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Las Vegas News - (5/6/08) According to TrekMovie the contract between Cedar Fair and CBS for Star Trek: The Experience will expire on December 31st, 2008 and according to a Cedar Fair spokesperson they have no plans to renew it. However talks are apparently still going on, so the attraction could be saved, at least for one more year perhaps, long enough to get the next Star Trek film into theaters and make a proper long-term judgment then. The one problem they didn’t address was the early rumors claiming that the push to close down the attraction and having a general lack of interest at all with the business was coming from the Las Vegas Hilton’s owners. So once again, we’re looking at an early fall closing date for Star Trek: The Experience if this is indeed the last days into The Final Frontier.
  (4/29/08) For all you Vegas fans out there, there is an MGM Grand Summerfest deal now being offered for stays between April 30th and September 30th (as long as you make the reservation by May 15th) that will give you a $35 “activity credit” good towards dining or entertainment options on top of some decent rates. Personally I think the MGM Grand is probably one of the most “boring” Vegas hotels to stay at and the rooms (when I saw them) were not impressive at all, but check your dates and compare the prices to see if this deal may work for you.
  (4/22/08) An internal staff email to Rio employees confirms that Rio’s free “Masquerade Show in the Sky will go dark for 6 weeks. During this time, a new show will be created and will re-open on May 22, which will feature sexier costumes, new music, and sets. Additionally, a live band will play on Monday through Wednesday on the Masquerade stage to add additional excitement into the Masquerade Village. Please let our guests know that we plan on featuring a new, sexier, higher energy Show in the Sky in May. ”
  (4/16/08) Today one of our readers attending the big NAB convention in Vegas sent in a picture (see sidebar below) from their camera phone showing off the work in progress being done to one of Caesar’s fountain shows.
  (4/15/08) A quick note to anyone hoping to catch a final trip through Star Trek: The Experience before they close it down. Instead of paying the full price for both missions at the attraction I’ve been told that you can easily get half-price tickets for Star Trek at those discount ticket outlets (Tix 4 Tonight) around the trip (In the giant Coke Bottle near MGM Grand, in front of the Fashion Show Mall, etc) so hit them up first.
  (4/14/08) A Screamscape reader who just got back from Vegas reports that the two “fountain shows” inside the mall at Caesar’s are both down for extensive refurbishment. They also stopped into Star Trek: The Experience and noticed that it seems they are only selling the Two Mission tickets at a whopping $48 instead of tickets for the individual missions. I know in the past they used to offer separate tickets as well as the combo ticket, so anyone looking to make one final trip just to see the Borg Invasion mission, be warned that you’ll have to pony up to see them both. 
  (3/13/08) A reader tell us that the Rio is planning a replacement Show in the Sky that is expected to open sometime in the Fall of 2008. The new show is closing down now so that they can make various upgrades and changes needed to launch the new show.
  (3/12/08) Bad news for fans of the Rio casino. The cast and crew of the casnio’s long running free Masquerade Show in the Sky roof-mounted aerial parade were informed that the casino would shut down the show on April 8th.
  (3/6/08) In a shocking bit of news it seems some of the local staff at the Las Vegas Hilton have been leaking rumors online that the famous Star Trek: The Experience attraction is expected to make an announcement in the next couple of months that it will be closing down forever at the end of the busy summer season. If you haven’t seen it yet, you might want to schedule that overdue trip to Vegas sooner than later. You can also find a list of contacts here who you can complain to and ask for some continued support of what is considered to be one of the most unique attractions in the world outside of a theme park. You would think that they would at least extend the life of the attraction until after the brand new Star Trek feature film comes out.
  For me… this is just kind of sad. I’ve always had a fondness for the Star Trek universe, though you wouldn’t catch me at a costume event or anything. But when I got married in Vegas, after the normal reception for the relatives, those of us still in the mood to party went over to spend the rest of the night at Quark's drinking a Warp Core Breech or two until they closed for the night, getting in various verbal arguments with the Klingons. Such fun… especially when the female Klingon in the bar would pipe in to anyone who didn’t want another drink that, “Perhaps you need to be breast fed then human?” Or the complaints that the food we human’s ate wasn’t still alive and moving on the plate.
  (2/28/08) It’s been talked about for years and while I haven’t heard a peep about it lately, it seems the proposal to build a massive MagLev train that would run from Las Vegas to an Anaheim station near Disneyland is still alive. If the MagLev project becomes a reality guests would be taken from Disneyland to Las Vegas in less than two hours, traveling at speeds up to 300 mph across the desert. Unfortunately a rival plan called the DesertXpress (DX) is getting a lot of attention and would use a cheaper Diesel-electric train running at 125 from Victorville to Vegas. (Makes no sense to me since you’ve got to drive at least 90 minutes out into the middle of the desert just to get to Victorville and then your still looking at a 2.5 hour train ride.) MagLev is hoping to make a comeback however as new funding is set to open to them to make a new push for the $12 billion project.
  (2/27/08) We’ve got two more close up pictures (sidebar) to share today showing off the gutted Mirage volcano that really give you a good look at the inner working. Also one of our readers has sent out a plea for help to anyone else who was a fan of the Las Vegas TV series. Apparently it was canceled despite ending with a cliffhanger season finale and fans of the show are looking for support to ask the network to at least finish the story if not renew the entire series. If you’re a fan you can show your support here.
  (2/26/08) We’ve got a couple of great pictures showing off the current state of the Mirage volcano (see sidebar). As you can see they are really tearing it apart to work on it.
  (2/15/08) I’m happy to report that the Monte Carlo reopened for business late last night. According to the local news the total loss and cost of repairing the casino is expected to be under $100 million, but this also includes all the lost revenue from being closed since the fire on January 25th. Almost all of the floors received some kind of water damage that need to be repaired and the rooms on the 27th through 32nd floors that received the most fire damage had to be stripped down to the bare concrete. They will reopen 1,200 of the casino’s rooms for guests today, an additional 1,300 rooms around February 22nd, but the final 500 rooms that received the most damage will be down for an extended period of time.
  According to the Mirage website, the casino’s Volcano icon had it’s last eruption on February 3rd and is now closed until sometime in the fall of 2008 for an extended refurbishment. From what we’ve heard from a local source, the volcano will return with more walkways to get you closer to the action as well as all new fire effects to make the spectacle more impressive.
  (2/13/08) A reader had sent in some new pictures from Las Vegas this week. First up we take a look at the Monte Carlo which is still closed. Notice how odd it looks with all the hotel windows dark at night in the one picture. Down the strip we’ve been told that the Volcano in front of the Mirage is currently closed for some kind of rehab and we have a final photo showing off the front of the Venetian who has decorated the tower out front for the Chinese New Year.

