Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category

The luck o’the Irish is making its way to Vegas for St. Patrick’s Day 2010. Here are some of the events going on to celebrate the greenest holiday of the year.

RockHouse Bar & Nightclub
Beerfest 2010
Come dressed wearing something green and get free entry before 10 p.m. Drink specials include two-for-one Budweiser St. Patrick’s Day commemorative aluminum green beers, green daiquiris and Rockhouse’s signature 80-ounce souvenir guitars filled with a choice of frozen daiquiri or beer for $38. If that doesn’t satisfy your thirst, Rockhouse is also offering $5 Patron shots and $5 Jager car bombs. Rockhouse is located in front of Imperial Palace.

McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon at Rio
St. Patty’s Day Shenanugans
This party is March 13 – 17 and features green beer, festive drink specials and live entertainment. March 13 is St. Practice Day where you can ready your liver for days of drinking with music group the Celtic Rockers who’ll hit the stage at 9 p.m. March 14 is Bloody Sunday featuring U2 cover band Vegas U2 starting at 9 p.m. March 15 is Celtic Monday featuring Finnegan’s Wake starting at 9 p.m. March 16 is Lift Up Your Kilt Karaoke with Darby O’Gill & The Little people at 9 p.m. On March 17, the festivities kick off with Kegs & Eggs from 7 a.m. – 11 a.m. for $20. The day will also include a build-your-own green bikini contest for a $1,000 cash prize and live entertainment throughout the day.

McMullan’s Irish Pub
This pub is celebrating with festivities March 12 – 14 and 17. On March 12 – 13 the pub will host live music from 6 p.m to 12:30 a.m. On March 14 the live entertainment will be from 6:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. On March 17 the party starts inside with live music from 1 p.m. – 1 a.m. including the Pog Mo Thoin Bagpipers. Darby O’Gill & The Little People and The Greenland Whalefishers will be performing outside during the day.

J.C. Whooloughan Pub at Rampart Casino
This party starts March 12 and goes through March 17. Irish Happy Hour runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 12 – 13 and 15 – 16 featuring pints of Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s for $3. Get your gig on with Irish band the Wild Celts who will perform from 8 p.m. to midnight March 12 – 13. Thompson/O’Keefe will perform on March 16. There is no cover.

On March 14 the bar hosts a traditional Irish brunch and Seisiún from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $25 a person and children 10 and under are $15. Entertainment will be provided by Martin Percival School of Irish Dance and John Windsor. Reservations can be made by calling (702) 869-7725.

On St. Patrick’s Day the party starts at 10 a.m. with a smorgasbord of food and libation including a traditional steamship of Corned Beef Carvery served at 11 a.m. and available throughout the day. Entertainment starts at noon with John Windsor, Acoustic Soul and Thompson/O’Keefe providing continuous music throughout the day.

At 3 p.m. The Backyard opens with live entertainment by Tartanic starting at 4 p.m. Their high-energy show features large drums and bagpipes. The Wild Celts will perform at 9 p.m. until the wee morning hours. The cover charge on March 17 is $20 and it starts at 1 p.m. It allows guests access to both the pub and the outdoor venue. Tickets can be reserved by calling (702) 869-7725

Henderson St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival
Now in its 44th year, this annual celebration, hosted by the City of Henderson and the Sons of Erin, will run from March 11 – 14 in the Henderson Events Plaza on 200 S. Water Street in the Water Street District.

This family-friendly event features a parade, carnival, car show, live entertainment and more. Admission is free. Carnival hours are: 5 – 10 p.m. March 11 – 12; noon – 10 p.m. March 13; 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. March 14.
The main event and parade will be on March 13 at 10 a.m. It will include more than 100 festive floats, Celtic dancers, bagpipers and marching bands that will travel the mile-long route on Water Street from Ocean Avenue to Victory Road. The theme this year is “Rainbow & Pot of Gold.” After the parade, guests can enjoy live entertainment and the carnival, which will run from noon to 10 p.m. A car show will start at noon.

More Parties
Other places to find St. Patricks Day parties in Vegas include: Nine Fine Irish Men at New York-New York, O’Sheas’ Casino, Fremont Street Experience, Hennessey’s Tavern on Fremont Street and Crown & Anchor  near UNLV.

Dinning Specials
To get a real taste of the Irish, here are some not-to-be-missed dining specials.

Snap at Eastside Cannery will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 with a special three-course menu for $14.99 featuring traditional Irish favorites including beef brisket, Irish stew and Irish cream cheesecake with Irish Mist whipped cream.

Promenade Café at Rampart Casino will offer a special three-course St. Patrick’s Day menu on March 17 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $6.99 and dinner will be served from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. for $7.99. The menu will feature traditional Irish dishes including tender corned beef brisket, shepherd’s pie skillet and Bailey’s Irish Cream cheesecake with Irish Mist whipped cream.

Rampart Buffet will also feature a special Irish menu on March 17 from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. for $7.99 for lunch and $9.99 for dinner. The menu will feature traditional Irish dishes including bangers and mash, cottage chicken and mushrooms, champ and crispy onions, beef shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, Limerick sausage roll, honey mustard ham, rhubarb pie and spice cake.

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By Jamie Helmick
Vegas.com

Unless you’re Kyle Busch, you’re probably not ever going to experience the thrill of breakneck speeds, fast-paced action and the checkered flag waving on the horizon from the driver’s seat of your very own stock car.

But, with NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Shelby American and Nationwide Series Sam’s Town 300 races coming to Vegas Feb. 26 – 28, you can experience it in your own way. Sin City offers up several different options to show your NASCAR stripes, before, after and during the races.

As Junior Johnson, who will be greeting fans at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway all weekend, said, “While NASCAR may have its roots in the southeast, the sport has always had a strong following in the western part of the country.”

We’re here to prove it. Read on to keep your vacation from crashing and burning:

To Do

Pole Position Raceway

To get your weekend started off on the right note — meaning one that’s a little bit adventurous and a lot time-saving, catch a NASCAR helicopter flight. Instead of waiting in traffic, fly right in as helicopters depart from Las Vegas and drop you at the Speedway throughout the day on Sunday — giving you more time for pre-race festivities.

If you’re itching to put pedal to metal in a vehicle that may have been used by Kevin Harvick, Travis Pastrana, Al Unser Jr. or Kyle Busch, check out Pole Position Raceway — a favorite for professionals like those or just folks looking for a little adrenaline.

Using racing karts with around 18-horsepower and the capability to go up to 45 miles per hour, Pole Position Raceway houses a quarter-mile European-style track with straightawaways and hairpin turns.

Racers can see their name on a huge screen above the track and check their progress relative to the other contenders. After it’s all over, a scorecard breaks down your splits and speeds for you — and shows exactly who among your friends is the fastest. If you grab a prize beforehand, you can have your own little Vegas Cup race.

For those that prefer to watch cars instead of drive them, Imperial Palace’s Auto Collection, located on the fifth floor of the hotel’s parking structure, is a display like no other, housing more than 300 cars, including racing cars, muscle cars and touring roadsters.

Plus, just a little bit down from the Imperial Palace is the Venetian and Madame Tussauds. Stop in to get your picture taken with a wax likeness of Dale Earnhardt — and get ready for a ton of Facebook comments.

To Eat

Nascar Cafe at Sahara

As Richard Petty and his Cheerios box would tell you, making sure you get a good meal is key and there’s no better place to eat your fill on race weekend than the NASCAR Café inside the Sahara.

