Las Vegas Vacation Blog Blog

That was no mirage Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That really was Jeff Gordon riding around the slick, 1.5-mile oval as if he owned the place.

You remember Gordon, don’t you? Four NASCAR Sprint Cup championships. No. 6 on the all-time list with 82 wins.

So where’s he been?

Well, where he was Sunday was in cruise control, dominating a race with such precision it was as if someone had turned back the clock and it was the 13-win, 1998 championship season all over again, a season in which a vintage Gordon amassed an astonishing 19 top-five finishes during the final 20 races.

Although Gordon wound up third on the leader board following the checkered flag, he led 219 of 267 laps, the first time he’s led the field for that many laps since leading 313 laps in a win at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in October 2003.

Gordon also led 168 laps while finishing runner-up at the second Martinsville race in 2007, a race some believe is the last time he’s delivered such a dominating run, and 173 laps in a fourth-place finish at the following race at Texas Motor Speedway. But Gordon said there is no comparison between the Martinsville and Las Vegas races.

“The mile and a half tracks are where championships are won because there’s quite a few of them,” Gordon said Monday during a brief pit stop in Phoenix, where he took part in a Jeff Gordon Day ceremony with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. “Having a strong team and car like that on a mile and a half to me means more than going and dominating at Martinsville.

“So in my opinion, it’s been a lot longer (between dominating races) than Martinsville.”

One thing appears certain. It appears Gordon might be ready to challenge teammate and Las Vegas winner Jimmie Johnson for NASCAR superiority.

“(Sunday) felt good,” Gordon said. “As disappointed as it was to finish third, it felt awesome to be up there. When they dropped the green flag, I was driving by guys and just pulling away.

“The 48 (Johnson) was strong. Had he gotten in front of us any time during the day, he was going to be tough as we were. We knew he was our competition. It just came down to the final pit stop.”

Gordon’s bullish run meant a nine-position jump to No. 13 in the driver standings and only reinforced what he already believed before the season’s first lap, which is he remains optimistic a fifth title hardly is out of the question.

“I really don’t have anything out there I have to accomplish,” Gordon said. “But I really want to win a fifth championship and I’d like to do it before Jimmie Johnson.

“I’ve been optimistic all winter. I feel like (crew chief) Steve Letarte and the team really has been on top of their game and is just really going that extra mile to make us better. I’ve been trying to do the same with communicating with them, working out and doing everything I possibly can.

“So I felt really good about our team just coming into the season. I feel like we ran great at Daytona (26th) and I felt like we ran great at California (20th). Then, we backed it up with a great run and finish (Sunday), where we didn’t have the finishes to show for it in the other two races. But I still felt like our performances were there. We’re definitely building momentum for this year.”

Gordon’s beliefs are a 180-degree turnaround from last season at about this same juncture, even after finishing runner-up at Fontana in February and winning at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

“Even though we won at Texas and we were strong at California, I just don’t feel like we’re going to flatten out t his year,” said Gordon, who never led the most laps in a single race in 2008 and only did it one time last season. “I feel like we’ve got some extra strengths built into the team right now and that’s going to be make us stronger.

“I felt like last year we were at our peak at the beginning of the season. I feel like this year we haven’t reached our peak yet. I really feel like we have a team that can compete with them (Johnson’s team) this year and we showed it at Las Vegas.”

Did he ever.

Mark Armijo is the former auto racing beat writer for the Arizona Republic and is now a frequent contributor to RacinToday.com

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Thanks to Gov. Rod Blagojevich Prison Uniform Night and the stripper-riffic “Over 18″ Night, the ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers have shown a propensity for thinking outside the box for promotional ideas. Little did we know the box actually contained Samoas and Do-si-dos.

Mark your calendars now: On Friday, March 12 at the Orleans Arena against the Bakersfield Condors, the Wranglers are scheduled to hold “Girl Scout Night” in celebration of the 98th birthday of the Girl Scouts of the USA. Part of that celebration is the sure-to-be-instant-classic hockey jersey shown here, modeled after the Girl Scout uniform.

From the Girl Scout Blog:

The Wranglers will be wearing Girl Scout uniform inspired jerseys that will be available for silent auction throughout the game. The Girl Scouts are also offering a special ticket rate of $10 for that night’s game. A portion of the proceeds from the jersey auction and tickets sold by the Girl Scouts benefits the Las Vegas local Girl Scouts of Frontier Council. Other Girl Scout-themed activities are planned throughout the evening.

