Caesars Entertainment aims to start work this month on the $500 million entertainment, retail and dining complex known as Project Linq.
Project Linq Cabin
This artist’s rendering shows one of 32 cabins on the proposed observation wheel of Project Linq. Each cabin would hold 30 people. COURTESY OF PROJECT LINQ
Posted: Aug. 5, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.
BY HOWARD STUTZ
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The question over competing giant Ferris wheel-type projects on the Strip comes down to who has all their bearings.
At least, that’s what developer Howard Bulloch says.
Bulloch, who is behind the Skyvue development on the south end of the Strip across from Mandalay Bay, said he has acquired the two giant 23,000-pound bearings needed to operate a 500-foot tall London Eye-style wheel that is the centerpiece of the project. He unveiled one of the bearings back in May, when he announced plans for the $300 million retail and entertainment space.
He brought up the issue of bearings on Thursday, the day after Clark County approved the land use and design for Project Linq, a $500 million complex being developed by Caesars Entertainment between the Flamingo and Imperial Palace, that includes a 550-foot Ferris wheel as its centerpiece.
Bulloch didn’t know whether Caesars had acquired their bearings.
“The two large bearings take 18 months to manufacture,” Bulloch said.
Caesars spokesman Gary Thompson said Thursday that the company is planning to reveal more details about Project Linq during a briefing on Aug. 17, including the technological aspects of constructing the observation wheel, which would be larger than the Singapore Flyer and the London Eye. The wheel’s 32 cabins will each carry up to 30 people.
Company officials told Clark County they hoped to start work on Project Linq later this month. The work will employ 3,000 construction workers; when it’s complete, it will create 1,500 jobs read more from The RJ
This is reprint of an older post, from around May of this year, however I thought YOU may have missed the demise of the Sahara.
This is very important news, for Las Vegites. After all, this is like Las Vegas loosing an arm or a leg.
Sahara Hotel - August 1954
BY HOWARD STUTZ
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: May 14, 2011 | 8:52 p.m.
Updated: May 15, 2011 | 1:10 p.m.
In it’s day, the Sahara was Las Vegas’ epicenter.
Peter Villalobos would know.
For almost 35 years, he manned the Strip hotel’s front desk.
He watched the parade of celebrities and the pseudocelebrities.
He supervised thousands of hotel check-ins for high rollers and want-to-be high rollers.
Villalobos will be at his front desk terminal Monday when the Sahara’s final guest checks out at around noon. The nearly 60-year-old Strip resort will cease operations two hours later, a victim of both the recession and of progress.
Sahara owners SBE Entertainment of Los Angeles and private equity firm Stockbridge Real Estate of San Francisco acquired the hotel-casino in 2007 from the family of the late casino pioneer William Bennett. The new owners had hopes of breathing new life into the resort. They have not announced plans for the 18-acre corner of the Strip and Sahara Avenue.
In March, SBE said it was “no longer economically viable” to operate the Sahara.
GOING OUT WITH DIGNITY
Last week, Arash Azarbarzin, president of SBE’s hotel division, who has overseen the Sahara since the company took control, said the goal was to close the Strip resort “quietly and with dignity.”
His thoughts have been with employees like Villalobos, who remained loyal to the property, even as the city’s two-decade building boom added megaresorts that dwarfed the aged, 1,720-room Sahara.
Villalobos gave Azarbarzin a firm handshake last week and thanked him for the four years that SBE kept the property operating. The year SBE took over, the company spent about $2 million to refurbish and make cosmetic changes to the Sahara’s public areas. SBE never operated the casino; that was done by Navegante Group read more…
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Sahara Marquee
From ClassicLasVegas.SquareSpace.Com
Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn Hotel History / The Swinging Sahara Hotel History – 1950s
The Swinging Sahara Hotel History – 1950s
Post-WWII Las Vegas must have looked very inviting. Men with vision were coming into town to build hotels to cater to Americans hungry to travel after the rationing and sacrifices of the War. In less than ten years, there were five hotels, the El Rancho Vegas, Hotel Last Frontier, the Fabulous Flamingo, the Thunderbird and Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn built on the two-lane highway that led to Fremont Street.
Though some locals wondered where all the people would come from to fill the new resorts, the men with vision kept assuring everyone they would come.
