Las Vegas – See the Reality

LET’S GET RAIL: Will High-Speed Vegas Train Happen? Can It Succeed at $400 a Seat?

Seethereality — Fri, 17 May 2024 11:00:55 +0000

Brightline West, which broke ground last month, promises to travel at speeds of up to 200 mph along the I-15 median from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. It’s expected to open in 2028.

A rendering of a Brightline West train, which will advertise itself for free by zooming past I-15 motorists who seek a faster trip to Las Vegas next time. (Image: Brightline)

“I am firmly convinced that once the first customer buys that first ticket to ride a high-speed rail on American soil, there will be no going back,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last month, after hammering a fake spike into a fake track to fake the project’s groundbreaking.

But will Brightline ever make it out of the station and into reality when half of its $12 billion budget is yet to be accounted for? And how can it possibly succeed when its passengers must still travel another 45 minutes to Los Angeles and if — as Brightline founder and chair Wes Edens estimated in March — the round-trip fare will be $400 per person?

Casino.org put these and other tough questions to Harry Teng, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UNLV and one of five commissioners of the independent Nevada High Speed Rail Authority.

Harry Teng is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UNLV and one of five commissioners of the independent Nevada High Speed Rail Authority. (Image: Harry Teng)

Q: Talk of a Vegas-to-LA bullet train goes back to 2005, when Tony Marnell II, founder of the Rio, proposed XpressWest train to Victorville, Calif. Why did we have to wait more than 20 years to finally get it?

A: Before, we didn’t have the money. Now, we have this infrastructure bill passed two or three years ago. Also, Victorville is kind of nowhere. Now, they’re doing it the right way.

Q: President Biden’s infrastructure bill provides $3 billion in taxpayer dollars, along with access to $3.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds, for the project. But where is the other half of its $12 billion budget coming from?

A: They will raise private funds. Wes Edens is a multi-billionaire who co-owns the Milwaukee Bucks and Aston Villa Football Club, and he wants to bring a Major League Soccer team to Las Vegas. I don’t see this as a major issue.

Q: Are there any engineering issues with construction?

A: This is one thing that I’m really, really worried about. There are many challenges with running a train in the median of a freeway. The freeway has curves that are much sharper than is safe for high-speed trains. Cars can take them going 80, 90, or 100 mph. But the standard speed for high-speed rail is 180 mph. So they have to lower the speed as they approach those curves.

But I think the most dangerous thing will be strong wind — particularly if they run two trains linked together. That will require a stronger track to counter the wind force. We have a desert wind that sometimes comes from nowhere and is very unpredictable.

But in the summer, it’s really hot and that makes the rail softer and more vulnerable. All of that coming together is very challenging.

Q: So how can they solve that?

A: I think they’ll have to put sensors along the track so that they can monitor the wind and temperature, and those sensors will tell the train when it has to slow down. They cannot rely upon weather stations because they are usually far away from the track.

This is really critical if they are to avoid crashes.

Q: The maximum gradient for trains is 1.8%, or mountain grade. But the Cajon Pass has a gradient of 6% for 4 miles. Isn’t that a big problem, too?

A: No. Power is not a problem going at high speed. The train will be strong enough, with its momentum, to get up that hill.

Q: Is there anything that can stop this project at this point?

A: No, probably not.

Q: What about low demand once it opens? A ton of social-media commenters have already balked at paying more than the average airfare to arrive in Vegas without the convenience of a car. Brightline will cost about $1 per mile, yet the cost of driving a car is currently around 60 cents per mile, or $260 roundtrip. And, if you pile five people into your vehicle, the roundtrip cost plummets to $52 per person. That’s versus $400 on Brightline West!

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, left, and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto drive pretend rail spikes into a pretend rail at a press conference announcing the groundbreaking on April 22. (Image: eenews.net)

A: I think that price could be a little high, but it’s all about how they play the game. If there are no people to ride on the train, they automatically have to lower the price. The market controls everything. They cannot play with the market.

But I think they can differentiate prices. Veterans can be free and seniors can pay less. They can offer four luxury cars for $400 a seat and then 16 cars of coach for $250. I also think they can charge more on Fridays and Sundays, when people will pay much more to get to and from Las Vegas in 2 hours when it could take 6-10 hours in traffic.

And they can run party trains, where people from Hollywood can drink wine and socialize for $1,000 round-trip.

It’s doable because this is a private train. They have the liberty to determine the price.

Q: The passengers still have 45 minutes longer to travel to get to LA from Rancho Cucamonga. Doesn’t this factor against it, too?