The restaurant is massive, with NASCAR memorbilia, including items worn and used by some of NASCAR’s top racers, as well as a Pontiac Gran Prix stock car designed by Dale Earnhardt. Plus, an expansive TV and sound system means if there’s action to be seen, you won’t miss a second of it.

Portions at the NASCAR Café are huge and could definitely keep you full through hundreds of laps. The menu includes American favorites like barbeque and burgers, but also gets a little more adventurous with items like a six-pound burrito.

You read that right, at six pounds and almost two feet long, the NASCAR Café’s B3 (big, badass burrito) and the challenge surrounding it, is like the Daytona 500 of eating. The burrito’s $20, but if you finish the whole thing, it’s free and you get a lifetime pass on the Sahara’s roller coaster, Speed – The Ride. Pace yourself though, or three pounds in you’ll spin out and never catch back up.

While you’re at the Sahara, don’t miss the Las Vegas Cyber Speedway, a simulated race car game that’s not quite the real thing, but still pretty darn fun.

If you’re on the other end of the Strip and hungry, stop into Harrah’s. Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar’s got great food, strong drinks and we’d be willing to bet that you’ll be able to find more than a few people to talk race predictions with.

To See

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas

You’ll catch a sample of his work if you’re attending the race on Sunday, but Terry Fator is more than just the guy singing the national anthem. The former America’s Got Talent winner has set up shop at the Mirage and, since you can’t watch cars all the time, why not check out his show? Fator’s pretty confident that the two pair well.

“I believe that my fans and NASCAR fans are one and the same, so it is a match made in heaven,” Fator said. “I grew up in Texas, so you know I’m a NASCAR fan!”

If the song selections from Fator’s show have put you in the mood for some country, check out the tribue show, “American Superstars” at the Stratosphere — it’s not actually Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood singing, but after a long day at the speedway, you’d never know.

To Celebrate

Whether your driver won or you’re just happy to be here, there are plenty of places in town to get your “boogity, boogity, boogity” on.

At Stoney’s Rockin’ Country, you’ve got a little bit country, a little bit rock ’n’ roll, and a lot of non-stop good times. Whether you’re riding the mechanical bull, dancing, bowling or just taking advantage of the amazing draft specials, Stoney’s is the spot for post-race festivities.

For action all in one place, check out Town Square. Upstairs there’s Cadillac Ranch, which houses another mechanical bull and is filled with TVs and good food. Downstairs, Yard House keeps more than 100 beers on draft and the bar area is surrounded by TVs to make sure you don’t miss a minute of NASCAR coverage.

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Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace is getting a new face, international pop sensation Matt Goss. Rest assured he’s not going to be replacing the prominent gold Cleopatra figurehead that guests walk under while passing the bar, but he is going to be the new lounge act starting March 12.

Matt Goss performs at the announcement of his new show at Cleopatra's Barge in Caesars Palace.

 “This production will add another exciting entertainment dimension to Caesars Palace and revive the Las Vegas tradition of presenting major recording artists in the city’s most popular late-night venues. I can imagine that Frank Sinatra is looking down from heaven smiling, as we make this announcement,” said Caesar Palace President Gary Selesner at a press conference on Jan. 28.

He along with show producer Robin Antin, creator of the Pussy Cat Dolls, made the announcement.

Afterwards media and other invited guests, along with a crowd of on-lookers, were treated to a preview of “Matt Goss Live from Caesars Palace produced by Robin Antin.” Goss, his 9-piece band, three sexy dancers branded “The Dirty Virgins” and two back-up singers performed several songs including “Luck Be A Lady” and an original called “Evil.”

Cleopatra’s Barge has been a Caesars Palace staple since it opened in August of 1970. Over the years it has gone from hip lounge to nightclub to just another casino bar amidst various others located in the expansive hotel. But now with Goss’ presence the bar is back in the spotlight.

At the conference Goss said that he thinks the new show will make Cleopatra’s Barge the next ”must-see destination point” in Vegas. 

To better accommodate the new show Selesner said that they are going to make the bar “a little less Egyptian and a little more contemporary to match Matt’s personality.”

Before the show opens the bar will be refurbished with new red curtains, carpet, furniture and other adjustments to recreate a vintage Vegas feel with maitre d’ seating, tableside cocktail service and specialty cocktails.  

On Friday and Saturday evenings when Goss performs the bar will be called The Gossy Room at Cleopatra’s Barge to let people know that the iconic venue has a new headliner. Previously Goss performed a limited-time engagement show at the Palms. His new show will be at 10 p.m.

While some people in Vegas might not be familiar with Goss, in other parts of the world he’s a well known entertainer. He rose to fame as a member for the ’80s pop group Bros. The group had more than a decade of success and sold more than 17 million records worldwide. In 2005 Goss released an autobiography that achieved “Best Seller” status in the “London Sunday Times.” He went on to focus on songwriting and penned the theme song for the No. 1 Fox program “So You Think You Can Dance.” He also wrote the hit song “Change Me” for Keri Hilson and Akon. When he’s not performing Goss is working on his next studio album.

Click here to see a video of Goss’s performance from the press conference:

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You won’t find sequins or feathers at these dance revues. What you will see are hard-bodied hunks wearing thongs and knee pads. As much as showgirls have become an icon in Vegas, performers in all-male revues are also a mainstay on the Las Vegas Strip.

Since 2002, “Chippendales” and “Thunder From Down Under” have called Vegas home, paving the way for other all-male revues including “Men of X” and “American Storm.”

“If that six-pack starts slipping to a four-pack, if you start losing those abs, people notice.” James Wilcox, Chippendales dancer

Dancing for crowds of screaming women, tearing off a white tank top and maintaining a muscular physique probably doesn’t sound like a job. But in the case of a male dancer, it’s all in a day’s work.

For James Wilcox transitioning from teaching health and physiology classes at Johns Hopkins Medical School to joining “Chippendales” was all part of the plan.

Performing in the show was on Wilcox’s bucket list. During a layover in Vegas, he finally decided to see what “Chippendales” at the Rio was all about. Despite his desire to be in the show he said he expected to see a bunch of “cheesy strippers.”

“By the end of the opening number I was blown away… I knew at that point that I wasn’t going to be a teacher for too much longer. Then I just had to figure out how to get hired because I had no dance background and I didn’t know exactly what they were looking for,” said Wilcox.

With five and a half years of working as a Naval Officer under his belt and his experience as a personal trainer, the fitness part came easy. Even the stripping aspect of the show wasn’t a challenge for him.

“I’ve always been very comfortable with my body. While I was personal training and teaching at Johns Hopkins I was a body builder. Standing in front of large crowds wearing very little is something that I had learned to not only not be embarrassed or shy about, but to actually enjoy and feed off of,” said Wilcox.

Despite having the right physique, it took Wilcox about a year and a half to get hired as a Chippendale, during which time he took dance classes. He was the only performer hired for the Las Vegas cast over a three-year period.

“That speaks partly to the quality of the performers and the scrutiny that anyone who makes it in the Las Vegas show should expect to go through,” said Wilcox.

Other requirements for every lead Chippendale in the Vegas show are a height of more than six feet tall, a perfect smile, dance ability and a visible six pack.

“If that six-pack starts slipping to a four-pack, if you start losing those abs, people notice. We hang out seven nights a week. You get to know each other very well, and you’ll notice if somebody is not doing their part to stay in top physical condition,” said Wilcox.

Being a Chippendale means more to him than just performing on stage. Through the show he also gets to work with local charities including five different events that he did during the summer.

“I never would have thought I’d say this, but all the jobs I’ve had, I’d say just short of the military, this is the job that I feel like I’ve been able to contribute the most to my community or the country on the whole, and that always feels good,” said Wilcox.

