AccessVegas.com Insider Vibe

AccessVegas.com Insider Vibe

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September 8, 1999

Welcome to Access Vegas News and Reviews! This is the newsletter that talks about the Las Vegas attractions, dining, and shows that YOU really care about. This is not spam. If you receive this by mistake, unsubscribe information is at the bottom. Feel free to forward this to friends or repost it in Las Vegas forums, but only in it’s entirety.

This is the official newsletter of http://www.accessvegas.com Quality Las Vegas Tourist Information – Hotels, Casinos, Insider Tips, and more. If it’s about Las Vegas, it’s In-Vegas.Com!

Book Online and Save – Quick and Secure with Instant Confirmation on our sister sites:
Las Vegas, Reno, Tahoe Hotels: http://www.accessvegas.com
Nationwide Hotels: http://www.lodging.com/affiliates/us_reservations.cgi?remote=tedinvegas
Rental Cars – All Cities: http://www.travelnow.com/cars/search.jsp?cid=2005

FREE $25 GREEN CHIP CONTEST – Book a room or car for ANY destination with us and we’ll enter you to win a $25 chip from the casino of your choice! This monthly contest is open ONLY to subscribers of this newsletter so you MUST notify us at http://www.accessvegas.com/contest.htm after you book. Full rules and details are available at that page also. Already low rates and now a chance to win!

Why not forward this newsletter to a friend or colleague who may enjoy it right now while you are thinking about it! They will appreciate your thoughtfulness and if they would enjoy future issues, they can get their own FREE subscription by sending a blank email to newsletter@las-vegas-news-reviews.com

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This Issue: Paris Las Vegas, The Eiffel Tower

Curious about a restaurant, event, or other Las Vegas attraction that looks fun? Let us review it for you first! Suggestions are always welcome at: allvegastv@aol.com

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LAS VEGAS NEWS – of interest to tourists:

LEWIS-HOLYFIELD FIGHT – the much anticipated rematch between these two popular fighters takes place November 13 at the Thomas and Mack Center. We’ve told you how electric fight weekends are, so book now even if you aren’t planning to attend. Nothing brings celebrities from all over the world into Las Vegas like a heavyweight fight. Fight story at http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Aug-28-Sat-1999/sports/11842275.html

FOOTBALL IN LAS VEGAS – It’s a “best kept secret”, but UNLV actually does have a Division I college football team. In fact, if you are a fan of IOWA ST (Sept. 18), UTAH (Sept. 25), BYU (Oct. 23), SAN DIEGO ST. (Nov. 20), or COLORADO STATE (Nov. 27), you may want to come and root on your team when they play here. Perennially one of the worst in the nation, legendary football coach John Robinson (USC, LA Rams) has been hired to help turn the football program around. Full story on John Robinson at http://www.lvlife.com/aug1999/features/story01.html

SWING CAT BLUES – is the new high tech answer to the former low tech shows of the Fremont St. Experience downtown. In this animated tale about hip blues cats making it big in Vegas, hijinx abound on Route 66 as these cats follow their dream on their way to win a recording contract. Discount downtown rooms are available at http://www.accessvegas.com/las-vegas-hotels-downtown.htm and we are giving away a pair of limited edition Swing Cat Blues sunglasses in our contest section.

KING OF THE BEACH – See the top 14 men and 4 women from the AVP tour compete at the Hard Rock Hotel Sept. 17-19. Tickets for this popular event at (702) 474-4000 and Hard Rock discount rooms are available at http://www.accessvegas.com/rooms/las-vegas-hotel-reservations-strip-area.htm (Hard Rock link).

PAY BACK THAT MARKER – if you take out a marker at a Las Vegas casino, it’s very wise to pay it back. No, they no longer send really big guys to break various body parts. But unpaid markers are prosecuted as bad checks in Nevada, and you can find yourself with a free trip back here to stand trial. Full story at http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Sep-05-Sun-1999/news/11884553.html

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL CIGAR SMOKER – Hamilton’s (at New York, New York) hosts this weekly event. Seating is limited, and $35 gets you a prime rib buffet, liquor flights, and two cigars. Reservations suggested at (702) 740-6400.

MIKE TYSON – has opened his training camp in Las Vegas. If anyone actually cares, they can read about it at http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Sep-07-Tue-1999/sports/11898943.html

WINNERS! – Tom Hammel of Easthampton, MA was the winner of the Craps Made Easy book and video combination. Ron Boydston of Parkville, MO was the winner of the House of Blues “Buy 1, Get 1 Free” restaurant coupon. Deb Jackson of Marshall, MN was the winner of the two free microbrews and the $25 for $20 blackjack coupon from Ellis Island.