A: Not really. Metrolink is a good system that can get you to a lot of places in Southern California. But Brightline and Metrolink will need to coordinate with each other so that the transfer is smooth, with no waiting for trains. The coordination is really critical. Brightline will probably have to pay Metrolink, somehow, to ensure that.

Q: Bottom line, do you think this train service will succeed?

A: Oh definitely, yes. I think they will attract a lot of riders.

Evel Knievel Museum Jumping to Las Vegas

Seethereality — Fri, 17 May 2024 11:00:51 +0000

The Evel Knievel Museum, which opened in the late daredevil’s hometown of Topeka, Kansas in 2017, is motorcycle-jumping to downtown Las Vegas.

Evel Knievel famously attempts to jump the Caesars Palace fountains in 1967. (Image: Associated Press)

The museum will be the main attraction of the brand new Mission Linen building, at 1001 South 1st St. Its groundbreaking was announced by Las Vegas developer J Dapper on Tuesday.

No opening date has been set, although the Topeka location will close in October to prepare for the transition.

Evel Las Vegas

Las Vegas was the site of Knievel’s most famous stunt. On Dec. 31, 1967, he attempted to jump his motorcycle 141 feet over the fountains of Caesars Palace. It would have been Knievel’s longest jump at the time, if it hadn’t ended in his launching over his handlebars and skidding into the Dunes parking lot next door.

The crash resulted in a crushed pelvis and femur, multiple hip fractures, two broken ankles, a concussion, and a lengthy hospital stay. It also made him a legend. (Evel died in 2007 at age 69 — but of pulmonary disease, not his many serious injuries.)

“I can’t think of a better place to display the legacy of Evel Knievel than Las Vegas,” said Evel’s son and family brand owner, Kelly Knievel, in a statement. “With guts, charisma and showmanship, he built himself a legacy that’s still going strong 50 years after that crash at Caesars Palace. We’ve got all of my dad’s memorabilia, plus the latest and greatest razzmatazz.”

Well, Not All of his Dad’s Memorabilia

Though the museum’s collection features most of the other bikes that survived to tell the tale — as well as Knievel’s original leathers and helmets — it does not include the Triumph Bonneville T12 that Knievel used in his Caesars stunt. That bike disappeared decades ago and is believed to be somewhere in the American northwest.

The Las Vegas museum will also feature a virtual reality experience, a display of Evel’s nastiest X-rays, and a room dedicated to Knievel’s second most famous jump. That was over the Snake River Canyon in 1974, and it also failed. The room, called the Snake River Experience, will feature Knievel’s actual Skycycle X-2.

“We are thrilled for the opportunity to relocate the Evel Knievel Museum from Topeka, Kansas to Las Vegas,” said Mike Patterson, who co-founded the museum with Lathan McKay, and James Caplinger

In addition to the Evel Knievel Museum, the property will also house a Mothership Coffee Roasters, and confusingly, a heavy metal-themed pizza parlor.

It’s confusing because, a little more than a mile away sits a pizzeria opened in 2016 by Las Vegas hospitality entrepreneur Branden Powers. Evel Pie is also dedicated to Evel Knievel and features memorabilia donated by Evel’s other son, Robbie, who died last year of pancreatic cancer at age 60.

More Women Accuse Vegas Magician David Copperfield of Sexual Misconduct — Report

Seethereality — Fri, 17 May 2024 10:58:22 +0000

One thing David Copperfield can’t make disappear are the charges of sexual misconduct hounding him since 2007. A new investigation by The Guardian adds several new names to the Las Vegas magician’s list of accusers. More than half said they were 15 to 17 years old at the time.

David Copperfield poses for a photo in 2015. (Image: CBS News)

The British tabloid said its investigation was based on interviews with over 100 people and court and police records.

New accuser Fallon Thornton, 38, told the Guardian that Copperfield squeezed one of her breasts after calling her on stage during a 2014 performance at the MGM Grand, where the 67-year-old magician has headlined since 1983. Records confirmed a complaint filed by Thornton with Las Vegas police, which told the Guardian that it closed the case due to “insufficient evidence.”

New David Copperfield accuser Fallon Thornton conceals her appearance from the camera. (Image: The Guardian)

Four other complaints uncovered by the new investigation paint a similar picture, charging Copperfield with either groping women or making them touch him in a sexual way during live performances. Family members of one 15-year-old who were seated in the audience claim they witnessed him grope her breasts, according to the Guardian.

Another new complainant, who gave her name as “Gillian*,” alleged that she and a friend were drugged before having sex with Copperfield following one of his shows in 1993, denying them their ability to consent.