The Wranglers already have a commercial for the event up on YouTube. That’s some piece of acting by John Schwarz, No. 28 in your programs:

The possibilities for this game are endless. Like sewing on badges for different penalties earned during the game. Like referring to the puck as a “Thin Mint” all night. Like replacing the goal song with “Kumbaya.” Oh, and what we wouldn’t give to see a fight in these sweaters. They aren’t Boy Scouts, you know …

Thanks to Puck Buddy Rachel L. for the tip.

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The Dodgers will play the Cincinnati Reds in a split-squad exhibition game at Las Vegas’ Cashman Field on March 31.

Los Angeles also will play San Francisco that day in Glendale, Ariz., and Cincinnati will meet Oakland at Phoenix. The two Dodgers’ squads then will meet up for an exhibition against Cleveland at Dodger Stadium on April 1.

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Casino shares have shot up amid investors’ optimism about the Las Vegas CityCenter development.

The massive, $8.5 billion casino and hotel development, spearheaded by MGM Mirage(MGM Quote), has been a source of both worry and excitement in the casino industry, as it the market wonders whether the impressive development will steal market share from other casino companies — and maybe even cannibalize MGM’s own businesses.

On Tuesday, investors begged to differ, apparently over renewed optimism that the CityCenter will result in heavier visitor traffic and create a win-win situation for all on the Vegas strip.

MGM Mirage stock has surged by 7.2% to $10.40, on volume of 40 million shares by mid-afternoon. The three-month average daily trading volume of MGM is 25.3 million.

Meanwhile, Wynn Resorts (WYNN Quote), which observers say could lose market share to MGM with the development of CityCenter, rose by 5.3% at $67.40. Amid all the worry, MGM has provided reassurance that there is enough business to go around.

More than 4.6 million shares had traded hands by mid-afternoon. The three-month average daily trading volume for Wynn is 3.8 million.

Las Vegas Sands(LVS Quote), which many feared would also be crushed under the might of the CityCenter, has, for its part, shot up by 7.9% to $17.90 on a volume of more than 53 million shares by mid-afternoon. The three-month average daily trading volume for Las Vegas Sands is 29.3 million.

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A nonprofit environmental advocacy group is rating Las Vegas drinking water among the worst in the nation.

The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group ranks Las Vegas 98th out of 100 cities studied. It says area drinking water contains what it calls a “chemical cocktail” of regulated and unregulated substances.

The Las Vegas Valley Water District says the water it delivers to taps meets all federal safety standards.

Maaco, an auto repair chain based in King of Prussia, Pa., is the new sponor for the Las Vegas Bowl, according to a press release on the bowl’s Web site.

Actually, the game will now be called Maaco Bowl Las Vegas. ESPN Regional Television owns the game. ESPN will televise the game to a national audience.

The game was played on Saturday the past two years, but will now be played on Dec. 22, a Tuesday, in 2009.

”To stay on a Saturday this season would have meant playing the game too early in the month (Dec. 19) and we think the Tuesday slot will be perfect,” said the bowl’s executive director, Tina Kunzer-Murphy. ”Playing on the 22nd gives fans from both teams plenty of time to enjoy the game and still get home for the holidays.”

Arizona beat BYU 31-21 in last season’s game.

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A plan to levy a $5 state tax on sex acts died Thursday in a Nevada Senate committee, one vote shy of the four needed to keep the proposal alive.

SB369 died on a 3-4 vote in the Senate Taxation Committee despite revisions suggested by Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, a minister, to discourage human trafficking in the sex trade and to ensure that a state ombudsman could help prostitutes get out of the trade.

Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, offered another amendment to spread the estimated $2 million a year raised by the tax among outlying Nevada counties where prostitution is legal. That would have excluded several counties, including two encompassing the state’s population centers of Reno and Las Vegas, where prostitution is prohibited.

Washington, Schneider and the bill’s sponsor, Senate Taxation Chairman Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, cast the only votes for SB369.

There was little comment from the four opponents. Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, said he wouldn’t support a new tax on services; and Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, questioned Schneider’s comments that nothing is done about illegal prostitution in the Las Vegas area.

Schneider said the committee heard testimony that there are about 40,000 sex workers and some 3,000 pimps in the Las Vegas area, yet “we kind of get all morally high on these things.”

The state has not collected a dollar in taxes from prostitution since it was legalized in some rural counties more than 30 years ago, and Coffin said that should change because the state is desperate for revenue.

