National Finals Rodeo to stay in Las Vegas!

Looks like they are staying after all!

The National Finals Rodeo has decided to stay in Las Vegas for another ten years, meaning they will be in the Bright Light City every December through 2024.

In the end, the NFR chose Las Vegas over Dallas and Orlando but not before stirring up a great deal of controversy over the leaving.

The Dallas deal was spearheaded Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and had the blessing of Texas governor, Rick Perry.

The Orlando deal, first announced last month, now seems like it was used to bring about a better deal with Las Vegas.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal:

“In a way, we’re not too surprised,” Osceola County Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins said Friday. “We knew the PRCA was going to continue to work with Las Vegas, and we knew there was a long relationship there.”

It seems that negotiations between the PRC and officials from the Las Vegas Convention authority, Las Vegas Events and Strip hotel owners have been going on over the last several weeks., despite official word from the PRC that they were leaving Las Vegas after over twenty years.

The new deal has Las Vegas Events guaranteeing a $16.5 million purse in money and sponsorship annually  for the event. For four years beginning in 2020, a cost-of-living increase to each purse is included.

Since it's arrival, the NFR has been held at the Thomas and Mack arena at UNLV. It only seats 24,000 and many consider it long in the tooth. A new stadium to replace it is under consideration.

Attendance for last year's NFR was 176,558 and had a non-gaming revenue of $87.9 million for Las Vegas according the R-J.

This new contract takes place after this year's rodeo which will be held Dec. 4th-13th at the Thomas and Mack Center.

Welcome back, NFR!

Bally's "Jubilee!" to close for major make-over

According to KLAS-Channel 8, the long-running showgirl show, Jubilee!, will temporarily close after the Jan. 30th performance. The show will undergo a major transformation that will include new singers and dancers.

Jubilee!, of course, is the long running show created by showman and Las Vegas legend, Donn Arden. Today, Donn Arden is a distant memory to many who remember his name at all and the shows he created are memories, too.  But Arden's last show, Jubilee!  which took the place of Hallelujah Hollywood! at the original MGM Grand (now Bally's)  is the longest running show on the famed Las Vegas Strip.

Creative director and choreographer Frank Gatson Jr. said he will hold auditions in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas in January.

"It has been amazing getting to know the cast and crew of Jubilee!, who night after night bring the idea of an amazing Vegas show to life for thousands around the world to see," Gatson said. "I am excited to continue working with our existing cast and crew, as well as new singers and dancers I hope to find over the coming weeks, to modernize Donn Arden's masterpiece."

Gaston is perhaps best known for his work with singer Beyonce and claims to have been responsible for creating the hand gesture in the singer's Single Ladies music video.  He has won six MTV Video Awards for best choreography and was nominated last year for a Grammy for his work in co-directing Beyonce's I am. Tour

Following the house going dark after the Jan. 30th performance, Jubilee is set to reopen in March 2014 with, from the sounds of things, a whole new contemporary look.

Have you seen Jubilee!? Hit the comments and tell us what you think!

Photo courtesy of Vegasnews.com

Snow Days and Las Vegas!

While the northeast and midwest are dealing with cold and freezing temps, we thought it might be nice to take a walk down Memory Lane, Las Vegas style, and remember when snow came to the Las Vegas Valley.  My earliest memory of snow that actually stuck around enough that you could actually play in it was New Year's Day, 1974.

As 1973 turned into 1974, we hit the big time.

Back then, my friends and I used to go to movies on New Year's Eve.  That evening we went to the old Red Rock Theaters to see The Sting. We hada great time and really enjoyed the film. The second film pairing of Paul Newman, Robert Redford and George Roy Hill was an absolute delight.

After the film, it was cold out as we bounded into Al's car (he was a year and half older than us and had a big, boat of a car (common back in those pre-oil crisis days). By the time we got to our next stop, it was even colder. As I got out of the car, I remember telling Al, "Do you think it will snow?". He laughed out loud.

We celebrated ringing in the New Year at Al's house, jitterbugging to the Andrew's Sisters (his mother was teaching us to dance- Today, Al is still a really good dancer and I'm not).

He ended up driving me back to my house probably about 1 in the morning. Again, I mentioned that it might snow and again, he laughed out loud (all these years later, he still does that).

When I woke up about nine that morning, I looked out bedroom window to see snow blanketing the ground. Snow, real honest to gosh snow. It was the first real snow we had had since we arrived in 1961. My family went to Mt. Charleston to play in the snow but now the snow had come to us.

The first think I did was pick up my princess phone (anyone remember those?) and called Al. When he answered, I laughed out loud.

Near the Strip, a skier enjoys one of the valley's few snows. A winter storm dumped 7.4 inches of snow on the valley floor on January 31, 1979. The next day, during his show at the Aladdin Hotel, comedian Gabe Kaplan quipped "Las Vegas has always been my favorite ski resort." Courtesy of the http://thesmithfamilyupdate.blogspot.com/2008/12/weird-wild-weather.html

My friend, Dennis McBride, the Executive Director of the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, grew up in Boulder City and he shares his memory of those snow days:

Seems to me there was a lot more snow in the 1970s in southern Nevada than there has been in the last thirty-some years. One particularly great snow I remember and wrote about in my journals was the night of New Year's Eve/New Year's Day 1973-74.