Fred Schivo was a long-time gamer who had the idea for the Club Bingo, a 300-seat bingo parlor. He had to find investors that would be willing to take the financial plunge. He lucked out when he met Milton Prell from Butte, Montana. Prell had operated the “30 Club” in Butte but like many other gambling visionaries of the day he relocated to the friendly climes of Las Vegas in the 1940s. Though not as well known today as others such as Wilbur Clark and Del Webb, Prell nonetheless, made an impact on Las Vegas.
Club Bingo opened on a rainy day, July 24th, 1947. In addition to the bingo parlor there were a few other games of chance but the Club Bingo had a reputation for fine food in its Bonanza Room. There were no hotel rooms, the Club Bingo was just a club for gambling, fine dining and they had a small showroom that showcased the talented Dorothy Dandridge, comedian Stan Irwin and the Treniers.
Milton Prell soon realized that the future of the Las Vegas Strip was in having a resort hotel that catered to the tourists swarming in from Southern California. That meant financing the building of a major hotel
Located on the east side of the Highway and directly across from the El Rancho Vegas, the Club Bingo had a prime location. In the years ahead, Prell would also build the Lucky Strike and the Mint Hotel on Fremont Street but it was the construction of the Sahara that led to the creation of the Sahara-Nevada Corporation which he would ultimately sell to Del Webb.
Prell approached Dallas financial wizard A. Pollard Simon with plans for 276 two-story units. Simon agreed to go ahead with the Sahara project despite the fact he was also helping finance Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn. Local air-conditioning contractor Al Wild introduced Prell to Del Webb. Webb had just finished working on the Fabulous Flamingo. Wild had known Webb since 1935. Ultimately, according to Wild, Webb, Prell and Simon agreed to a “cost plus” arrangement that included a percentage of stock (20% it was later learned) in the new hotel be given to Webb as partial payment for his services.
The architect was Max Maltzmann and the designer was Albert Parvin. Maltzmann had been working in Los Angeles since the 1920s. Architecturally, according to Alan Hess, “the Sahara followed the basic partner of the Desert Inn and the Thunderbird. It featured a tall brick pylon at the entry which anchored the low wings that spun outward from its center like a pinwheel.” The motif was similar to the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix by Frank Lloyd Wright. There the sculptural elements of the textile block provided ornament. At the Sahara, the signage became the ornament.
The theme was North Africa. Statues of plastic camels and Arabs dotted the facade. Inside there was the Congo Room (the showroom), the Casbah Lounge and the Caravan Room. All that seemed to be missing was the Cafe Americain from Casablanca. Life-size models of African warriors, spears held high, flanked the Congo Room entrance. A nomadic caravan including camels was placed out front on the lawn.
The Caravan Room looked out over the pool terrace. Like all the other hotels back then, the Sahara was basically a motel in form. It had a low main building with a lobby and a casino in the front and the rooms to the sides. The glassy restaurants such as the Caravan Room looked out not only on the pool area but the well manicured and landscaped lawns. Lucius Beebe gushed “its twenty acres of landscaped ground with rare blossoms and shrubs to make even Boston’s Public Gardens look to its tulips” read more, virtually all about it with note-links, photos and more.
The Moon will be 100% Full: Thursday – July, 14 at 11:39 P.M. Las Vegas time.
From Western Washington University
“American Indians gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year. The names are associated with the entire month until the next full moon occurs. Since a lunar month averages 29 days, the dates of the moons change from year to year. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months.” Two Native tribes are mentioned here – click the WWU link to access more information.”
BACK EAST
Mohawk, Eastern Woodlands
“The Mohawk Indians are part of the Iroquois Indian confederation. They referred to themselves as the Kaniengehaga, which means the people of the flint. The Mohawk Indians are one of the indigenous tribes that inhabited what is now the Mohawk Valley of upstate New York. The Tribes spread throughout New York State and even up into Canada. The word Canada is actually a Mohawk name in itself. Many people are familiar with the famous Mohawk Indian hairstyle, but not many people realize that the Mohawk Indians shaved their heads like this during times of war, in order to look fierce to their enemies” More from Native-Net.Org
Classic Mohawk Hairstyle
According to Western Washington University the Mohawk word for July’s moon is: “ohiarihko” or “time of much ripening.”
OUT WEST
Zuni – Southwest, New Mexico
“The Zuni Pueblo is nestled in a scenic valley, surrounded by the enchanting mesas, located about 150 miles west of Albuquerque. The main reservation, is located in the McKinley and Cibola counties in the western part of New Mexico. The estimated number of acres encompasses about 450,000 acres. The tribe has land holdings in Catron County, New Mexico and Apache County, Arizona, which are not adjoining to the main reservation.” More from Ashiwi.Org
According to Western Washington University the Zuni name for July’s Moon is: “dayamcho yachunne” or “when limbs of trees are broken by fruit.”