At an earlier hearing on the measure, witnesses included three sex workers at legal brothels, along with a madam and three bordello owners. All but one of the brothel owners spoke in favor of Coffin’s plan to levy the tax and create a state ombudsman to counsel sex workers.

Opponents included prostitution researcher Melissa Farley who termed the bill “an act of legislative pimping” and said the tax proceeds would be “blood money” derived from “a form of sexual abuse” and “paid rape.”

Nevadans pioneered legalized gambling, prize fights and quickie divorces, and for the most part tolerated prostitution even before their state joined the union in 1864. But a historian says a long state history of going against the grain isn’t likely to be enough to advance Coffin’s proposal.

Guy Rocha, in an interview prior to Thursday’s vote, said legislators just don’t want to deal with such a politically charged issue and instead “just want it to go away.”

“Religious conservatives will line up with liberals and feminists who see this as demeaning to women,” Rocha said. “Some don’t want to give prostitution any legitimacy, even though it’s legal in many rural counties.”

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Pool is one of my favorite gambling or non-gambling games. I would strongly suggest on your Las Vegas Vacation that you play some pool(if of course that’s not out of the norm for you.)

I would suggest The Las Vegas Cue Club

Plenty of action and fun people!

1. Andre’s
   
   401 S Sixth St
   Las Vegas, NV 89101
   Phone: (702) 385-5016
   Fine French food is the culinary language of love.

2. Palm Restaurant (Forum Shops)Great Steaks!
3. Steak House (Circus Circus)Hours of Operation: Open daily for dinner

   Location: Main Casino
   Attire: Casual

4. Aqua (Bellagio)
   
   Go for the tasting menu. Hey, its Vegas- live a little.
   
   
5. Delmonico (Venetian)Owned and operated by colorful celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, Delmonico Steakhouse delivers exciting New Orleans-style cuisine with a unique flair only Chef Lagasse can offer.

6. Renoir (Mirage)Within the surroundings of the Mirage Hotel, you will dine in an exquisite atmosphere defined by French Impressionists, specifically Renoir, of course.
7. Emeril’s New Orleans (MGM)Chef Emeril Lagasse recently partnered with old friends at the Rockwell Group, to renovate Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House in the MGM Grand Hotel.

8. Hugo’s Cellar (Four Queens)Try the: Veal T-Bone au Naturel
   Marinated and broiled to perfection. Served with Bordelaise sauce.

9. Rosemary’sA Wine Spectator Award winning wine list complements the diverse menu and world class beers are granted the same respect as the artisan wine selections. Rosemary’s proudly pours the highest quality spirits and seeks the best ingredients to create a wide variety of classic and innovative signature cocktails.
10. Picasso (Bellagio)Ascend to new dining expectations, in a rare environment that showcases the work of artist extraordinaire, Pablo Picasso and a recipient of the AAA Five Diamond Award for seven consecutive years.

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• 1972 - Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston won the third WSOP event beating Johnny Moss the previous two year’s winner. He took home $80,000. The tournament had only 12 participants.
• 1973 - CBS Sports televised the World Series for the first time.
• 1974 – Johnny Moss beats 15 other players to again win the main event and $160,000
• 1977 - Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson backs up his 1976 win to make it back-to back WSOP wins.
• 1978 – Place prizes were introduced for the first time with the 2nd to 5th finishers of the main event sharing in the prize money for the first time.
• 1989 – Benny Binion, the father of WSOP, passes away this year.
• 1991 – Prize money for first place in the main event tops $1 million for the first time.
• 1997 – Stuey “The Kid” Ungar makes a comeback and wins the main event for the third time after his previous back-to-back wins in 1980 and 1981. And the main event was played outdoors.
• 2003 – Unknown rookie Chris Moneymaker qualifies for the main even by winning his entry to the tournament though an online qualifier, paying only $39 and went on to become the champion winning $2.5 million dollars.
• 2004 – The WSOP was held at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino for the last time, after the Horseshoe was bought by Harrah’s Entertainment.
• 2005 – Johnny “Orient Express” Chan wins his 10th WSOP bracelet setting a new record for the most bracelets won with his victory at the Pot-Limit Omaha event. Four days later, Doyle Brunson also won his 10th WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 No Limit Short Handed event.
• 2006 – College student Jeff Madsen becomes the youngest winner ever of a WSOP event. Aged 21 years, one month, and nine days, he won event #22 taking the $660,948 prize.

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