Copperfield promised several of the newly identified complainants that he would assist with their careers in modeling or the entertainment industry, according to the Guardian.

One woman, “Carla*,” claimed that after meeting Copperfield at one of his shows in 1991, when she was 15, he began “grooming” her via late-night phone calls. After she turned 18, she claims, they had consensual sex. She said it was her first time.

According to the Guardian, 16 women in total have come forward against Copperfield. However, the newspaper didn’t clarify how many were new complaints uncovered by their investigation and how many women had previously gone public with allegations.

Copperfield’s alleged sexually inappropriate behavior dates from the late 1980s through 2014.

Previous Complaints

Britney Lewis accused Copperfield of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. (Image: The Guardian)

In 2018, Copperfield was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a 17-year-old model named Brittney Lewis in 1988.

Copperfield denied the allegations, which were published by the website The Wrap, and no charges were ever brought.

In 2007, Copperfield was accused of rape by another woman, Lacey Carroll. A federal jury in Seattle closed the investigation in January 2010, also without any charges being brought. Carroll was later charged in Washington state with prostitution and falsely claiming to have been sexually assaulted in another case.

According to court filings unsealed In January, Copperfield’s name also appeared on a list of people connected to late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Copperfield Responds

A PR representative for Copperfield emailed Casino.org the following response to the new allegations, asking that the statement be published in its entirety…

Everyone that knows David Copperfield will tell you that these recent allegations from one newspaper are the exact opposite of who David is. In fact, David has a record of risking his career to help protect women from powerful predators. Most of these historic accusations have been made before, and all of them are as false now as they were then. David requested the ‘evidence’ upon which these false allegations claim to rely and this has not been provided.”

The statement continued: “By contrast, whenever US law enforcement has looked into such matters, they have been investigated thoroughly and it has been found that there is simply no case to answer. The Guardian’s characterization is not who David is, and he continues to support anyone who has experienced any form of abuse or discrimination.

“The movement must succeed, but false accusations must stop for it to flourish,” the statement concluded. “David will be considering the position with his legal team and will take such steps as may be appropriate over these false and scurrilous allegations.”

Copperfield’s show remains a huge draw at the MGM Grand, where people crowd in nightly to see the billionaire at work.

Mirage on Las Vegas Strip Announces Official Closing Date

Seethereality — Fri, 17 May 2024 10:58:21 +0000

The Mirage now has an official closing date, and it’s coming up fast.

The Mirage almost single-handedly transitioned Las Vegas from its shlocky past to its five-star present. Now, the iconic casino resort is about to undergo its own transition. (Image: travelnevada.com)

The Seminole Tribe of Florida, which operates the Las Vegas Strip casino resort, announced on Tuesday that will shut it down on July 17. That’s so it can be transformed into the new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas. (The first Hard Rock Las Vegas, located off the Strip, was sold to billionaire Richard Branson and has operated as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas since 2021.)

The 36-story Hard Rock guitar tower will dominate the Las Vegas Strip when it debuts. (Image: Hard Rock International via Nevada Gaming Control Board)

The Guitar Hotel will be a 700-foot-tall structure shaped like a guitar. Clark County commissioners unanimously approved of its construction last March.

All rooms and show reservations purchased for after July 14 will be canceled and refunded, according to a press release from the Seminole Tribe, which also notes that it will pay $80 million in severance packages to all employees who remain during the transition.

The press release did not estimate how long the transition would take.

Astute observers could have estimated The Mirage’s closing date with reasonable accuracy, since an internal memo from Cirque du Soleil revealed last month that “The Beatles LOVE” would permanently close on July 7, due to a renovation process that, according to the memo, “is about to start.”

The Mirage will be completed gutted and remade by the Seminole Tribe, which purchased the operating rights to the iconic Strip casino resort from MGM Resorts in December 2022 for $1.1 billion.

It was initially reported that the property would remain open during the transition.

Steve Wynn poses in front of The Mirage during its construction. (Image: livzey.com)

The Other Mirage Transformation

The Mirage was opened by casino mogul Steve Wynn in 1989 and is credited with transforming Las Vegas from a hub for schlocky entertainment and bargain buffets into a destination for superstar residencies and world-class dining — along with prices to match.

The Mirage became known as the first resort with a $100-per-ticket headliner, Siegfried & Roy, who also leant their brand (and animals) to an on-property zoo.

Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat permanently closed last year. According to an internal memo announcing the closure, all its dolphins, white tigers, white lions, and leopards would be placed in the care of “well-trained, highly respected animal care professionals and veterinary experts.”