From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
“Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.”
“Each full Moon name was applied to the entire month in which it occurred. These names, and some variations, were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.”
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac July’s Moon is: The Full Buck Moon. “Bucks begin to grow new antlers at this time. This full Moon was also known as the Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are so frequent during this month.”
Why corals adore the full moon
“Although, one could easily presume that full moon influences the reproduction of many creatures, this has really only been proven for some species. One assumes this is the case with wolves, specific insects or crabs and also many humans vow not being able to do anything other than to look for the closeness of the other (or the same) sex at full moon. But absolutely certain are scientist only about one animal species that may not even be considered an animal by many: the corals. Here it has been established that reproduction is dependent on water temperature and moon light” read more from FullMoon.Info
The following is a repost from About.Com
Zeke Quezada offers some good Las Vegas essential information.
Zeke’s Las Vegas Travel Blog
By Zeke Quezada, About.com Guide
What is the best hotel in Las Vegas? That is a question with no real right answer, but what is the best hotel in Las Vegas for you? That’s easier.
This Week’s Best Hotel in Las Vegas Pick: Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Yo[sic] have seen Caesars before, it’s been around forever, it was the example of a themed hotel before the volcano, the pirate ship or the Eiffel Tower. Caesars Palace is really a snapshot of Las Vegas over the past few decades and the one place in the center of the strip that seems to be ever expanding, ever changing and always keeping the idea of Las Vegas alive in your head.
Things to check out at Caesars Palace
The Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity 3
The Forum Shops
Wolfgang Puck’s Meatloaf at Spago
Matt Goss
The Garden of the Gods
Francois Payard and his ability to cook read more from Zeke including more “Best Hotels.”
From FullMoon.Inf
“Full moon will be on Tuesday! For many Buddhists this is a special day, because the annual holiday Vesakha is celebrated worldwide. According to tradition, Buddha was born on this fourth full moon of the moon calendar, became later enlightened and also passed away on this same day. Although, you may belong to another world religion or no religion at all, you might find some cause for thought in some of Buddhas sentences. We, for example, liked this sentence: “The greatest prayer is patience”. Who could not take some practice in this?”
From Western Washington University
“American Indians gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year. The names are associated with the entire month until the next full moon occurs. Since a lunar month averages 29 days, the dates of the moons change from year to year. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months.” Two Native tribes are mentioned here – click the WWU link to access more information.
From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
“Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.”
“Each full Moon name was applied to the entire month in which it occurred. These names, and some variations, were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.”
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the name for May’s Moon is: Full Flower Moon – “Flowers spring forth in abundance this month. Some Algonquin tribes knew this full Moon as the Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.”
“Moon and the Gods”
“The Moon is rich in history and folklore, and to many sky watchers, the Moon is home to the gods.” read more from The Old Farmer’s Almanac…
The photo at top is of the Full Moon over an abandoned Adobe – near the border at Tucson, AZ.
First of all, Cinco De Mayo has nothing whatsoever to do with a Fifth of Mayonnaise.
Las Vegas will be helping Hispanics celebrate Mexico’s victory over French forces – May 5 -8, 2011
From WIKI [Brackets are Wiki’s.]
“Not to be confused with Mexican Independence Day, which occurs on September 16[].”
“Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for “fifth of May”) is a holiday held on May 5 that commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín.[2][3] It is celebrated primarily in the state of Puebla and in the United States.[4][5][6][7] While Cinco de Mayo sees limited significance in Mexico itself, the date is observed nationwide mostly in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.[8] “Cinco de Mayo is not a Mexican holiday—it is an American Civil War holiday, created spontaneously by Mexicans and Latinos living in California who supported the fragile cause of defending freedom and democracy during the first years of that bloody war between the states.”[9] Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day,[10] the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.” read more…
by King Steve and British Sweetheart Andrea Hissom. Best Man, Clint Eastwood in background - photo Daily Mail
The following is a repost from Gaming Today
NO WAY THE STEVE WYNN WEDDING COULD STAY PRIVATE
May 03, 2011 6:09 AM by Phil Hevener
“Las Vegas casino events come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they are not even called events.
Which brings us to last week’s marriage of Steve Wynn who needs no introduction, to Andrea Hissom, a woman most of Las Vegas may never know as well as it did former wife Elaine Wynn.”