  (2/8/08) For anyone wondering about the Monte Carlo, from what I’ve been able to find out the casino is still temporarily closed. If you had plans to stay at the casino in the near future they’ve moved all guests to other sister properties and set up a FAQ page for everyone to find out more. In the meantime they are working with county officials on a plan to repair the damage and reopen. They have no set date to reopen yet.
  (2/7/08) Our local Vegas spies tell us that Speed: The Ride at the Sahara is now closed Tuesdays and Wednesday. I’m guessing that this may just be for the slower portion of the year. Meanwhile Inverter and Sling Shot at the Adventuredome are also closed for rehab.
  (2/6/08) Vegas… Sin City… a place I really consider to be a giant theme park for adults where you can see and do just about anything legal and a few things that aren’t legal in most places. Midway Games will attempt to flesh out this concept in virtual form with a new video game title called This Is Vegas that should be available for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Windows Vista PCs by the end of 2008. This Is Vegas will be “an open world, lifestyle action experience, where players will live out their Vegas fantasies by fighting, gambling, driving and partying their way through the most decadent, fast-paced and wildest city in the world.” “We are thrilled to be unveiling the first-ever videogame experience which allows players to live out their wildest Vegas fantasies,” said Alan Patmore, studio head, Surreal. “Whether it’s partying in the hottest night clubs, racing in underground circuits, testing your luck at the tables or getting into a barroom brawl, This is Vegas has it all.” More details are expected to be released later this week but you can already watch a preview trailer for the game, though unfortunately it looks like they’ve had to take liberties to alter some of the big casinos in Vegas with slightly new themes and names for copyright reasons.
  (1/28/08) The big news from Vegas on Friday night was a huge fire that burned the top of the Monte Carlo casino on the strip, located right next to the New York, New York casino. From the various reports I’ve seen, there were few reports of injuries and the fire was mostly contained to the roof and outside of the casino tower’s upper floors. Everyone was evacuated from the hotel and no emergency rescues were required. Guests were relocated temporarily to the MGM Grand Garden Arena across the street and would later be relocated to other casinos. There is also some great footage on YouTube.