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Quick Concert and Show Notes:

Want to see which shows are playing during your stay and book reservations EVEN if the tickets aren’t on sale yet? ShowVegas takes care of all your needs directly online! Search by dates at http://www.showvegas.com/svpricing.cfm?cscheme=5&amid=143

DAVID LEE ROTH – former Van Halen frontman plays the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on Oct. 2. Tickets at (702) 474-4000 and Mandalay Bay discount rooms are available at http://www.accessvegas.com/las-vegas-strip-hotels.htm (Mandalay Bay link).

ORLEANS – THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS on Sept. 14-26, and RAY CHARLES on Sept. 29 – October 3. For tickets, call (702) 365-7075. Orleans discount rooms are available at http://www.accessvegas.com/rooms/las-vegas-hotel-reservations-strip-area.htm (Orleans link).

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FEATURE STORY: Paris Las Vegas, The Eiffel Tower

OK, we took our fair share of heat for the less-than-kind comments about Paris Las Vegas last week. Especially in light of the huge combined cheer emitted from every local and national media outfit. In all fairness, unless you are a high roller, you probably won’t be receiving the kind of treatment that the collective media cheerleaders did, which is why we have attempted to give you a “ground floor” perspective on the city’s newest megaresort.

In order to be fair, we revisited the hotel exactly one week after it’s lavish grand opening to take another look and enjoy the Eiffel Tower attraction. Our thoughts follow:

DO go up to The Eiffel Tower. WOW! This is a must-see. The tower is open from 9 AM – 1 AM and a ride to the top costs $8.00. You must purchase a ticket from either the ticket booth outside (facing south under the outdoor leg of the tower) or the Eiffel Tour gift shop inside. The ticket designates a 30 minute window for you to get in line for the ride to the top. As of 9:30 PM on a Wednesday night, the next tickets available were for 10:30 PM. The tickets MUST be used during the time allotment and date on them.

The staging area is the bridge over the gaming area, giving a complete view of the entire casino, and the 15 minute wait went quickly. The elevators each hold 10 people, and rotating groups of 10 are staged for the trip to the top. Caution: DON’T take this ride if you have a fear of heights. You board the all-glass elevators and ascend through the casino roof. The next thing you know, you are 10 stories up with a fantastic view of the ever-shrinking Strip! The ride lasts less than a minute, with the operator giving you some background information on the tower.

This is not the Stratosphere Tower, and few comparisons can be made. At 50 stories, you are only about half as high up, but directly in the heart of the Strip. High enough to see over every single hotel in Las Vegas but not so high that you lose the beautiful detail of the surrounding properties. Especially captivating is the Bellagio across the street. Not only does the beauty stand out from a new angle, but height brings a while new dimension to the fantastic water show. You see the 3 dimensions of the intricate dancing waters not visible from street level.

Keep in mind that this is meant to be an authentic experience, not a luxury one. You are on a steel walkway perhaps 10 feet wide that runs the perimeter of the tower, surrounded by railings and cage. It is completely open-air, and there are no facilities of any kind. While the capacity is 96, they only allow 80 at a time, which still leads to a little bit of crowding at times, especially on the Bellagio side during a water show. There is no time limit, but with nowhere to sit and nothing to do, you don’t desire to linger longer than perhaps 20 minutes.

If you have to make a choice, choose the Stratosphere Tower, where for roughly the same price you can go to the top, linger in plenty of space, buy a drink or a snack, and rest and relax. However, see both if possible. See the Stratosphere just before sunset so you can watch the valley light up in all it’s stunning glory. See the Eiffel Tower after dark so you enjoy the full neon brilliance of the Strip. Bring plenty of film and your video camera to both.

Do NOT park in the self-parking garage. If there has not yet been a head-on collision, there soon will be. The entrance and exit (at least from the Aladdin side) are closed in, like the opening of a service garage. Which wouldn’t be such a problem except that … the entrance is on the left and the exit is on the right! Very European, and VERY confusing.

Upon entering, we came face-to-face with a car which was descending down the entrance ramp. And once again, on our way out, we encountered a car pulling out head-on with us, confusing the exit ramp with the ramp that goes up to further parking levels. Sound confusing? The people driving the direction normal garages are arranged for sure thought so.

We still feel that the casino is cramped, especially around the perimeter but some of the semi-main aisles as well. We watched a person in a wheelchair have difficulty making it past and around people in one of the aisles between Gustav’s Bar and pit area. And the perimeter slot rows are crammed so close together that it’s virtually impossible to walk down a row between if both sides have players. They were obviously going to squeeze a certain amount of machines in no matter what.

