Horseshoe Set To Open Again
'American Idol' In Las Vegas
UPDATED: 10:25 a.m. EST March 22, 2004
Looks like the Binion's Horseshoe deal is finally a done one. The last remaining legal obstacles were resolved late last week.
Now MTR Gaming (in partnership with Harrah's Entertainment) is the official owner of the legendary downtown Vegas property that closed several months ago. The company plans to reopen the hotel and casino on (or close to) April 1. Harrah's plans to dump about $1 million into improvements before the doors open again.
Speaking of improvements, the Hard Rock Hotel will get a multimillion-dollar facelift in the coming months. The parent company plans to spend between $16 million and $25 million to redo the rooms and construct a $6.5 million underground nightclub to replace Baby's. The new rooms will feature mini-bars and flat-panel televisions, while the nightclub will have ultra-luxe VIP areas and 12 drink serving areas.
Every other media outlet that has reported on the theft of more than $300,000 in jewelry from the Elvis-a-Rama Museum has used some sort of bad Elvis song pun, so I shall resist. But boy it's going to be hard. Thieves broke into the museum on March 13 and stole several pieces of jewelry once belonging to the King, including his high school ring and a $77,000 ruby-and-diamond ring. Showing that he can maintain his sense of humor, the owner of the museum and the collection, Chris Davidson, said he wants to offer a $10,000 reward for the return of the jewelry and to have the burglars sing "Jailhouse Rock."
Any other "American Idol" fanatics out there? LaToya London is my favorite at this point but not the favorite of Vegas oddsmakers. Bally's/Paris sports book head Johnny Avello is picking Fantasia Barrino as the favorite, with 4-1 odds. LaToya is right behind at 5-1 odds. The long shots? Jon Peter Lewis at 25-1, Leah LaBelle at 30-1 and Matthew Rogers at 50-1. If you can't get enough "American Idol" (like me) you can stop at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in the Venetian for a new, interactive "A.I." exhibit. It features wax likenesses of Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest and even lets you sing and be judged by the panel. Genius!
Speaking of improvements, the Hard Rock Hotel will get a multimillion-dollar facelift in the coming months. The parent company plans to spend between $16 million and $25 million to redo the rooms and construct a $6.5 million underground nightclub to replace Baby's. The new rooms will feature mini-bars and flat-panel televisions, while the nightclub will have ultra-luxe VIP areas and 12 drink serving areas.
Every other media outlet that has reported on the theft of more than $300,000 in jewelry from the Elvis-a-Rama Museum has used some sort of bad Elvis song pun, so I shall resist. But boy it's going to be hard. Thieves broke into the museum on March 13 and stole several pieces of jewelry once belonging to the King, including his high school ring and a $77,000 ruby-and-diamond ring. Showing that he can maintain his sense of humor, the owner of the museum and the collection, Chris Davidson, said he wants to offer a $10,000 reward for the return of the jewelry and to have the burglars sing "Jailhouse Rock."
Any other "American Idol" fanatics out there? LaToya London is my favorite at this point but not the favorite of Vegas oddsmakers. Bally's/Paris sports book head Johnny Avello is picking Fantasia Barrino as the favorite, with 4-1 odds. LaToya is right behind at 5-1 odds. The long shots? Jon Peter Lewis at 25-1, Leah LaBelle at 30-1 and Matthew Rogers at 50-1. If you can't get enough "American Idol" (like me) you can stop at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in the Venetian for a new, interactive "A.I." exhibit. It features wax likenesses of Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest and even lets you sing and be judged by the panel. Genius!