While Wilcox is married, he explained that for single Chippendales one of the main job perks is meeting women after the show in the Flirt Lounge and “other destination points.”

“I personally don’t know too much about that, but we do hear the stories,” said Wilcox.

Matthew Fardell who’s been in “Thunder From Down Under” for the past 10 years, described performing as a male dancer as a “dream job.”

“I come from a small country town of 500 people, so it wasn’t the obvious step.” Matt Fardell, Thunder from Down Under dancer

“You get to travel to 14 different countries and see the world with a bunch of different guys and live by your own rules” said Fardell.

He performed with the touring cast before joining the first “Thunder From Down Under” cast in Vegas seven years ago, which eventually moved to its current home at the Excalibur.

Prior to that, he was working towards his master’s degree in physical science and had a job at a fitness center. One of the performers from “ManPower,” as the show was called in Australia, came into the gym for a short-term membership and asked Fardell if he was interested in being in the show. It wasn’t something he had ever considered before, but with the show’s good reputation in Australia he decided to give it a shot and sent in some photos. Two weeks later he was interviewing with the show’s owner. Fardell was always into fitness so having the right body for the job came naturally.

“Dancing was the hardest part for me and getting used to taking your clothes off on stage in front of a whole bunch of people is, ah, I come from a small country town of 500 people, so it wasn’t the obvious step,” said Fardell.

Aside from learning the dance routines and staying in shape, Fardell explained that having a sense of humor is an important part of being in the show.

“We’re not a bump and grind show where we’re all serious about ourselves. There’s a lot of choreography and a lot of jokes. Our emcee is hilarious. It’s just a good fun night,” said Fardell.

Personality is a big factor when auditioning new talent, all of which is done in Australia. A guy can have a great body and be a talented dancer but if they aren’t good with the public then they can’t be in the show.

“Frankly, we’re looking for guys that aren’t d—heads. That’s the number one criteria. You have to be able to mix easily with people of all ages and backgrounds,” said Fardell.

The interactive element of all-male revues is something that only male dancers have to deal with, explained producer Angela Stabile. She used to dance in “Crazy Girls” and has created both all-female and all-male revues with her husband, including “X Burlesque” at Flamingo and “Men of X” at Hooters. In “Men of X” the performers go into the audience to say hello to and dance with women in the crowd.

“[The customers] actually touch their chest and that never happens with the girls. It’s definitely a double standard,” said Stabile.

In “American Storm” at V Theater at Planet Hollywood, men have to pass a psychological interview as part of the audition process, explained performer Tony Cress. This is to determine why guys want to be in the show and if they can handle interacting with women in the audience.

Cress became a member of “American Storm” through the reality television show “StripSearch” on VH1. Before that, he was working as a bartender and personal trainer in Chicago. Not only did he have to
get comfortable with removing his clothes in front of  a crowd, he had to do it with a film crew following his every move.

“You basically have to learn to lose most of your inhibitions and not be shy at all, which I kind of am. I’m kind of shy as a person anyway and to go the opposite spectrum it was hard,” said Cress.

His twin brother also performs in the show and helped him overcome his apprehensions about performing while wearing a costume that leaves little to the imagination.

“You play it off like you are used to it, but still in the back of your mind you’re like, ‘I’m naked in front of these people and they expect me to do something cool,’” said Cress.

He explained that being prepared for any unplanned scenarios that might happen during the show, like a woman throwing her panties on stage or flashing the dancers is all part of being a performer.

“You can’t break character if someone comes up and pulls your pants down. You just pull them back up, start smiling, laughing and continue on,” said Cress.

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By Jennifer Whitehair
Vegas.com

Multimedia Look At Puppetry

	Step inside the world of Terry Fator in a unique interview.
	Learn about shadow puppetry with the cast of “KÀ.”
	Meet Damian Baldet, Timon, from Disney’s “The Lion King.”
	Go backstage with the performers of “KÀ” as they transform a man into a crab.

Terry Fator

In 1989 a puppet army invaded the Las Vegas Strip.

Using classic puppetry techniques, designer Michael Curry transformed 12 female dancers into a golden army of more than 160 marching figures for Siegfried & Roy’s show at the Mirage.

Twenty years later, puppetry occupies headline roles in numerous top Las Vegas shows from Disney’s “The Lion King” and Terry Fator to Cirque du Soleil’s “KÀ,” “LOVE” and “Believe.”

Puppetry may appear to be an incongruous fit with a town whose nickname is “Sin City.” It is often stereotyped as “for the kids.” For many, children’s televisions shows like “Howdy Doody,” “The Muppet Show,” and “Sesame Street” were their first introduction to puppetry.

“You say puppetry and people think of juvenile work, but then what we have done with it – Terry Fator, Julie Taymor and I, and different folks – is take it really seriously and put it out there as a real art form,” says Curry. Curry has designed puppetry and props not only for “Lion King,” but also “KÀ,” “LOVE,” “Believe” and “Le Rêve” in Las Vegas. You can also find his puppet designs in the Metropolitan Opera, the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 Olympics, New York’s Millennium celebration, movies and more.

“It’s not just for children,” Curry explains. “I haven’t done work for children although children like my things. How rare is that, that we can have a technique that operates well multi-culturally, multi-gender and multi-age. It’s a good technique and that’s why I think it’s going through a renaissance.”

For Las Vegas, with its diverse audiences, entertainment like puppetry that can cross cultural, age and gender lines is a requirement for a successful show. Last year 26.6 million of Vegas’ 37 million visitors saw a show – four million of them were from another country. The age composition of Vegas audiences is even more diverse, ranging from 5 to 90 years old.

“Puppetry spans all generations,” says Terry Fator, whose show at the Mirage features a range of characters from Winston the Impersonating Turtle to Vicki the Cougar. “I have people that come to my show that are under 10 and I have people who come to my show who are over 90 and they all go away saying the same thing: ‘It was like magic. The puppets came to life. For 90 minutes I didn’t think about anything but watching those puppets sing, tell jokes and have fun.’ ” And, as Fator’s puppet Emma pipes in to say, “That’s the magic.”

Making Magic

Puppetry is often compared to magic for its ability to engage and surprise the audience. It doesn’t even necessitate the use of a physical puppet. Shadow puppetry is one of the oldest forms of puppetry, dating back thousands of years, yet this ancient art is a key component in two hit Las Vegas shows – “The Lion King” and “KÀ.”

Shadow puppetry is low-tech. Take a light source and then insert an object to cast a shadow, which becomes the character the puppeteer is trying to create.

“KÀ” ranks as one of Vegas’ most technically complex shows. Its custom built stage, lighting, props and sound all contribute to a show that is often compared to a special effects-laden movie. With all of these effects, it comes as a surprise that many audience members’ favorite scene in the show involves no complex special effects, just two of the characters – played by Sheri Haight and Kleber Berto – creating shadow puppets.

“For a lot of the audience it’s like a magic trick,” says Haight.

“I know when we are doing the show they think it’s a projection on the wall,” says Berto. “They don’t think it is real. But we do it for real every single night.”

“Most people are just speechless in the audience,” adds Haight.

Even when a puppet and the puppeteer are in full view of the audience, that magical spell isn’t broken.

Actor Damian Baldet is part of a cast of 50 who employ more than 200 puppets to perform “The Lion King.” Baldet portrays Timon, the outrageous meerkat who, together with Pumba, makes up an Abott and Costello-like duo who are responsible for much of the comedy in “The Lion King.”