However, the specific details of many of the animal relocations were never revealed.

Historic Karma

This rendering shows the current Mirage in white and the Hard Rock’s proposed guitar hotel in blue. It outlines some of the many renovations the Hard Rock is about to make. (Image: Hard Rock International via Nevada Gaming Control Board)

The Guitar Hotel will replace The Mirage’s beloved volcano — one of only two remaining major free shows on the Las Vegas Strip. (The other is the Bellagio fountains, also created by Steve Wynn.)

Though many view the volcano’s demolition as an affront to Las Vegas history, the attraction was part of a long line of historic indignities perpetrated on the same site.

To build the volcano, the last remaining Las Vegas Strip residence — a house owned by former vaudevillian actress Grace Hayes — had to be demolished in 1987, along with a Mobil station built on the site of the Red Rooster, which in 1931 became the very first licensed casino to operate on what eventually became the Las Vegas Strip.

In other words, the guitar tower will rise from the ashes of the exact site where the Las Vegas Strip was founded.

VIDEO: Vegas Airport Passenger Joneses for Slot Spin

Seethereality — Fri, 17 May 2024 10:57:49 +0000

In the past year, two gamblers have hit million-dollar slot jackpots at the airport in Las Vegas. Judging from the urgency displayed by one airline passenger in a social media video, he thought he would be the third.

A still from a viral video showing a man rushing toward a slot machine at Harry Reid International Airport. (Image: Twitter/X)

In the video, which went viral on Snapchat and X/Twitter on Tuesday, the unidentified man is shown rushing toward a machine at the end of a bank of slots, then dropping his bag, plopping himself onto a stool, and feverishly retrieving cash or a voucher from his wallet.

The video provides no context as to whether the man has just landed in Las Vegas, or if he had been waiting to depart it when an airline delay suddenly afforded him some extra machine time.

Hundreds of comments flooded the video, posted to X/Twitter by @weirddalle. They were pretty much evenly split between praising the man for his “dedication” and concern over what they perceived as an obvious gambling addiction.

“I can win it back!! I have a system!!!” commented @mfwic76.

“Must be a good set up for an advantage play,” wrote @pkrprncss.

“Never seen someone so eager to throw away their money,” added @DonYee46945786.

“Not addicted to gambling or anything,” noted @TheShowOnX.

“He dreamt about this moment for months. Let him have his fun,” interjected @theminigad.

By far, this was the most entertaining comment…

“He ran to that slot machine like I run to the toilet after Chipotle,” @Yaboy_hardmike wrote.

Check out the video yourself.

As to whether the man got to realize his dream of winning big, which a few commenters wondered, the answer is a guaranteed no. All extremely rare million-dollar jackpots are announced by press releases from Las Vegas gaming operators.

Such was the case in July 2023, when Harry Reid announced that one of its visitors won $1,286,325 on a Wheel of Fortune Triple Hot 777 slot in Terminal 3, and a month earlier, when another won more than $1.3 million on a Wheel of Fortune Triple Double Emeralds machine in the Terminal 1 Esplanade.

Slot machines at Harry Reid International. (Image: iStock Photo)

$1B In Revenue

Over 36 years, the slots at Harry Reid (previously named McCarran International Airport) have generated more than $1 billion in revenue, according to Michael Gaughan’s Airport Slot Concession. The Las Vegas-based firm operates the slots at the busy airport.

The airport slots generate about $39.8 million in gross revenue each year. That leads to about $34.4 million in average revenue for the airport.

In total, there are 1,430 slot machines at Harry Reid Airport. The slot play helps to offset airport costs.

Downtown Vegas Property Owner Proposes Rooftop Amusement Park

Seethereality — Fri, 17 May 2024 10:43:06 +0000

A giant LED canopy blanketing Fremont Street was only one of many wild ideas proposed to revitalize downtown Las Vegas. The difference between it and many others, including a system of Venetian canals proposed by Steve Wynn, and life-size replicas of the Titanic and Starship Enterprise, is that the Fremont Street Experience ended up being built.

This rendering comes from a video produced to promote a rooftop amusement park proposed by the owner of downtown’s Neonopolis. (Image: KSNV-TV/Las Vegas).

Whether a rooftop amusement park, the latest Fremont Street proposal, follows the canopy into reality is anyone’s guess, but that’s what’s being proposed by the owner of the Neonopolis entertainment complex.

Rohit Joshi will officially announce his plans next week at the International Council of Shopping Centers Convention.

“We don’t have to have malls anymore,” Joshi told KSNV-TV/Las Vegas. “Malls are getting outdated and I think this is the way downtown will grow.”