“What successful casino events all have in common is their ability to attract people with money to spend, who will probably do exactly that in their pursuit of a good time.”
“We should not expect the Wynn-Encore operators to say anything about how the slot drop and table game volumes benefited from the several nights of spirited partying and high living associated with the wedding. No one expects dozens, perhaps hundreds of millionaires and billionaires to spend multiple nights at a high end resort and satisfy their appetites for good times with room service hamburgers and nickel slots – not that the Wynn and Encore casinos necessarily have any of the latter. Read more…
I received this in an email and thought I’d pass it on.
Mandalay Bay Sleep & Eat Special
*All Day Buffet includes Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and must be used on the same day. Only valid for two (2) days of trip and not valid on arrival day. Maximum 2 All Day Buffets per stay.
When I was playing in the recording industry in LA in the 60s, Fender bass-man Ron Brown would speak animatedly about fellow bass player James Jamerson who was recording albums for “Little” Stevie Wonder, among others, at the time. Ron showed me a couple of licks and I was pretty much hooked.
Over the years I could almost always pick out Jamerson’s erratic, yet perfect bass lines. Soon he became the “star” regardless of who was up front on a record. More and more I realized how important this cat was to the music. All those Motown hits like: “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” by the Four Tops; “Dancing in the Street,” by Martha and the Vandellas; “I Was Made to Love Her,” by Stevie Wonder; and “You Can’t Hurry Love,” by the Supremes, and countless others were standout hits greatly due to the excellence of Jamerson’s bass lines, which were in the background – but were they? He played the bass like it was a lead instrument, and he had the stuff to do it. My contention is that Jamerson’s bass lines were the preconscious, so to speak, “hooks” that helped these records soar to great heights. In other words, while the listener was focused on a voice or lead instrument or whatever, these soul-nudging “background” notes were registering on a different level, nevertheless, they were registering. This is not to take anything at all away from the other artists’ abilities, bet they would agree with me.
I’ve often tried to describe his playing like this: He would go up when you expected a note to go down, and would do just the opposite of what a hundred other guys would do.
When you were sitting in a Deuce Coup at the drive-in or cruising down Colorado Boulevard and that song came on that switched on your night in that indescribable way, chances are very good that James Jamerson was driving the music that night in a way that only he could. Thanks Mr. J.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame says it best:
“One of the unsung heroes of the Motown sound, James Jamerson was described by Motown founder Berry Gordy as “a genius on the bass…and incredible improviser in the studio and somebody I always wanted on my sessions.” He was the anchor of the in-house group at Motown dubbed the Funk Brothers. Though few among the record-buying public ever never knew Jamerson by name, they were well-acquainted with his work, which included the bass lines on such Motown classics as “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” by the Four Tops; “Dancing in the Street,” by Martha and the Vandellas; “I Was Made …” read more from The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame…
“Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson” is the title of a book to which there is a link at the R&RHOF website.
First posted March 9, 2011
Will March 19 ‘supermoon’ trigger disasters?
At least one astrologer thinks quakes, eruptions and huge storms possible
By Natalie Wolchover – Space.Com
On March 19, the moon will swing around Earth more closely than it has in the past 18 years, lighting up the night sky from just 221,567 miles away. On top of that, it will be full. And one astrologer believes it could inflict massive damage on the planet.
Richard Nolle, a noted astrologer who runs the website astropro.com, has famously termed the upcoming full moon at lunar perigee (the closest approach during its orbit) an “extreme supermoon.” read more…
The EXTREME SUPERMOON will be 100% full Mar 19, 11:10 A.M. Las Vegas time.
“American Indians gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year. The names are associated with the entire month until the next full moon occurs. Since a lunar month averages 29 days, the dates of the moons change from year to year. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months” – more from Western Washington University…
Native American woman in buckskin Back East
Algonquin (Northeast to Great Lakes) word for March’s full Moon, according to WWU is: “namossack kesos” or “catching fish.”
Hopi potter Out West
Hopi (Southwest Arizona) term for March’s full Moon, according to WWU is: “osomuyaw” or “moon of the whispering wind.” I personally love this phrase. BC
From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.
Each full Moon name was applied to the entire month in which it occurred. These names, and some variations, were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the name for March’s full Moon is: Full Worm Moon. At the time of this spring Moon, the ground begins to soften and earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of robins. This is also known as the Sap Moon, as it marks the time when maple sap begins to flow and the annual tapping of maple trees begins – no Native word is given.
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