The casino seems to have a bit of a “cold” feel. It lacks the greenery and foliage of New York, New York and the “sky” ceiling which continues to amaze us with it’s unrealistic clouds (compared to the many other “sky” ceilings in town). Part of this could be due to the halogen lights pointed at the ceiling (from the top of the pits) to illuminate the casino. They need to switch to a warmer light — which might make all the difference in our perception of the “sky”.

The property is stunning from the sidewalk in front of the Strip. If you are staying at Bellagio, you’ll have something very pleasant to look at. We did notice the intense detail in second and third stories windows of the faux buildings that surround the gaming floor inside. Very nice, containing unique French themed eateries. We also continue to be very impressed with the shopping area. Follow it through all the way to Bally’s (a short walk, you are there before you know it). It’s a very pleasant stroll.

We want your input on Paris! Next time you come to town, tell us what you think of Paris at allvegastv@aol.com We want to hear about your experiences with the gaming, the food, the service, the rooms, or any other aspect of the hotel. Good or bad, your comments will help fellow Las Vegas visitors.

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Denise writes about Paris Las Vegas:

>The Saturday buffet (brunch) is worth the money.  While not the spread
>of it’s neighbor Steve Wynn, a decent meal for the price.
>
>Like all grand openings, the jackpots were flashed left and right.
>Unfortunately, people who hit, were waiting, in some cases, an hour or
>more to
>get paid.  Those of us who attempted to cash our winnings at a change
>booth spent more time in line. The best kept secret if you’re cashing
>out…go to Bally’s.

Dave Surette writes:

>We have used as displayed in your newsletter to hopefully
>reserve tickets for Sigfried & Roy and Mystere…. although tickets seem to
>go on sale to the “public” only 30 days before showtime, as you know, the
>system records our order and supposedly purchases tickets on our behalf on
>the day they are offered for sale.  The “processing fee” $US9.90 for each
>set of tickets is charged upfront and is non-refundable…. I’m disappointed
>to discover that this charge is non-refundable, even if tickets cannot be
>acquired !  In any event, if we get tickets that will be great.. the
>processing fee, although higher than other event reservation systems (ie.
>ticketmaster) is not overwhelming.  Other sites offered “guaranteed”
>tickets to the shows we wanted but there was at least an 80% mark-up on each
>ticket !!!!  As it was, this is where we decided to stretch the budget….
>we’ll (2 of us) be paying over $525 Cdn to see these shows if we manage to
>get tickets thru ShowVegas.

ShowVegas at http://www.showvegas.com/svpricing.cfm?cscheme=5&amid=143 is a new partner of ours. They come highly recommended, and can get you tickets which might already be sold out by the time you get here. However, as with any advertising partner, we want your feedback. We just dumped Prodigy Internet from our partner base because we found out that they weren’t getting the introductory CD’s out to those who requested them. If our advertisers can’t deliver, they are history. Your trust is far more valuable to us than an extra dollar from a poor company.

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Your input is welcome. Want to hear more about a subject? Don’t agree with something we said? Write us a “letter to the editor” at allvegastv@aol.com Guest article submissions are also welcome with full credit to you, your website, etc. if accepted.

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FREE CONTESTS:

Note: You may enter every contest, but only one entry to each. Please note the expiration date and only enter if you will be in town and can use them. The 10′th entry to each contest will be the winner (unless otherwise noted). Just sent a blank email to the specified email address — we’ll get your mailing address from you only if you win (you have 72 hours to respond or we pick another winner).

SWING CAT BLUES – Limited edition sunglasses from the new show at the Fremont St. Experience! Enter at (contest closed)

PARIS $1 SLOT TOKEN – We played a little Megabucks and had a $1 silver token left over. (Never, ever, ever play a progressive slot, especially a $10,000,000 one, unless you play with full coins in). Enter at (contest closed)

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Have a request for a review? Boggled when you come to town and see the hundreds of dining, attraction, and show opportunities? Let us know what you’d like to hear about! Unlike the tourist magazines where all of the “articles” are really paid ads, we pull out our own wallet and give you the honest scoop. If you appreciate this service, please consider booking your rooms and rental cars for ALL destinations with us.

http://www.accessvegas.com offers you low prices for hotels and rental cars in LAS VEGAS and NATIONWIDE! It’s our sister site featuring secure online booking and INSTANT confirmation. Don’t spend hours on the phone. Book today the cheap, easy way and save!

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You may subscribe to this newsletter by going to:
http://www.las-vegas-news-reviews.com or sending a blank email to
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All contents copyright 1999 Ted Newkirk
September 8, 1999

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