Neonopolis, a 250,000-square-foot shopping mall built around a city parking garage, lies just east of the canopy, so its height isn’t restricted by it. Opened in 2002, it’s the former home of Jillian’s restaurant and currently houses the Heart Attack Grill, Dick’s Last Resort, a Denny’s, and 11 other tenants, including an axe-throwing range called Axehole.

Joshi, the businessman who led a development group that purchased Neonopolis from Prudential Real Estate for $25 million in 2006, told KXNV that his amusement park will cost about $300 million, but that each ride will be funded and operated by individual tenants.

He claims the park will boast two rollercoasters, a sky-diving simulator, and a zipline by the time it opens this fall.

This rooftop view of Neonopolis demonstrates how close the SlotZilla zipline would be to the proposed amusement park site. (Image: Google Earth)

Bemusement Park

This is where it seems relevant to point out that Neonopolis couldn’t be located any closer to the entrance to SlotZilla. That’s the 77-foot-high zipline that has zoomed riders halfway across the Fremont Street Experience since 2014.

In addition, the Strat, which is only two miles from Neonopolis, operates its own rooftop amusement park featuring four rides, including an 855-foot-tall sky-diving simulator.

Also working against Joshi’s dream is the name he’s proposed for it. He chose “Mini Disni,” because he reasons that spelling it differently will deter the Mouse House from suing him for copyright infringement.

Joshi has a string of failed proposals in his past. They include the Silver Star movie studio, which placed the entire town board of Pahrump, Nev. in hot water with their constituents and cost the city manager his job, and a 900-acre housing, retail, and sports complex that never got built in Winter Springs, Fla.

Joshi proposed both of those projects in 1999.

Oakland plans boycott to maintain A out of Las Vegas

Seethereality — Wed, 10 May 2023 19:36:05 +0000

Oakland A’s followers are planning a ‘reverse boycott’ throughout their house sport towards the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, June thirteenth. As a substitute of strolling away from the sport, they are saying they plan to cram as many A’s followers into the Oakland Coliseum as doable to point out that the fan base continues to be there.

A’s followers protest the staff’s abandonment of their hometown on the Oakland Coliseum. The “SELL” T-shirt has turn out to be a fixture in Lightfield. (Picture: nbcbayarea.com)

The A’s threw a curveball this week by altering Las Vegas’ plans to construct a brand new stadium on the Tropicana in preparation for the 2027 season. Beforehand, proprietor John Fisher had deliberate to construct a $1.5 billion new ballpark on his web site, the previous Wild West owned by Purple Rock Resort.

Nonetheless, Las Vegas stays the main focus of Main League Baseball groups, a heartbreaking occasion for a lot of loyal residents of their hometown of Las Vegas over the previous 55 years. The A’s can be his third main sports activities staff in 4 years, following the NBA’s Golden State Warriors in 2019 and the NFL’s Raiders in 2020.

Shock of the Bay

“I need John Fisher to promote the staff to a neighborhood businessman who can afford to maintain the staff in Oakland (constructing a brand new ballpark),” stated lifelong superfan Jorge Leon. rice discipline. KNTV/San Jose Carrying the favored “SELL” T-shirt in the best discipline seat of house video games. Right here, essentially the most die-hard followers chant ‘Promote the staff!’, ‘Keep in Oakland!’ and ‘Hold your job!’ The final phrase refers back to the stadium’s lots of of ushers, safety guards, distributors and different workers.

“It is powerful,” stated A’s left fielder Tony Kemp, who’s now in his fourth season with Oakland. New York Instances. “You’re within the dugout and also you simply really feel for them. Take into consideration the era you might be in. It is very tough.”

One other Superfan, Matt Ortega, Mentioned KVVU-TV/Las Vegas Reasonably than repeat what it did with the NFL’s Raiders, Las Vegas would moderately construct knowledgeable staff from the bottom up prefer it did with the NHL’s Golden Knights.

If you take a look at which two groups are extra profitable when it comes to fan loyalty, ticket gross sales and on-field play, I feel it’s a must to say the Golden Knights on each degree. Ortega, who created the web site nonevadamoney.com to make it simpler for Nevada residents to put in writing to lawmakers protesting using public funds for the stadium, stated Ortega.

The A’s gained the World Collection in 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1930, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1989. Most not too long ago, from 2018 by way of 2020 he made the playoffs for 3 straight seasons. A nationwide highlight on their Vegas plans, the staff is taking part in terrifying baseball in entrance of terrifying crowds.