To create the character, Baldet works with a 15-pound puppet whose design is similar to Japanese Bunraku puppets where a large puppet (usually between 3 and 4 feet tall) is manipulated by three puppeteers. Baldet is covered in green facial make-up and a green body suit with a plant-like pattern that focuses attention on the Timon puppet.

While the audiences’ focus may be on the puppet, the actor is never forgotten.

Curry, who worked with Director Julie Taymor in creating the “Lion King’s” puppets, likes to tell the story of the audience member who came up to him and commented about the show, saying: “I love it when the eyebrows move on the puppets.”

Only one problem – the eyebrows are painted on.

“That was the actors’ eyebrows moving,” says Curry. “This is what is so great. We’re so expert in reading the human face that when the actor does that, it transposes to the puppet … they fill in the lost lines.”

This unique relationship between the puppet and actor is key to the success of “Lion King” and other shows that employ puppetry. The fusion of the actor’s performance with the puppet creates the full character.

“There’s a back and forth,” explains Baldet. “Julie Taymor talks about this thing called a double event. There’s human event and there’s a puppet event and that ratio is in flux depending on the demands of the story-telling.”

“It’s ultimately not about the actor,” he says. “It’s about putting your attention always through the puppet and not around or over the puppet. It’s a humbling experience, but ultimately very awesome.”

That relationship is not limited to just the actor and puppet but grows to encompass other performers and the audience.

“For us it’s such a good feeling because you are so close to the theater audience,” Berto explains. “We can see people smiling, laughing, getting surprised by the puppets we do.”

Behind the puppet is the puppeteer

Shadow Puppetry

The key component behind any successful puppetry is the performer.

“Puppets, as much as we like to say they have life, they don’t,” says Curry. “They lay there on the table when not attended by a person.”

However, there is no university of puppetry. The path performers take to master the art is as varied as the puppets. Some performers took up puppetry as kids. Others had no previous experience other than watching “The Muppet Show.” But all agree, it’s about bringing the character and story alive.

Curry worked closely with Cirque du Soleil when he designed more than 10 puppets being used in “KÀ.”

When asked how he starts the process, you get a one-word answer.

“Story!” he exclaims. “This is what makes a piece fit in the show. It’s not its own special effect. It’s one that is supplementing and furthering story. It’s something I am absolutely focused on all the time. I talk people out of puppets all the time because it doesn’t help the story.”

His creation process is both physical and visual, combining designs and prototype creations with real–world usage. This process eventually leads to the performer.

“It is very exciting for me to finish a piece and then it has a second life. That’s when I put it in the hands of a performer,” Curry says. “Then I work with them finding their role with that piece.”

For “KÀ” that meant a collaboration between Curry and the acrobatic performers who would bring to life a crab, turtle, starfish and other denizens of a sandy beach.

Eric Henderson performs as the crab in KA

“It does take a personality to make a puppet come to life,” explains JanNelle Rivers, “KA’s” head of props and puppets. “You and I can both learn the movements but we couldn’t make the puppet come to life without that personality.”

That takes the talent of performers like Eric Henderson who can perform as either the crab or the starfish.

“The biggest challenge is taking the human out of it and keeping everyone thinking that it is a crab,” Henderson says. “We know it is a puppet but we want to make it as much of a crab as possible.”

To do that, performers study the real-life movements and emotions of the characters they are portraying. It also means interpreting human emotions and characteristics and conveying those through a puppet.

“There’s a weird translation process that happens between what you have in your brain and what looks right on a puppet,” explains Baldet.

For the character of Timon, Baldet wanted to capture the swaggering braggadocio of the character’s ego in his walk. But the typical wide-legged stance didn’t look good on the puppet. Baldet had to find a way to channel that emotion into a rather mincing walk.

Practice in front of mirrors forms the key as performers explore the nuances of each gesture and move of a puppet.

Damian Baldet as Timon in Disney’s The Lion King

“It was a really interesting journey,” Baldet says. “The first three months my body was just trying to catch up to being able to physically do the show with the puppet. Once I got over the weariness, soreness and pain – after about six months I’d be backstage having a conversation with somebody with my hand in the puppet and I wouldn’t realize it but the puppet would be looking where I looked and talking when I talked. It sort of grafted itself onto my psyche. That was a really cool point. It has found its host and embedded itself in my brain.”

That character creation continues on even after the puppet has debuted on stage.

“There’s always ways to find new things to do with the puppet,” says Baldet

Fator is constantly introducing new characters in his show. Vicki the Cougar and a Beatles’ inspired puppet were introduced when he moved his show to the Mirage. For his one-year anniversary on March 14, he will debut another new character.

“I like having the variety,” Fator says. “I don’t want anything ever in my show to just become one type of puppet. I want to be creative. Whatever my brain comes up with I want to do.

“I love every single character I’ve created. It’s a little creation of yourself – like an artist might love a painting that they create. It’s just a part of my art.”

Puppet popularity

The puppet invasion of the Las Vegas Strip shows no signs of letting up. Curry is currently at work on projects for Las Vegas, including some new pieces that will debut this spring. Jeff Dunham has recently signed a contract for a series of performances at Caesars Palace’s Colosseum.

Curry and Fator see puppetry’s popularity as a reaction to the world around it.

“I think one of the reasons puppetry has become so popular in Vegas, and we’re seeing this trend worldwide, is it makes you feel young again,” says Fator. “We all want to remember those times when we didn’t have to worry about the bills and we didn’t have to worry about a job. It was just a matter of seeing a puppet and feeling like a kid again. That’s really what the magic of puppeteering does.”

Curry believess that puppetry connects directly with an audience like no other medium.

“So here we are in a time in our history, acerbated by politics and economics, where we want more heart,” explains Curry. “And I think puppetry can deliver that in a way.”

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One of the best things about Las Vegas is that there is something for everyone to enjoy no matter what your interests are. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Vegas regular, or you’ve never been here, there’s always something new to check out and probably something you haven’t tried yet. Whatever kind of trip you’re planning, whether it’s to indulge in nightlife or take advantage of recreational opportunities available around the city, we’ve put together a guide that will help you plot out your entire stay, from where to grab dinner to where to buy your souvenirs.

First Timer

Where to Stay: If it’s your first trip to Vegas, you’ll probably want to stay somewhere in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip to be close to all of the action and be able to walk to as many places as possible. Some choices near the center of the Strip are Harrah’s, the Flamingo, the Bellagio and Caesars Palace. Another area with a lot going on is the corner of Tropicana and the Strip, which is home to New York-New York, the MGM Grand, the Tropicana and the Excalibur hotels. There are elevated walkways between all of the properties to make it easier to get from one to another.

Where to Eat: Even if you haven’t been here, you’ve probably heard about Las Vegas buffets and just about every hotel has one that allows you to indulge in all you can eat for a relatively economic price. One of the biggest and most varied is the Carnival World Buffet at the Rio, which offers everything from seafood to Asian specialties and Mexican dishes. Las Vegas is also home to many restaurants from some of the biggest celebrity chefs in the world so you might want to try Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, Emeril Lagasse’s Table 10 or Thomas Keller’s Bouchon.

The Forum Shops at Caesars

Where to Shop: Sure you have shopping malls back at home, but we guarantee you’ve never seen one like this. The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace features Roman architecture, fountains, talking statues, spiral escalators and a faux sky that changes colors. Oh, and did we mention you can browse shops like Versace, FAO Schwarz and Pucci?

Attractions to See: Start with the famous Welcome to Las Vegas Sign — you’ve seen it on TV and in photos and you should get your picture taken there to commemorate your trip. A few other must-sees for the first-time visitor: the Bellagio fountains and conservatory, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, Hoover Dam and free shows like the Sirens of TI and the volcano at the Mirage.

