Strippers in Las Vegas Casinos? Not Yet

by Josh Lew on

Anything goes in Vegas, right? Not quite. Have you ever asked yourself why there are no strip clubs in casinos? Ok, probably not, but it seems odd that with all the adult entertainment in Sin City, there are no such options in major gaming venues. It makes almost perfect sense from a business standpoint. People throw their cash at casinos by gambling. Why not allow them to literally throw their cash at dancers employed by a casino?

Past casino/adult entertainment marriages have been nixed, mostly because of worries about lap dances and other extras that some strip club personnel are known to offer. I don’t know about the inner workings of casinos, but I assume that they don’t want to be investigated for anything like that when there are other profits to be had more easily. (By the way, contrary to popular belief, prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, though the mayor has been vocal about legalizing it). There are still many adult entertainment venues, just none in major casinos. Until the laws change or someone decides to take a chance, it is probably going to stay that way.

Virgin America completes inaugural JFK – Vegas flight

by Grant Martin on

As we’ve been reporting on all week, Virgin America just kicked off service between JFK and Las Vegas with their inaugural flight. Christening an A320 aircraft “Entourage Air”, the cast of HBO’s Entourage showed up in a hangar at JFK to squirt Champagne all over an eager Adrian Grenier-googly-eyed audience, then quickly slipped off for other premier events all over the country.

On the way to the kickoff party at the Palms in Las Vegas, passengers were treated to some of the amenities that first class passengers can expect on Vegas bound flights later this fall: (very) plush “Entourage Air” blankets, Godiva chocolates, Altoid mints and Kiehls amenitiy kits with moisturizer, shampoo and lip balm. We also got to see a preview of season five’s opener, which should be airing this weekend – you can catch that and other episodes on their RED entertainment system from now on in flight.

Las Vegas airport was ready for us with a fire engine salute when we got there, and as we taxiied into our gate two giant plumes of water arced over the aircraft – I later learned that traffic at the airport has tapered off recently, no doubt because of decreased demand for vacation flights – so the tourism board is doing whatever they can to make Virgin happy.

In that light they threw an opening reception at the arrival gate, complete with showgirls, cake, more Champagne and a few fine words from local oil tycoons dignitaries.

It took a while to transfer and check into the Palms – apparently they didn’t realize that when an airplane full of people is going to check in that you need to staff your front desk – but near 9PM the party started to get rolling at the Playboy Club up on the top of the tower. We quickly found out that drinks were on “special” until nine thirty, so stocked up on Red Bulls & vodka since most of us were still on Eastern time.

I could tell you about all of the exciting things that went on at the Playboy club and then later on that night – shots, gossip and photos with the Virgin America crew, Michael Phelps apparently showing up at the bar and the wild, wild affection that some of our fellow bloggers share for each other – but you’re probably not interested in that.

The prevailing point is that New Yorkers now have a direct line into Vegas on Virgin America, Travel and Leisure’s “Best Domestic Carrier” and one of the most innovative airlines in the skies. If you have a tenth as much fun as Gadling did on your flight out to Sin City, it’ll be worth every dollar you spent.

Virgin America teams up with Entourage for inaugural and promotion

by Grant Martin on

Well, Virgin American certainly has their demographic targeted. The hip startup airline just announced that they’re teaming up with HBO’s Entourage to christen one of their their Airbus aircraft “Entourage Air” and kick off service between New York‘s JFK and Las Vegas.

Yes, this is the same group that also hosted Victoria’s Secret models on one of their transcontinental routes.

Next Thursday the airline plans to host an Entourage party at a private JFK hangar with members of the Entourage crew (no specifics on whether this is going to be some B character or some of the stars), Richard Branson and other celebs for a pre launch party with Dom Perignon Champagne, hors d’oeuvres and other themed goodies.

In flight, passengers will be treated to a special pre screening of the hit HBO show and the airline will kick off special HBO features for all passengers flying on VA for the duration of the month. Later, HBO and VA plan on collaborating in other projects on the airline’s advanced inflight entertainment system.

Naturally, the party finishes off at the Playboy Club in the Palms Casino.

Truly, a magnificent introduction to a route. But will it pay off? Virgin America bills itself as the hip, edgy airline that more often than not is slightly more expensive than the competition. Can their image and inflight amenities sway you over from a legacy carrier?

Vegas Building Boom Means Cheap Rooms

by Josh Lew on

Las Vegas is feeling the pinch of slumping travel numbers. The amount of visitors who enter Sin City has dropped by nearly 5%, but the construction of new hotels has led to an increase in rooms. Who to fill them?

Once they get over criticizing themselves for lacking foresight, hotel execs have to find a way to hawk all those empty beds.

The obvious strategy, at least for the short term, is to lower prices until they reach a point where visitors won’t mind shelling out a little extra for the flight because they are getting such a ridiculously cheap deal from the hotel.

How cheap is ridiculously cheap? According to MSNBC, over half the casino-owned hotels in the city are offering rates of $50 per night or below. Yes, that type of price is usually reserved for roadside motels where you can also choose to pay by the hour. Even high end, established names like Luxor and MGM Grand have rooms available for under $100 per night.

However, the famous ad campaign tag-line might be true of hotels as well. What happens in Vegas…isn’t happening elsewhere just yet. Rooms in Chicago, New York and other major metro areas are still at full price. International tourists, convention-goers, and business travelers make up the bulk of New York’s hotel customers. They have other bases to rely on as the number of US-based leisure travelers decline. That is not so in Las Vegas.

Source

What happens in Orlando?

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Orlando and Las Vegas have long been two of our nation’s tourism capitals, but for very different reasons. Orlando is the family-friendly destination of Mickey Mouse and Shrek. Las Vegas on the other hand, is Orlando’s more hedonistic friend, with a reputation for Blackjack tables, topless revues and 24-hour nightlife.

But as Jaunted points out, apparently the good people at the Orlando tourism office don’t think the differences are vast enough. When the Travel Industry Association came to Vegas recently for their annual meeting, Orlando couldn’t resist a “friendly shot” at their rivals, placing the above billboard near the McCarran airport. I think they were trying remind travel industry visitors about the squeaky-clean good times to be had in Orlando, but they may have missed the slogan’s unintended double entendre for Vegas visitors.

Orlando stays with you forever? Yikes.