The A’s are 8-29 and useless final within the American League West. And this season, greater than 10,000 individuals averaged greater than 10,000 individuals in stadiums constructed to carry 5 instances extra capability than another MLB staff.

Rio Trop returns to play as A’s Stadium Plan B — report

Seethereality — Wed, 10 May 2023 04:45:54 +0000

Three weeks after signing a binding contract to buy 49 acres of land adjoining to the Las Vegas Strip and construct a brand new ballpark, the Oakland Athletics are reportedly rethinking. In accordance with the news on Nevada independence, MLB groups have resumed talks with the house owners of two different Las Vegas Stadium websites that they beforehand declined.

The Rio Lodge & On line casino has been revived as the placement of Oakland A’s Las Vegas Stadium. (Picture tripsavvy.com)

in keeping with unbiased, A has been in contact with the proprietor of the Rio Lodge & On line casino, who beforehand supplied the staff 22 of the resort’s 90 acres for simply $1. A reportedly deserted the deal on account of considerations about transportation entry. Rio He’s on over 88 acres of land, 22 of that are thought of extra. A baseball discipline wants solely 10 to 12 acres.

It additionally appears to be like just like the 34-acre web site that now homes Tropicana Las Vegas is again on the desk at stadium websites. The land is owned by an actual property funding belief referred to as Gaming and Leisure Properties and leased by Bally’s Corp. The deal is sophisticated by the necessity for each corporations to succeed in an settlement earlier than the sale.

One other potential draw back is the collapse of one of many oldest remaining resorts on the Strip. Tropicana he opened in 1955, however many of the present services date again to his Nineteen Seventies and his 80s expansions.

It Ain’t Of Until It is Over

It should not shock anybody if this seems to be only a bargaining tactic to get the very best deal from Crimson Rock Resort, with which A has signed a binding contract for the previous Wild Wild West web site. is.In accordance with Auckland Mayor Sheng Thao, the ball membership pretended Negotiate with your private home metropolis for a similar objective.

One location now not into consideration is the 37-acre Las Vegas Pageant Grounds on the northern finish of the Las Vegas Strip.in keeping with independence, On line casino mogul Phil Ruffin, proprietor of the land and adjoining Circus Circus, stated in an electronic mail to the web site that negotiations had been terminated “as a result of there have been too many points on which we disagreed.”

The positioning now advantages from annual music festivals comparable to Lovers & Mates final weekend, little doubt undermining the staff’s negotiating place.

the clock is ticking

Tax invoice giving A’s $500 million to construct a $1.5 billion 35,000-seat stadium with retractable roof and leisure complicated will go as Nevada legislative session ends June 5 I am doing it. The invoice would funnel funds created by particular tax districts across the stadium right into a fund to repay bonds issued by Clark County.

Nicole Cannizzaro, Nevada Senate Majority Chief, stated the delay in voting was A’s personal fault.

“We do not but know something particular about what they need or what they need us to look into,” Cannizzaro stated. independence. “So it is laborious to speak about precisely what we do and what we do not do, and now we have a finite period of time right here.”

An emergency session could also be convened if the session ends and not using a vote. independence It reviews that the request has not but been submitted.

A’s present lease in Auckland expires in 2024. Which means he will likely be in 2025 earlier than the staff will be capable to play in one other metropolis. A short lived venue could also be wanted in Las Vegas earlier than the brand new ballpark opens.

Las Vegas grew to become the fourth dwelling of the franchise that started because the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901 and lasted till 1955 earlier than shifting to Kansas Metropolis, the place it remained till 1968 when it moved to Oakland.

Featured — Las Vegas Myths Damaged: Tony Hsieh Saved Downtown Las Vegas

Seethereality — Tue, 09 May 2023 04:05:14 +0000

Tony Hsieh’s legacy additionally consists of single-handedly reworking downtown Las Vegas, which hasn’t existed because the Nineteen Fifties, from a depressed neighborhood right into a secure, walkable and thriving cultural middle.

However downtown, two miles north of the Strip, was already on the rise lengthy earlier than the late Zappos CEO arrived on the scene. and Hsieh (pronounced shay) Shay) set out with one of the best of intentions, the belief of his utopian imaginative and prescient was thwarted by greed and mismanagement in his funding division, in addition to his personal private demons.