Entertainment: Nothing says Vegas like showgirls and if you’ve never seen one, then you’ll want to head to Bally’s to see “Jubilee!” The showgirls are everything you expect to see in a Vegas production show, wearing 1,000 different costumes made with 8,000 miles of sequins. Las Vegas is also home to big-name Broadway shows like “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular,” “Jersey Boys” and “Disney’s The Lion King.”

The Art Lover

Where to Stay: Art lovers will want to stay at one of two properties – CityCenter or Bellagio – and luckily there just happens to be a tram between the two. Bellagio is home to the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art and a chandelier by glass sculptor Dale Chihuly. Visitors can also see the Art of Richard MacDonald Presented by Cirque du Soleil, an exhibit of broze sculptures and original sketches. CityCenter is home to the first major permanent collection of art in Las Vegas to be integrated into a public space. The Fine Art Collection features works by acclaimed artists, sculptors and visionaries including Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer and Claes Oldenburg, among others. The Gallery at CityCenter, a 4,350-square-foot facility located within the Crystals shopping center, features artwork from Chihuly.

Picasso Restaurant

Where to Eat: Picasso restaurant at Bellagio serves the cuisine of award-winning Executive Chef Julian Serrano and surrounds diners with an extensive collection of original Pablo Picasso artwork. The restaurant’s entrance is also a tribute to the artist with wood beams, terra-cotta tile and hanging pottery.

Where to Shop: Inside the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, art lovers will appreciate the Peter Max and Peter Lik galleries. Peter Max’s gallery features abstract, psychedelic art while the art of Peter Lik showcases his vivid, digitally-enhanced photographs. Centaur Art Galleries at the Fashion Show mall features masterpieces from notable artists from the 16th century to modern times.

Attractions to See: In Vegas, neon is definitely an art form, so head downtown and check out the Neon Museum, a self-guided walking tour of 10 fully restored neon signs, all located downtown, mainly along the Fremont Street Experience. If you’re downtown on the first Friday of the month, the city’s arts distict hosts a festival covering more than 20 city blocks where you can make the rounds of all the galleries and shops.

Entertainment: If you are checking out the downtown arts district, stop in for a drink at the Downtown Cocktail Room, a sophisticated and swank gathering place filled with stylish modern design and interesting art. If it’s a show you’re after, “Crazy Horse Paris” at MGM Grand bills itself as “a celebration of the artistry of the nude,” and features beautiful female dancers whose bodies become canvases upon which light, colors and images are projected.

The Outdoors Enthusiast

Where to Stay: To be close to all of the outdoor adventure that Red Rock Canyon offers, the closest place to stay is the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa, which is just minutes from the National Conservation Area where you can rock climb, hike, bike and horseback ride. The hotel’s spa also offers an Adventure Spa program with outdoor activities including river rafting and guided hikes.

Where to Eat: Nature lovers will enjoy the Springs Preserve, a 180-acre cultural and historical attraction that features gardens, hiking trails and Wolfgang Puck’s Springs Cafe. The restaurant participates in the WELL program (Wolfgang’s Eating, Loving and Living program), which is dedicated to providing the freshest ingredients while contributing to the conscious treatment of the environment.

Where to Shop: The District at Green Valley Ranch is an outdoor mall with more than 40 shops and restaurants including an REI store, which carries every piece of outdoor sporting equipment imaginable. In the warmer months, the mall often has free outdoor concerts and movies.

Red Rock Canyon

Attractions to See: Besides Red Rock Canyon, outdoor adventurers will want to enjoy boating, hiking and swimming at Lake Mead. In the winter months at Mount Charleston you can ski, snowboard and sled. For the thrillseeker, don’t miss Bootleg Canyon Flightlines, a zip-line tour in Boulder City that takes you soaring through desert and mountain terrain at up to 50 mph.

Entertainment: If you want to dance under the stars you can literally do that at Moon nightclub at the Palms. The club has a retractable roof like you’d see on a planetarium and if you want to head outside, there’s a sizable patio too.

The Night Owl

Where to Stay: If you’re looking to hit up as many nightspots as you possibly can, you might want to book a room at Luxor or Mandalay Bay. The two properties are connected by a walkway and between the two, you can cover many of the hottest clubs and bars in Vegas. Luxor is home to LAX and CatHouse nightclubs and Mandalay Bay offers a stunning array of nightlife choices including the Foundation Room, Mix Lounge, the House of Blues, Eyecandy Sound Lounge & Bar, Red Square vodka bar, Rumjungle nightclub, and Minus 5, a bar made of ice.

Where to Eat: For a restaurant with a nightclub vibe, there’s nothing sexier than CatHouse at Luxor, a French-style restaurant with a well-rounded menu from Chef Kerry Simon and a great lounge / nightlife atmosphere, open until 11 p.m. If you’re out really late, First Food and Bar at Palazzo is open until 4 a.m. during the week and 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant has a full bar, a DJ and some amazing food – don’t miss out on the warm donuts served with delicious dipping sauces.

Show in the Sky

Where to Shop: Malls that are attached to hotels are generally open pretty late and we recommend the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood – after you’re buying that cute new outift, you can stop in to party at Hawaiian Tropic Zone or Cabo Wabo, both located in the mall.

Attractions to See: Vegas is a 24-hour town and if you’re up late, there’s always something to do. Head over to the Rio and watch the Show in the Sky, a parade of floats gliding over the casino floor complete with singing and dancing performers. The show runs until midnight Thursday – Sunday. Looking for something even more exciting? The thrill rides on top of the Stratosphere are open until 2 a.m. on weekends.

Entertainment: There are plenty of shows in Vegas that have 10 p.m. or later show times including Blue Man Group (10 p.m. nightly at Venetian), Matt Goss (10 p.m. Fri. and Sat. at the Palms), X Burlesque (10 p.m. nightly at Flamingo) and Playboy Comedy (10:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat. at the Palms).

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‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the city, people enjoyed festive sights and were feeling quite giddy.

Spending the holiday in Vegas will surely be a treat. There are headliners, attractions and even a sundae for your feet.

A line-up of entertainment helps the holiday spirit ring, with headliners including The Fercos Brothers, Jerry Seinfield and B.B. King.

Untamed Illusions at Planet Hollywood

With yard long margaritas and extra large beers there are plenty of spirits to help spread the cheer.

Twinkling lights, festive garland and holiday visitors abound, it’s Christmas in Vegas, and Santa’s coming to town.

Dining

Simon says: The brunch with bite at Palms Place

Instead of spending the day in the kitchen, relax and indulge in a holiday feast on Dec. 25 from 12 to 7 p.m. at Simon at Palms Place featuring traditional favorites like roasted turkey, beef Wellington and home-style sides. Upon seating, guests will receive a trio of shared bites including Dungeness crab deviled eggs, pigs in a blanket, rosemary roasted nuts and potato croquettes with smoked salmon and crème fraiche. Then guests will visit different stations with soup, salad, hot and cold sides, carved meat and more. The spread is $48 a person and includes either a glass of glass of Chardonnay or pinot noir.

Holidays

Even Vegas stop lights blink red and green

Throughout Vegas guests can find holiday attractions that range from decorated cacti to a winter wonderland filled with polar bears, flying reindeer and toy soldiers.

This holiday season M Resort is home of the nation’s tallest Christmas tree, a 109-foot white fir. The tree is located in M Resort’s Villaggio Del Sole Outdoor Entertainment and Events Piazza and is on display through the New Year.

