UPDATED: Touring MGM Mirage’s CityCenter – November 2009

I love big cities. I'd much rather ride a subway than sit on a beach. I love museums and cultural events, great restaurants and urban activity.

New York is one of my favorites. If I had to live outside the US, I'd probably settle in London. I've been lucky enough to see Cairo, Jerusalem, Rome, Paris, Chicago, Istanbul and much of the rest of the world. Great cities are complicated, charming, messy, crowded, contradictory... and wonderful.

MGM Mirage is trying to replicate the best bits of those experiences in a new project opening soon on the Las Vegas Strip - CityCenter.

This past week, your humble host was given the opportunity to tour part of this new hospitality complex - 67 acres at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, located between Bellagio and Monte Carlo.

My experiences on that tour are after the jump - enjoy. CityCenter will be a hot topic of discussion for months if not years. I can't wait until you all can share your own thoughts.

Update: We're not allowed to publish the actual map but Chuckmonster traced a copy and posted it on VT. This is the casino level and includes much of the stuff I saw on this tour. His version looks identical to the 'real' one. Enjoy. http://www.vegastripping.com/news/news.php?news_id=3019

Harrah’s Great Gift Wrap Up Returns to Caesars Palace

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Harrah's highly successful Total Rewards player's club brings the crowd pleasing Great Gift Wrap Up redemption back to Caesars Palace Las Vegas again this year. December 3-7 has been set aside to allow Total Rewards' members to redeem the points they have accumulated during 2009 for a wide variety of gifts.

The Great Gift Wrap Up is not to be confused with most casino gift giveaways, unless they are offering brand names including Tiffany and Co., BMW cars, motorcycles and hundreds of other high end items. Select your gifts and they will arrive at your door in time for the Holidays.

73: Hip Checks and Short Skirts – Roller Derby in Las Vegas

Call me crazy, but there’s something to be said for watching a bunch of woman whoosh around a roller rink, kicking the crap out of each other. The teamwork, the strategy, the action. . .the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

(At least, that’s what Tomahawk says.)

In this edition of the Living in Las Vegas Podcast, we discover the joy that is Woman’s Flat Track Roller Derby, featuring the Sin City Roller Girls.   Show notes:

• PHOTOS!
• Weather (sunshiny) / LiLV Pool (you could die in here)
• LiLV Stuff
  • Listener Line: 206.312.0105
  • Sign up of Email Alerts (form found on right side of our website)
• Prepping for Thanksgiving
• Living in Las Vegas Podcast Virtual Video Meetup
• Next in-person LiLV Meetup
• Listener Email: Is Las Vegas ripping people off?
• Hip Checks and Short Skirts–Woman’s Roller Derby in Las Vegas