Zappos’ late CEO Tony Hsieh is extensively generally known as the savior of downtown Las Vegas. (picture: footwear information)

On line casino.org We spoke with Brian “Paco” Alvarez, who labored with Shay at Zappos from 2013 to 2017, about Shay’s Downtown Las Vegas funding agency and the real-world influence of the revitalization effort. A Las Vegas native and downtown resident for 18 years, Alvarez has been one thing of an arts and tradition curator for the web shoe large. (Zappos didn’t confer an official title.) He now runs his personal artwork consultancy agency and is a PhD scholar at UNLV.

actual life sim metropolis

In 2013, Hsieh pledged to construct “the world’s most community-focused metropolis” round downtown Zappos’ new headquarters. He based a enterprise referred to as Downtown Tasks (later generally known as his DTP) and in 2009 he made his 300 million share of his private fortune by promoting Zappos to Amazon for $1.2 billion. Invested $50 million.

Brian “Paco” Alvarez. (Picture: Brian Alvarez)

Ten years later, Shay is gone, and his funding focus within the Fremont East neighborhood continues to be dotted with vacant heaps and empty buildings. A lot of his 45-acre land bought by DTP was by no means developed.

It’s kind of of a ghost city throughout the day,” Alvarez stated. On line casino.org. “I used to be in Fremont East with tour company from Europe two weeks in the past and there was a taking pictures in entrance of the bar there.”

A lot of the 300 entrepreneurs collaborating within the DTP experiment are out of enterprise and out of Las Vegas. They left when the cash ran out. The three dedicated suicide when the enterprise failed.

nicely achieved

This isn’t to say that Xie didn’t enhance the world. An out of doors retail mall, playground and live performance venue, Container Park, constructed from stacked delivery containers and guarded by a 40-foot fire-breathing mantis made for Burning Man, is now a vacationer attraction It’s crowded. Fergusons Downtown is a transformed outdated motel. , is now a middle of native music and artwork.

In line with the 2017 Utilized Evaluation Report, DTP generated over $200 million in financial output and 1,500 jobs, leading to about $70 million in salaries.

However whereas Downtown is now not the neighborhood shell it as soon as was, it is also not the community-focused cultural utopia Shay wished.

Tony Hsieh and Paco Alvarez attend the 2013 Zappos Halloween celebration. (Picture: Brian Alvarez)

And now, many of the DTP-purchased properties are being put up on the market by Hsieh’s household, presumably to anybody with any type of imaginative and prescient. This consists of container his perks. Ferguson; the historic Atomic Liquor constructing; Outdated Las Vegas Metropolis Corridor, which Shay became Zappos headquarters.

“One of many troubling issues I noticed was how alienated DTP and Zappos workers have been by your complete downtown ecosystem,” says Alvarez. “They put the burden of constructing downtown relationships on individuals who knew nothing about downtown, not to mention neighborhood politics. They saved saying, ‘We’re going to deliver artwork downtown. We will deliver tradition downtown.”

“All that already existed Downtown,” Alvarez stated, pointing to Downtown Cocktail Lounge, Griffin, Commonwealth, Insert Cash, Vanguard, Magnificence Bar Lounge, and Henri & Odette Artwork Gallery.

At first, the DTP funding sparked pleasure and media frenzy. Bringing in residents from Vegas suburbs who hadn’t been downtown in a long time, they shared a desk with younger Zappos engineers at Natalie Younger’s Eat and the late Kelly Simon’s Carson Kitchen.

However thousands and thousands of {dollars} in DTP funding (equivalent to $11 million spent on car-sharing packages in areas the place there aren’t sufficient parking areas and never sufficient folks to assist it) are indefensible. Deserted.

“Tony put the flawed folks in,” Alvarez stated. “Anybody who got here up with an concept and put it on a post-it bought funding. As a result of they accuse you of not being a part of that tradition and never being match for it.”

This 2013 map reveals properties bought by Tony Hsieh’s Downtown Undertaking within the Fremont East neighborhood. (Picture: DTP firm)

dot group bubble

What downtown has wanted for many years, Alvarez stated, is low- and middle-income housing and transitional housing for the homeless. As a substitute, DTP purchased buildings, typically for about double that quantity, and turned them into costly studio residences.

One of the best factor that would have occurred to downtown is for issues to proceed to occur organically,” Alvarez stated. It attracts smaller companies that may serve the individuals who stay in these areas.Issues need to occur slowly.”

For example of how revitalization works, Alvarez, previously of the Las Vegas Metropolis Arts Fee, cited the downtown arts district. It is a beforehand dilapidated space that has been on the rise over the previous 20 years. It is a race between turtles and rabbits, and everyone knows who received the race. “

The Beat Coffeehouse & Information — opened at 520 E. Fremont St. by Jennifer and Michael Cornthwaite in 2009 — served downtown writers, musicians, and different artists till it was changed by a California espresso chain in 2016. was an indication. (picture: Las Vegas Assessment Journal)

By rushing up the natural means of Silicon Valley-style city planning, DTP has blown the bubble. This bubble was sustainable so long as extra capital saved pouring in.