Enjoy a dazzling lights and cactus showcase at Ethel M Chocolate Factory. Through Jan. 1, guests can meander through a cactus-lined pathway and admire about 300 different species of cactus adorned with more than half a million lights. The garden is open nightly from sundown to 10 p.m. The chocolate factory is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Mystic Falls at Sam’s Town, a 25,000-sqaure-foot indoor park, features various scenes with animated animals and a light and water show choreographed to holiday music. The free 15-minute show takes place at 6, 8 and 10 p.m. daily, but the beautifully decorated trees, animated animals and other features can be enjoyed throughout the day, through Jan. 2, 2010.

Magical Forest at Opportunity Village located at 6300 W. Oakey Blvd., features an enchanted forest of decorated trees and various holiday themed displays, photos with Santa, nightly entertainment and the Forest Express, a train that winds its way through the two-acre display. This attraction is open daily through Jan. 2, 2010. Hours of operation are 5:30 to 9 p.m. Sun. – Thu.; 5:30 to 10 p.m. Fri. – Sat.

Fremont Street Experience is home to Las Vegas’ official Christmas tree, a 50-foot tree adorned with festive decorations under the 12.5 million lights of the Viva Vision screen. Enjoy the display and free live entertainment by Candy & The Canes who perform nightly throughout the month of December at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.

This year the waterfall atrium at Palazzo is home to an Arctic-inspired winter wonderland display. It features a 16-foot tall polar bear mother and a six-foot tall polar bear baby made of 10,000 specially-developed “Polar Bear” white poinsettias. This free attraction will be on display through the New Year.

Get lost in a dazzling winter wonderland on display through Jan. 2 at Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens. It features eight flying reindeer, a 42-foot Shasta fir ornamented with twinkling lights, giant 13-foot-tall peppermint sticks and a 7-foot-tall custom built rocking horse.

Spa

How about a holiday sweet treat for your feet?

After all the holiday shopping, treat you can treat your feet to a Pomegranite Granita ice cream pedicure at Canyon Ranch Spa at Venetian, throughout December. The pedicure starts with a moisturizing footbath featuring Gotta Have It Pomegranate Ice Cream. Next your feet are exfoliated and cleansed with Gotta Have It Pomegranate Shower Sherbert before they are treated to a marshmallow foot mask. Vanilla body icing is used to moisturize your feet while you sit back, relax and wait for your nail polish to dry.

Shows

Headliners take the stage in Las Vegas

Audiences in Vegas can see David Copperfield’s larger-than-life illusions at MGM Grand 7:30 and 10 p.m. nightly; plus 4:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 24, 2009 – Jan. 20, 2010.

Brothers Tony and Ferdinand Fercos have audiences spellbound in “Untamed Illusions” at Planet Hollywood.

Funny man Jerry Seinfeld brings his observational humor to Vegas Dec. 26 – 27 at Caesars Palace at 7:30 p.m.

Clint Holmes gives audiences something to celebrate at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 25 – 27 at Suncoast.

Blues icon B.B. King gets his audiences in the groove at 8 p.m. Dec. 26 at Buffalo Bill’s.

Grammy Award-winning groups Boyz II Men and Salt-N-Pepa treat audiences to a night of hip hop and R&B hits at 8 p.m. Dec. 27 at Buffalo Bill’s.

See the Black Eyed Peas at 8 p.m. Dec. 29 – 30 at Mandalay Bay.

Psychobilly trio Reverend Horton Heat bring their country, big band and rockabilly inspired hits to the stage at their 8 p.m. show Dec. 29 at House of Blues.

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Las Vegas is viewed by most as a city of excess. We seem to have and waste too much of everything: Food, lights, booze, Elvis impersonators. You may think our concept of “going green” is drinking tinted beer on St. Patrick’s Day.

But truth be told, when it comes to Las Vegas, image is everything. Behind the scenes, many of the city’s biggest hotel conglomerates — including Harrah’s Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Mirage — are working overtime to reduce their carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly.

“We get a bad rap in Vegas as Sin City, but the reality is that Las Vegas is an energy efficient city,” said Eric Dominguez, director of energy and environmental services for Harrah’s Entertainment. “For example, we lead the nation in terms of solar production per capita. And we’re constantly looking for ways to make things better.”

Just letting off steam

Like an underground city, the chiller and boiler rooms at the Paris Las Vegas are located among a series of plain, conservatively lit hallways, tucked below the casino level.

While there are certainly many sexier sights in Las Vegas, these often unseen facilities are actually the hotbed of energy savings at this Harrah’s property. The extra steam from the boilers’ blow down, for instance, is used to heat the facility’s water and run equipment in the emergency generator room. This recycling of heat is using energy that would have otherwise been lost.

Some of the energy saving equipment was already in place when Paris Las Vegas opened in 1999, but there are many instances at Paris and some of Harrah’s older properties where the equipment has been or soon will be upgraded.

“Through conservation we’ve been able to reduce the need for fossil fuels, which has made a huge environmental impact,” said Dominguez. “We conserve 130 kilowatt of energy a year, which is like taking a property like Paris off the grid.”

Harrah’s Entertainment established its commitment to conservation in 2003 and became the first casino to receive the EPA Quality Award in April 2008. Many of the properties have CodeGreen Teams made up of employees focused on reducing the use of natural resources, conserving energy and promoting reuse and recycling. There are more than 74 major conservation projects in place at individual Harrah’s properties, including:

• Lower water flow control in guest areas
• A five megawatt co-generation facility at the Rio hotel to create and use electricity on site and recapture waste heat for hot water
• Employee training on environmentally-friendly practices

Let there be light

Another major initiative of the Harrah’s properties is the substitution of traditional light bulbs with more energy efficient ones. The Paris, the Rio and Caesars hotels have replaced thousands upon thousands of light bulbs both inside and out. Bally’s replaced 4,000 bulbs in its sports book sign alone. In the back of the house at Paris, every other light was removed.

That certainly doesn’t mean the City of Lights has gotten any dimmer.

“Whenever we can, where the guest doesn’t realize, we’ll change to more energy efficient light,” said Jeff McGillivray, assistant director of facilities for Paris and Bally’s. “It uses five times less energy, still looks good and it lasts longer, so we don’t have to change it as often.”

Not only can no one can tell the difference, said Dominguez, but the energy savings are incredible. “We’ve cut energy consumption five-fold,” he said, adding, “Every bit of energy we save here, is energy that doesn’t have to be generated at the power plant.”

Overall, Harrah’s Entertainment has seen a more than $10 million savings per year from existing and completed conservation programs. Among this is the avoidance of more than 155.7 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which Dominguez equated with 81,170 round trip flights between Los Angeles and New York.

Bringing in more green

While energy and monetary savings are expected, Todd Moreau, vice president of food and beverage for Harrah’s and Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon, said there are also some unexpected advantages of going green — it helps the company make more money.

It started in May, when Moreau spearheaded a project to find a reusable solution for water bottles as part of a CodeGreen team. He found that in 2007, Harrah’s was disposing of close to 300,000 one-liter bottles of water in restaurants citywide.

Moreau decided that keeping these bottles out of landfills was a challenge worth tackling. The outcome was a one-liter glass reusable bottle produced by AquaHealth. The stylish bottle, which is available in some Harrah’s restaurants, can be filled with water from an on-site filtration system, then washed along with the restaurant’s other china, and reused.

“We ran a test for 30 days in Bally’s Steakhouse and what we found out was that when we featured something green, that brand name had a bigger impact than any other sparkling or still waters,” said Moreau.

And along with helping the environment, to Moreau’s surprise, the program’s profit margin increased.