  (1/24/08) A new photo tour of Las Vegas with a look at City Center, Wynn’s Encore tower and what’s left of the Frontier has been posted to Westcoaster.
  (1/14/08) For those wanting to see a unique look at Las Vegas, then make the jump over to Orlando Rocks to see a new collection of 45 pictures taken from a helicopter flying over the strip. In addition to getting aerial views of the Manhattan Express coaster towards the end there are a few great shots looking down into the heart of the City Center complex.
  (1/11/08) I’m not sure how accurate this report is, but we’ve heard that the NASCAR Café at the Sahara may be living on borrowed time and could close it’s doors in the near future. I’m not sure what this may mean to the future operations of Speed: The Ride which has its station just above it.
  (1/8/08) I’ve been told that The Flamingo has added a new unique lure to bring in potential gamblers to the casino floor. Apparently at the SouthWest entrance of the casino (Bally’s side) they’ve installed a series of raised platforms where Go-Go Dancers perform from around 7pm to Midnight every weekend.
  (9/26/07) When looking for new places to visit in the Las Vegas area I’ve got to mention a fun sounding place for fans of Pinball machines called the Pinball Hall of Fame. Yes… someone has set up a huge museum of pinball machines collected from over the years, mostly from the 1950s to 1990s. Even better is the fact that not only is the 4500 square-foot museum open to the public, but every machine has been restored to like-new condition and is actually playable! The older machines are just 25 cents and newer 90’s era models are 50 cents. The only downside is that while it’s on Tropicana… it’s about 30 blocks away from the Strip itself, so it will be an expensive cab ride unless your driving.

Caesar’s Palace - (2/7/08) It’s been rumored for quite some time, but now it ahs been confirmed that Cher has signed a long-term contract to perform on a regular basis at Caesar’s Palace performing on dates when the venue’s other headliners, Bette Midler and Elton John, are off. Cher’s first batch of shows will kick off on May 6th.
  (1/8/08) Now that Celine Dion has ended her run at Ceasar’s Palace work begins for the opening of “Bette Midler The Showgirl Must Go On” on February 20th. You can read more about the new show here.
  (7/26/07) Ceasar’s has announced a series of new expansion projects that will add yet another giant 23 story tower, new pools, an expansion of the convention center as well as new restaurant and retails sites along the front of the casino at the corner of the Strip and Flamingo. You can see the artwork posted to Vegas Today & Tomorrow.
  (5/8/07) It’s official, Bette Midler will be coming to Caesar’s to replace the departing Celine Dion with new shows starting in February 2008. The deal is 2 year contract (with room to extend) for a total of around 100 shows a year which will happen in four week clumps throughout the year. Elton John will also continue his periodic performances as well... and with this schedule there is still room for a third performer which many still believe to be Cher. Tickets for Bette Midler have already gone on sale with a price range of $95 to $250.

Circus Circus Adventuredome - (4/24/08) A Screamscape source tell us that the Circus Circus Adventuredome has pretty much shut down the Rim Runner shoot the chutes ride. Apparently the plan is to only run it on absolute peak days when the park is packed or to open it up if one of the park’s other major rides (ie: Canyon Blaster) ends up shut down for an extended amount of time. Things are likely to stay this way now through the end of Labor Day when they expect to start the removal process to take it out. If our sources are right, a deal has been signed with Gerstlauer to install a custom spinning coaster inside the dome instead that will open by Summer 2009. With all this construction expecting to be taking place some are worried that Fright Dome may not happen this October, though the official Frightdome site does promise an “All New Fright Dome For 2008”, opening on October 3rd.
  (3/21/08) Screamscape sources tell us that Circus Circus held an auction to sell off a ton of their Halloween haunt props and items over the past weekend. So does this mean that we’ve seen the last appearance of the Fright Dome or are they just preparing to buy lots of new stuff for the 2008 season? Of course if they end up ripping out Rim Runner, as the long standing rumor goes, the dome may not be in any condition this fall to host a haunt. Anyone know more?
  (2/26/08) A reader has sent in a couple of pictures from the inside of the Adventuredome showing off the Rim Runner location which is rumored to be removed in the future for a new coaster.
  (1/11/08) Screamscape sources have confirmed to us once again that if you haven’t been on the Rim Runner at the Circus Circus Adventuredome, you may want to take your ride now before it’s too late. It looks like the rumors are true and Circus Circus is planning on removing the Rim Runner at some point in the next year to make way for that new rumored spinning coaster we’ve heard about.
  (11/14/07) The latest rumors circling the giant pink Adventuredome claims that theme park may be thinking about adding some kind of new spinning coaster in the future. More when we find out.
  (6/11/07) Apparently the dome is looking for ways to make room to add up to two new coasters in the future. A good amount of room will be eventually be made available if they go through with plans to remove the Rim Runner which will likely be replaced with an Inverted or Suspended style coaster, and there is also a plan to bring in a small mouse style coaster, though I would almost think they may have to go with something more custom like a Spinning coaster instead.
  (3/22/07) Screamscape sources tell us that some big changes for the Adventuredome could be in the planning stage. The big idea on the table is to remove the Rim Runner (boat splash) and replace it with a new large coaster that could roam around the inside of the dome in the next couple of years. We’ve also heard some faint whispers about adding a new flat ride or two as well, but we have no solid timeline on anything right now. Anyone know more?