“Charging $13 for a fruit smoothie in an space with a median annual revenue of $32,000 was deafening,” says Alvarez. “East He stated, as an alternative of investing in companies that have been already right here, such because the little flower store in Charleston or his artwork gallery and bars within the Arts District, they began creating their very own. But it surely was excellent for the neighborhood.” It was nothing.”

Gritty however beloved punk golf equipment and saloons have given strategy to handcrafted donuts, craft beer and Bikram yoga. Jennifer and Michael Cornthwaite opened his 2009 The Beat Espresso Home & Information, which was downtown’s brightest earlier than Shea. But it surely died out in 2016 by the market forces created by DTP, changed by the very kind of California-based chain Shay despised.

“After dropping The Beat, the guts and soul of Fremont Avenue, Fremont Avenue by no means recovered,” Alvarez stated.

Tony left the constructing

Hsieh decreased its involvement with DTP in 2014, shedding a 3rd of its 100 workers. Six years later, he was kicked out of his Zappos by his Amazon and determined to relocate to Park Metropolis, Utah with a core of zany followers. Right here Shay repeated the sample of devouring actual property above market worth.

In line with associates and associates, Hsieh was exhibiting more and more erratic conduct stimulated by ordinary huffing sounds from the nitrous oxide canister. On November 27, 2020, he died of exhaustion after respiratory smoke from a hearth in a cabin hooked up to his ex-girlfriend’s home in Connecticut. he was 46 years outdated.

Did thousands and thousands of individuals use Tony to make unthinkable enterprise tasks and costly land purchases in and round downtown?” Alvarez requested. “It was disgusting, completely disgusting.”

It is good to recollect Tony Hsieh because the face of the downtown revival, however what actually occurred is totally different.

“Thanks Tony for serving to make Fremont Avenue much more vibrant,” Alvarez stated. Downtown would have revived naturally. “

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The Precise Price of a Final Minute Las Vegas Journey

Seethereality — Mon, 08 May 2023 18:14:44 +0000

Your greatest pal’s marriage ceremony was at 2pm at the moment on the MGM Grand Chapel and your 8am flight was canceled attributable to mechanical issues. Assuming the subsequent accessible flight provided by the airline would not arrive on time, how will you navigate 269 miles to Las Vegas on the final minute? It isn’t a matter of attempting. However why wait? We have now raised the problem on numerous web sites and a number of the responses could shock you.

I hope you packed your marriage ceremony outfit in your carry-on.

Not the display screen you wish to see in your greatest pal’s marriage ceremony day. Why did not you exit the evening earlier than, identical to your mother warned you? (Picture: at the moment.com)

Clearly, prices and availability fluctuate vastly relying on if you search. determined to For pricing solely we thought-about returning the subsequent morning and likewise thought it could take at the least an hour for him to regroup and put together for one more switch so a 9am goal departure I made it time.

With an 8:30 am reservation, solely United Airways was accessible for a flight that day. Flight 1316 departed at 11:23am, arrived at 12:45pm, and was accessible continuous for $263. The subsequent accessible flight that arrived in Las Vegas on time was a 12:00 departure southwest, which arrived at 1:10 PM, simply in time for the ceremony, however value $244.

Freeway theft?

Based on rideguru.com, a 9am Uber to Las Vegas arriving round 12:30pm prices $353, whereas Lyft prices $368. Taxi fare is roughly $750. Additionally, do not forget to tip further on such journeys. As a result of it isn’t straightforward for the driving force to refund the fare.

These are estimated automobile or taxi fares from LA to Las Vegas on a random Monday morning. (Picture: RideGuru)

Expedia By Fox Lease a Automobile, we provided an incredible deal to lease a Toyota Corolla or related midsize car for $17 per day ($32 complete). value line Shopping for a Volkswagen Jetta or related customary measurement automobile for $5 a day ($21 complete) in both Fox, Economic system, or Ace appeared even higher. The caveat with all of those presents, nonetheless, is that “limitless mileage” can solely be claimed by non-local renters. means the automobile will value you lots of of {dollars} greater than the quoted value if you get it again.

No different automobile rental firm presents same-day leases.

Can any of those choices be accessible on weekends when virtually all weddings happen and the demand for transportation to Las Vegas is far increased? Go away this survey open. I will verify once more Friday morning and replace with any data I discover.