“We thought, ‘Wow, first we went green and as now a company we are making better revenues off of it,’” said Moreau.

Born green

CityCenter is one of the world's largest sustainable developments.

Until recently, The Palazzo was the largest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified property in the world. That distinction now goes to the urban development CityCenter, which opened earlier this month.

LEED certification is a premium certificate awarded to environmentally responsible properties by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Palazzo actually conserves enough water to provide each Nevada Citizen with 266 eight-ounce glasses of water a year and saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for 12,100 years.

“We are committed to developing sustainable properties,” said Nicholas Rumanes, vice president of corporate development for Las Vegas Sands Corp. “It’s a larger action as a good corporate citizen, and also to set an example for the rest of the industry to follow. It helps out our business plan, it helps out the environment, it helps out the health of our employees and also the health of our visitors.”

Key elements of the Palazzo’s earth-friendly initiatives include:

• Artificial turf, drip irrigation and moisture sensors in planted areas as well as water efficient shower heads, high efficiency toilets and low-flow faucets inside
• A solar heating system that heats the property’s swimming pools and directs extra solar heat into the hotel’s hot water system. There are also solar panels located on top of the facility’s parking garage.
• Air conditioning controls in the guest rooms, which automatically set back several degrees when guests are not in their rooms. Lighting occupancy sensors in team member services areas that shut off the lights when no one is in the area.

“The part of our green effort here that I really like is harnessing the solar energy,” said Rumanes. “Living in Vegas, it’s 87-and-a-half percent sunny a year. We get probably the most direct sunlight of anywhere else in the United States. And if you really thought of the long term effect if everyone went this green way, we would prevent the construction of these polluting, $5 billion coal power plants down the road.”

The building itself was constructed using eco-friendly materials and more than 70 percent of the property’s waste during construction was diverted, thanks to a waste recycling program. The steel used averaged more than 95 percent recyclable content, while the concrete was 26 percent. There is even a special air filtration system, and a majority of the property is non-smoking, making for an overall healthier facility.

“The air gets really dusty in Las Vegas,” said Rumanes. “You can argue that the indoor air quality at the Palazzo is actually better than outdoors.”

Meanwhile, as one of the largest sustainable developments in the world, MGM Mirage’s CityCenter has six Gold LEED certifications. 

Like the Palazzo, the 18-million-square-foot, seven-building property (which includes ARIA Resort & Casino, The Harmon Hotel, Spa and Residences, Vdara Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, Veer Towers and Crystals retail and entertainment district) integrated the concept of sustainability and earth-friendly initiatives even before it was built. 

CityCenter was constructed with preference to materials made with recycled content, reclaimed materials or those that could be manufactured locally, as well as paints, sealants, adhesives, carpet and composite wood products that do not contain toxic substances. Even the positioning of the buildings to ensure the penetration of natural light was taken into consideration. Read more about CityCenter’s green friendly initiatives.

“While we weren’t the first project on the Strip to be LEED certified, we were the first project to really add in the element of sustainability into our design,” said Cindy Ortega, MGM Mirage’s senior vice president of energy and environmental services. “I think what surprised everyone, is that the idea of the environment and earth actually shows in everything. I had no idea four years ago that I would walk into Aria and I’d be looking at natural stones and natural daylighting and certified wood, but there it all is. We were able on City Center to really breathe the idea and respect of nature into the largest sustainable project in the United States.”

The property includes:

• A co-generation plant providing about 10 percent of the property’s electricity. The throw-off heat from the plant will be used to heat the property’s water.
• Specially-coated windows on Vdara that help reduce heat transfer into the building by reflecting light.
• Settings on the rooms’ remote system in ARIA and Mandarin Oriental allowing guests to green their stay by indicating their preferred light level, room temperature and frequency of linen and towel changes. Systems can also be programmed to turn these settings down or off when the guest is not in their room. Read more about ARIA’s room technology.

CityCenter is expected to save 50 million gallons of water each year as a result of water conservation efforts, such as efficient irrigation systems, low-flow faucets and showers and low-flush toilets throughout the development. The property offers preferred parking for hybrid vehicles, a bike valet and even has a fleet of limos powered by natural gas.

Getting wasted

Another environmental effort by MGMMirage is a program implemented by Mandalay Bay Convention Center to recycle trade show waste. The program enabled Mandalay Bay to recycle upwards of 74 percent of the trade show’s garbage.

In a four month period, with 29 trade shows, more than 6,000 cubic yards of recyclables were collected, while only 2,000 cubic yards went into a landfill. Like most of the eco-friendly initiatives at Las Vegas hotels, these recycling efforts happen behind the scenes and are unseen by the public.

Las Vegas is still a city of entertainment and earth-friendly initiatives will never reduce the guest’s experience, explained Dominguez. “We don’t turn the lights out on the Strip. It’s all about maintaining the image but doing it in a conscious environmental manner,” he explained. “We’ve got energy efficiency projects that are implemented to be seamless.”

Romanes agreed. “If we do our job properly the average customer will not notice that this is a green facility,” he said. “I call it environmental luxury. We’ve proven that you can be luxurious and you can be environmentally sensitive.”

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Las Vegas is viewed by most as a city of excess. We seem to have and waste too much of everything: Food, lights, booze, Elvis impersonators. You may think our concept of “going green” is drinking tinted beer on St. Patrick’s Day.

But truth be told, when it comes to Las Vegas, image is everything. Behind the scenes, many of the city’s biggest hotel conglomerates — including Harrah’s Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Mirage — are working overtime to reduce their carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly.

“We get a bad rap in Vegas as Sin City, but the reality is that Las Vegas is an energy efficient city,” said Eric Dominguez, director of energy and environmental services for Harrah’s Entertainment. “For example, we lead the nation in terms of solar production per capita. And we’re constantly looking for ways to make things better.”

Just letting off steam

Like an underground city, the chiller and boiler rooms at the Paris Las Vegas are located among a series of plain, conservatively lit hallways, tucked below the casino level.

While there are certainly many sexier sights in Las Vegas, these often unseen facilities are actually the hotbed of energy savings at this Harrah’s property. The extra steam from the boilers’ blow down, for instance, is used to heat the facility’s water and run equipment in the emergency generator room. This recycling of heat is using energy that would have otherwise been lost.

Some of the energy saving equipment was already in place when Paris Las Vegas opened in 1999, but there are many instances at Paris and some of Harrah’s older properties where the equipment has been or soon will be upgraded.

“Through conservation we’ve been able to reduce the need for fossil fuels, which has made a huge environmental impact,” said Dominguez. “We conserve 130 kilowatt of energy a year, which is like taking a property like Paris off the grid.”

Harrah’s Entertainment established its commitment to conservation in 2003 and became the first casino to receive the EPA Quality Award in April 2008. Many of the properties have CodeGreen Teams made up of employees focused on reducing the use of natural resources, conserving energy and promoting reuse and recycling. There are more than 74 major conservation projects in place at individual Harrah’s properties, including:

• Lower water flow control in guest areas
• A five megawatt co-generation facility at the Rio hotel to create and use electricity on site and recapture waste heat for hot water
• Employee training on environmentally-friendly practices

Let there be light

Another major initiative of the Harrah’s properties is the substitution of traditional light bulbs with more energy efficient ones. The Paris, the Rio and Caesars hotels have replaced thousands upon thousands of light bulbs both inside and out. Bally’s replaced 4,000 bulbs in its sports book sign alone. In the back of the house at Paris, every other light was removed.

That certainly doesn’t mean the City of Lights has gotten any dimmer.