CityCenter - (1/8/08) Orlando Rocks has added some new construction pictures of City Center.
  (8/13/07) City Center is tentatively scheduled to open Phase One by 2009, though I’m not sure what parts of the massive project are included in that. You can try to get a grasp on the size of this massive project by viewing the artwork at Vegas Today & Tomorrow.
  (8/22/06) Looks like the original story we had was correct because the local paper just confirmed that the Elvis-Cirque show will open in CityCenter by November 2009. The Elvis experience wont stop there however, since CKX (owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises) and Cirque are planning additional touring and permanent shows along with multimedia “Elvis Experiences” around the world at the rate of one new project opening each year between 2010 and 2015.
  (2/9/06) According to Vegas Today & Tomorrow the Project: City Center has expanded to 2,800 condo units from a previously planned 1,650, raising the cost to $6 billion. You can see lots of interesting artwork for this vast complex of buildings here.
  (11/12/04) MGM/Mirage has announced their intention to build a 4000 room mega-resort and urban development on the 66 acres of land they own between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo. They are calling it Project CityCenter and will will include three 400-room “boutique hotels”, 550,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space and a 1650 room luxury condo complex. They hope to have it completed by 2010.

Clearwater Waterpark Development - (9/6/06) Clearwater Waterpark Development has announced that they are in escrow on 25 acres of land in Henderson, NV (aka: the South-East side of Las Vegas). The plan is to open a new family park by 2008 that will include the largest lazy river west of the Mississippi, a large kiddie play area, a three-passenger inline boat slide, six lane racer slide and many others. Clearwater Waterpark Development is also the group that is currently building a new waterpark in Temecula, CA that will open in 2007.

Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino - (1/17/08) The big news from Las Vegas today is that the massive $3 billion Cosmopolitan Resort project may be in trouble. Seems their lender just filed paperwork to foreclose on the property as their $760 million loan just matured. The project is currently under construction with a 2009 opening date, placed between the Bellagio and City Center. The owners are currently working to find new investors to fund the project.
  (8/13/07) I’m told that the Cosmopolitan could now be looking at a Late 2008 opening.
  (6/8/07) The Cosmopolitan is scheduled to open sometime in early 2009.
  (10/12/05) A deal has been signed with the Perini Building Company to start construction on the new Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino, breaking ground in late October and opening in mid 2008. The resort will have two 600 foot tall towers (Condo & Hotel) and the usual assortment of casino space, retail space, restaurants, an 1800 seat theater, nightclubs and an underground parking structure. The underground parking garage will be one of the largest excavations in Vegas history as they dig down 90 feet. Being located right next to the Bellagio and their famous fountain show can only help the Cosmopolitan gain popularity.
  (5/11/05) A reader found a website address posted on the Strip for the new Cosmopolitan Casino along with concept artwork.
  (12/8/04) A new $1.5 billion casino project has been announced near Bellagio on the Strip & Harmon. This 4 million square-foot project will feature twin 53 story glass towers housing 2400 time-shares, hotel and condo rooms. It will have a 70,000 sqft casino, 1,900 seat performance theater, plus 150,000 sqft of meeting/convention space in addition to an extra five story stucture to house an additional 300,000 sqft of retail space. The project is expected to open in 2008.

Echelon Place - (8/13/07) Echelon Place is still on track for a 2010 opening date. So far they are still in the ground work stage of the game.
  (1/6/06) Boyd Gaming has announced a $4 billion plan to demolish the old Stardust and replace it with a 63 acre hotel/casino complex called Echelon Place to open in 2010. It will include four different hotels, 5,300 rooms in total, a 140,000 square-foot casino, theaters, shopping areas, convention space and more. Anchoring the project will be Echelon Resorts, two hotels (3,300 rooms) that will contain the casino and 24 different restaurants and bars. The other two hotels will be the Delano Hotel Las Vegas and Mondrian Hotel Las Vegas. The Stardust will continue to operate through the 2006 season and no date to close it has been given.

Fountainbleau - (8/13/07) Fountainebleau is expected to be complete sometime in late Late 2009. New concept artwork of what the finished condo hotel casino will look like at Vegas Today & Tomorrow.
  (5/4/07) According to new photos on Vegas Today and Tomorrow, Fountainbleau has started construction.
  (4/20/07) The $2.8 billion Fountainbleau casino project across the street from Circus Circus has sold 20% ownership in the project to Australia’s largest gaming company. This puts the 63 story, 3,889 room casino much closer to becoming a reality.

Hard Rock Casino - (3/12/07) Morgans Hotel