M Resort, opening March, will cater mostly to locals

The new M Resort is a 700 million dollar project at the far south of Las Vegas Boulevard - some ten miles south of Mandalay Bay.

Unlike other resorts on the strip, the M will cater to locals and expects 80 percent of its business to be from local visits.

M Resort will feature an outdoor amphitheater, buffets, and high quality service. It appears the goal is not so much to out wow the competition, rather to offer locals a comfortable resort environment they can call their home away from home.

Las Vegas Sun reports

Chris Angel / Cirque Show Pushed back to September 12th

Chris Angel of Mindfreak fame is opening a special show with Cirque du Soleil called "Believe". Originally scheduled for Sept 1 the show has had technical problems and will begin September 12th with the big gala grand opening later in October.

The Luxor 100 million dollar venue promises one of the most spectacular Las Vegas shows of all time, but we'll all have to wait a big longer to see how great this show will be.

Luxor.com

CES 2009 Las Vegas

You have new Picture Mail!
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

The Computer Electronics Show is one of Las Vegas' biggest conferences and is the most influential electronics show in the world. Spanning two huge venues - the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands Convention Center at the Venetian Hotel Complex, CES 2009 will be held in January. A new fee structure is making it even easier to get into the exhibitions at this amazing event, though you will find the strip hotels at very high rates for most of the week AND mostly sold out. Consider staying downtown for a cost break. Fremont Street hotels are not as extravagant as the big places on the strip but most offer comfortable, quality rooms in the 50-100 range. Expect to pay 3-5 times that amount on the strip during CES.

CES 2008 Intl Panel. Meyer on leveraging existing cell infrastructure for health.

The Nugget's New 30 Million Dollar Swimming Complex

Who says all the amazing stuff, aside from the Fremont Street Experience, is on the Las Vegas strip? The Golden Nugget now has a spectacular new swimming complex complete with shark tank and waterslides right through the sharks. For pools that will impress everybody also consider the Mandalay Bay swimming complex.

The Palms and Hard Rock - Celebrity Hangouts

In Las Vegas you'll probably have a harder time finding celebrities than in Hollywood, partly because there are so many luxury hotels and clubs on the strip. However the Travel Channel suggests that the Palms and Hard Rock are among your best celebrity sighting bets in Las Vegas.

Palms Hotel | Hard Rock Hotel

Banks Leaving Las Vegas

Las Vegas Construction loans are among the largest in the industry, and have put a strain on some banks with high exposure. Although the commercial real estate industry seems surprisingly healthy given the current residential meltdown, some banks are still suffering under the pressure.

This Bloomberg story notes how building continues as banks joust for control of a major Las Vegas project:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a1YI9rQC09sw&refer=home

Las Vegas City Summary from Wikipedia

You'll want to check out Wikipedia for a nice history and overview of Las Vegas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas%2C_Nevada

I also have some notes from the PBS Las Vegas special here along with a lot of pictures from the Las Vegas Strip, Fremont Street, and more.

This blog is almost exclusively dealing with the travel and tourism side of Las Vegas, one of the world's hottest destinations. However there is a lot more to this city including the University of Las Vegas, residential neighborhoods, parks, and much much more.

We'll post Las Vegas relocation information in the future and more about retirement in Las Vegas, but for Las Vegas Retirement information click here.

For USA Retirement information check out the Retire USA Blog