and isn’t the best city to live attractive? It’s the kind of place you’d want to explore and see why it’s so loved. And at the same time, you’d probably want to avoid the worst of the worst – who would want to go there?

Well, a new Harris Interactive poll makes this thinking hard to execute, USA Today reports. According to 2,620 Americans, the best and worst are exactly the same. Asked the city in or near which they’d most like to live, New York came out on top. This hasn’t changed (except once) since Harris began posing the question in 1997.

Now, the other side of the issue, what is the most loathed city in America? Well, it seems to be New York. San Francisco and Los Angeles also made both lists.

To see the top and bottom 10, take a look below:
Top of the heap:
1. New York
2. San Diego
3. Las Vegas
4. Seattle
5. San Francisco
6. Los Angeles
7. Nashville
7. Atlanta (a tie)
9. Denver
10. Boston

Bottom of the barrel
1. New York
2. Detroit
3. Los Angeles
4. Chicago
5. Houston
6. Miami
7. Washington
8.San Francisco
9. Dallas
10. Phoenix (tied with New Orleans)

[photo by Francisco Diez via Flickr]

Pre-nuptial last rites get fun, expensive

Bachelor parties used to be so simple. A bunch of guys would cram into a limo, get wasted and let the sounds of Motley Crue fill their ears while some nice young lady works her way through college a dollar bill at a time. Eventually, you’d go home and wake up sans cash, stomach contents and a few brain cells. I’m not sure what bachelorette parties involved, but I suspect there are many similarities and the differences being limited to the anatomy of the performers and the guests.

All this is changing.

The parties used to celebrate the end of single life are becoming long, intricate and costly.Las Vegas is the top destination, followed by Florida, and the average price for one of these getaways has reached a substantial $1,250 a person. The guests are usually on the hook for their own tickets.

The tourism and travel industry, looking for ways to climb out from a two-year economic hole, sees the pre-wedding party business as a way to draw some more cash into the coffers, especially for those who are looking to have as many “last hurrahs” as possible. Travel agents and destinations are even creating programs designed to appeal to this specific segment.Notes Alex Trettin, of Travel Leaders in Tacoma, Washington, to Reuters:

“We’ve created a number of programs for brides- and grooms- to-be. Most popular are Vegas and short cruises,” he said. “Even with the economy in a slowdown, more and more people are using this as an opportunity to get together with friends.”

In a further departure from tradition, some final flings are combined, with the soon-to-be spouses hitting the same destination at the same time. Once on the ground, though, the parties split to enjoy different activities.

Yeah, pre-marital partying has come a long way. But, I’ll still take a seedy strip club with “Doctor Feelgood” and a would-be medical student over the alternatives. I believe in tradition.

[photo of Social Vixen by Steve Zak]

Vegas club offers holographic hotties

Offering these girls a few drinks won’t help you get back to your room any less alone. So, when you’re scouring the Las Vegas Strip in the hopes of a blissful night, use Lolita’s Cantina and Tequila as a place to plan your next move – not make it. There’s a good reason for this – the girls aren’t real. And, that can make laying down some game a little harder.

Lolita’s just opened holographic dancing girls act this week. They have all the right moves … because that’s what they’re programmed to do. The technology behind nightclub developer Eric DeBiasi’s ladies must be good. In the past it was used by Damon Albarn’s virtual band (the Gorillaz) and Live Earth Tokyo to render former Vice President Al Gore on stage.

Now, it’s full potential is being realized.

While most dancers are given no room for error – and failing in that area can be evident and embarrassing – these vixens put on a flawless show, due in large part to the fact that the DJ is in complete control of every muscle movement.

Lolita’s may be home to the perfect show, but it isn’t the only game in town. 3opolis, which launched last year at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, has the same hot holographs teasing the crowd.

It’s a great concept, with only one flaw: though they won’t say “no,” these dancers will never head back to your suite with you.


[Photo: Flickr | scaredy_kat]

New management, no sexy skin at Mandalay Bay

The peaks will now be capped, so to speak, at the Moorea Beach Club at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Once one of the adults-only pools in Sin City where ladies could sunbathe sans top, a new sheriff in town has forced some modesty on the facility.

Across the country, frat boys and men married more than five years groaned. There are no reports of a letter-writing campaign, though.

The use of celebrity hosts for special events, has forced the club to make a decision, since local ordinances prohibit (certain) uncovered skin at big parties. Ironically, Kendra Wilkinson is among the hosts. She’s known for frolicking with Hugh Hefner The Girls Next Door. So, of course, she should be kept as far as possible from the scandalous sights of topless pools.

Las Vegas invites you to get naked

Are you bold enough?

Unlike topless destinations around the world, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino attracts hotties willing to drop their tops and accept fewer tan lines. This stand in stark contrast to most topless beaches, where there’s a distinct lack of legitimate eye candy. The recent “Rehab” party, for example, offered up plenty of skin and is indicative of a new pool party trend in Las Vegas. The 21+ crowd is in the crosshairs of many hotels and resorts, and they are luring us with the oldest bait in the book.

“Daylife,” sunlight’s answer to “nightlife,” is the product Vegas is peddling. Adult pools and pool parties – complete with bottle service and the hardly dressed to deliver it – are bringing in big bucks, big names and big … well, I’ll let you guess. Celebrity hosts, such as Heidi Montag of “The Hills,” help make the pitch to bring you in the door (sans inhibitions).

And now for the disappointing news … it’s not as crazy as you’d expect (or hope). There still aren’t many topless pools in Las Vegas. Those that exist are generally reserved for guests, attract an older crowd and don’t require that the ladies go topless (most of them don’t). The big parties are a different story, where the odds of naked mayhem are much higher.