“Whenever we can, where the guest doesn’t realize, we’ll change to more energy efficient light,” said Jeff McGillivray, assistant director of facilities for Paris and Bally’s. “It uses five times less energy, still looks good and it lasts longer, so we don’t have to change it as often.”

Not only can no one can tell the difference, said Dominguez, but the energy savings are incredible. “We’ve cut energy consumption five-fold,” he said, adding, “Every bit of energy we save here, is energy that doesn’t have to be generated at the power plant.”

Overall, Harrah’s Entertainment has seen a more than $10 million savings per year from existing and completed conservation programs. Among this is the avoidance of more than 155.7 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which Dominguez equated with 81,170 round trip flights between Los Angeles and New York.

Bringing in more green

While energy and monetary savings are expected, Todd Moreau, vice president of food and beverage for Harrah’s and Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon, said there are also some unexpected advantages of going green — it helps the company make more money.

It started in May, when Moreau spearheaded a project to find a reusable solution for water bottles as part of a CodeGreen team. He found that in 2007, Harrah’s was disposing of close to 300,000 one-liter bottles of water in restaurants citywide.

Moreau decided that keeping these bottles out of landfills was a challenge worth tackling. The outcome was a one-liter glass reusable bottle produced by AquaHealth. The stylish bottle, which is available in some Harrah’s restaurants, can be filled with water from an on-site filtration system, then washed along with the restaurant’s other china, and reused.

“We ran a test for 30 days in Bally’s Steakhouse and what we found out was that when we featured something green, that brand name had a bigger impact than any other sparkling or still waters,” said Moreau.

And along with helping the environment, to Moreau’s surprise, the program’s profit margin increased.

“We thought, ‘Wow, first we went green and as now a company we are making better revenues off of it,’” said Moreau.

Born green

CityCenter is one of the world's largest sustainable developments.

Until recently, The Palazzo was the largest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified property in the world. That distinction now goes to the urban development CityCenter, which opened earlier this month.

LEED certification is a premium certificate awarded to environmentally responsible properties by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Palazzo actually conserves enough water to provide each Nevada Citizen with 266 eight-ounce glasses of water a year and saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for 12,100 years.

“We are committed to developing sustainable properties,” said Nicholas Rumanes, vice president of corporate development for Las Vegas Sands Corp. “It’s a larger action as a good corporate citizen, and also to set an example for the rest of the industry to follow. It helps out our business plan, it helps out the environment, it helps out the health of our employees and also the health of our visitors.”

Key elements of the Palazzo’s earth-friendly initiatives include:

• Artificial turf, drip irrigation and moisture sensors in planted areas as well as water efficient shower heads, high efficiency toilets and low-flow faucets inside
• A solar heating system that heats the property’s swimming pools and directs extra solar heat into the hotel’s hot water system. There are also solar panels located on top of the facility’s parking garage.
• Air conditioning controls in the guest rooms, which automatically set back several degrees when guests are not in their rooms. Lighting occupancy sensors in team member services areas that shut off the lights when no one is in the area.

“The part of our green effort here that I really like is harnessing the solar energy,” said Rumanes. “Living in Vegas, it’s 87-and-a-half percent sunny a year. We get probably the most direct sunlight of anywhere else in the United States. And if you really thought of the long term effect if everyone went this green way, we would prevent the construction of these polluting, $5 billion coal power plants down the road.”

The building itself was constructed using eco-friendly materials and more than 70 percent of the property’s waste during construction was diverted, thanks to a waste recycling program. The steel used averaged more than 95 percent recyclable content, while the concrete was 26 percent. There is even a special air filtration system, and a majority of the property is non-smoking, making for an overall healthier facility.

“The air gets really dusty in Las Vegas,” said Rumanes. “You can argue that the indoor air quality at the Palazzo is actually better than outdoors.”

Meanwhile, as one of the largest sustainable developments in the world, MGM Mirage’s CityCenter has six Gold LEED certifications. 

Like the Palazzo, the 18-million-square-foot, seven-building property (which includes ARIA Resort & Casino, The Harmon Hotel, Spa and Residences, Vdara Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, Veer Towers and Crystals retail and entertainment district) integrated the concept of sustainability and earth-friendly initiatives even before it was built. 

CityCenter was constructed with preference to materials made with recycled content, reclaimed materials or those that could be manufactured locally, as well as paints, sealants, adhesives, carpet and composite wood products that do not contain toxic substances. Even the positioning of the buildings to ensure the penetration of natural light was taken into consideration. Read more about CityCenter’s green friendly initiatives.

“While we weren’t the first project on the Strip to be LEED certified, we were the first project to really add in the element of sustainability into our design,” said Cindy Ortega, MGM Mirage’s senior vice president of energy and environmental services. “I think what surprised everyone, is that the idea of the environment and earth actually shows in everything. I had no idea four years ago that I would walk into Aria and I’d be looking at natural stones and natural daylighting and certified wood, but there it all is. We were able on City Center to really breathe the idea and respect of nature into the largest sustainable project in the United States.”

The property includes:

• A co-generation plant providing about 10 percent of the property’s electricity. The throw-off heat from the plant will be used to heat the property’s water.
• Specially-coated windows on Vdara that help reduce heat transfer into the building by reflecting light.
• Settings on the rooms’ remote system in ARIA and Mandarin Oriental allowing guests to green their stay by indicating their preferred light level, room temperature and frequency of linen and towel changes. Systems can also be programmed to turn these settings down or off when the guest is not in their room. Read more about ARIA’s room technology.

CityCenter is expected to save 50 million gallons of water each year as a result of water conservation efforts, such as efficient irrigation systems, low-flow faucets and showers and low-flush toilets throughout the development. The property offers preferred parking for hybrid vehicles, a bike valet and even has a fleet of limos powered by natural gas.

Getting wasted

Another environmental effort by MGMMirage is a program implemented by Mandalay Bay Convention Center to recycle trade show waste. The program enabled Mandalay Bay to recycle upwards of 74 percent of the trade show’s garbage.

In a four month period, with 29 trade shows, more than 6,000 cubic yards of recyclables were collected, while only 2,000 cubic yards went into a landfill. Like most of the eco-friendly initiatives at Las Vegas hotels, these recycling efforts happen behind the scenes and are unseen by the public.

Las Vegas is still a city of entertainment and earth-friendly initiatives will never reduce the guest’s experience, explained Dominguez. “We don’t turn the lights out on the Strip. It’s all about maintaining the image but doing it in a conscious environmental manner,” he explained. “We’ve got energy efficiency projects that are implemented to be seamless.”

Romanes agreed. “If we do our job properly the average customer will not notice that this is a green facility,” he said. “I call it environmental luxury. We’ve proven that you can be luxurious and you can be environmentally sensitive.”

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Dinner in Las Vegas has never been so easy. At the newly opened Aria, you can walk in, check in and eat in.

Sage, Julian Serrano, and Bar Masa & Shaboo have a few things in common: 

First, all three have big names behind them: Julian Serrano, executive chef of Picasso at Bellagio now opens his self-entitled restaurant at Aria. Shawn McClain’s food has impressed Chicago’s elite. Now, he takes aim at the Las Vegas market with Sage. Masayoshi Takayama, a heavyweight in Japanese cuisine and delicacies, brings his signature cuisine to Bar Masa & Shaboo Las Vegas.

Second, all three upscale restaurants are located right off the hotel lobby. Guests could have their luggage sent to their rooms, check in at the front desk, and sit down to a comforting dish of brûléed foie gras custard at Sage or a rich, vibrantly-colored avocado canelonne at Julian Serrano. How divine.

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