I'd spent New Year's Eve with my friend, Dee Keys, in Boulder City and at midnight we went out to see what was going on. Not much in Boulder City. But it was absolutely clear, the stars were brilliant, the moon was high.

Went in to bed and awoke early the next morning with four inches of snow on the ground. Just three days later, Thursday, January 3, another snow storm hit the valley and left seven inches of snow. Dee and I had gone to a science fiction double bill at the El Portal--Zardoz and Soylent Green--and when we came out, Fremont Street and the cars parked along the curb were covered with snow.

One car cruised up and down Fremont with a snow man on its roof. Getting back to BC from Las Vegas, as I wrote in my journal, was "hairy. We could drive only 25-30 miles an hour and very nearly didn't make it out of the valley. The road disappeared and we drove in two tracks in the snow."

Another notable snow was February 14, 1979--here's a photograph of me standing on a bench in front of Frazier Hall at UNLV with the Flora Dungan Humanities building in the snowy background.

By 1979, I had decamped Las Vegas for Los Angeles (two years earlier) but my mother took pictures of the snow at our house on Edna Avenue. Somewhere in boxes, they await me pulling them out.

Old-timers talk about the snow in 1930 that blanketed Fremont Street and surrounding areas.

Children in the snow outside the Fifth Street School. Courtesy of http://www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/photo_gallery/las_vegas_history/0003-0020kidssnow(large).jpg

The biggest snowfall was on December 17, 2008. It broke the January 1, 1974 record and Las Vegans were treated to sights like this:

Courtesy of the Las Vegas News Bureau.

Snow on the Luxor courtesy of http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/QP5mZimf9aD/Winter+Storm+Dumps+Snow+Las+Vegas/u1PbshJjjDu

Snow in Las Vegas, not something you see very often.

New Year's Eve fireworks and more-Las Vegas 2013

New Year's Eve in Las Vegas is always a fun time and this year is no exception! 

Over 330,000 are expected to be in the Bright Light City to help usher in the New Year!

On the famed Las Vegas Strip an eight minute FIREWORKS show is planned to Christine Aguilera's  "Feel This Moment" as well as music from Mariah Carey, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Pitbull, Poison and Flo Rida and Sia, Robin Thicke and Rihanna. The pyrotechnics are expected to go all out in the last ten seconds of the countdown to 2014.

Prior to midnight fireworks will be launched off the roof of the Stratosphere Hotel which should provide tourists and residents alike with a dazzling show. As the clock strikes midnight, fireworks will also be launched from Treasure Island, the Venetian, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, Aria and the MGM.

The fireworks spectacular will be handled by Grucci of New York.

“There’s no better place to spend New Year’s Eve than Las Vegas,” said Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman in a news release. “This is a place where anything can happen, and I invite everyone to visit our rejuvenated downtown where you can experience the fun and energy of the Fremont East Entertainment District and Downtown Third, as well as the excitement of the world-famous Fremont Street Experience.”

Fremont Street will be filled with revelers as well. There will be 9 hours of music from 3 stages. You must be 21 or over and admission is $40. Gates open at 6:00 pm but tickets can be picked up at the box office throughout the day. Capacity is limited so please keep that mind. Arriving early may help. Live Music acts include: Papa Roach, Blues Traveler, Loverboy, Arena. Vince Neil, The Blackjacks, Clockwork, Adelitas Way, Kid Hollywood and Monroy.

Other events include:

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will once again play host to an unforgettable New Year’s Eve experience as the ultimate destination to ring in 2014 on the Las Vegas Strip.  Revelers will kick off the New Year with the opening of The Chelsea and a performance by pop superstar Bruno Mars. Guests can also tap into the excitement of The Strip at the most original winter retreat in Las Vegas, The Ice Rink at Boulevard Pool. 

Inside the resort’s new intimate venue, The Chelsea, Grammy Award-winning recording artist and critically-acclaimed performer Bruno Marswill count down the New Year and offer a peek at what’s to come for a series of exclusive concert dates in 2014.

Entrance to The Chelsea is located on the 3rd floor West End Tower. General admission tickets for Bruno Mars are sold out. Various VIP room packages that offer admission to the concert are still on sale at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com.

Perched high above Las Vegas Boulevard, guests can lace up their skates for a memorable New Year’s Eve Fireworks Celebration at The Ice Rink (9 p.m. – 1 a.m.) featuring a live stream of Mars’ concert on The Cosmopolitan’s 65’ digital marquee. Guests will relish in a premium open bar, breathtaking views of the midnight fireworks, skating on real ice and seasonal culinary offerings.

Tickets to the New Year’s Eve Fireworks Viewing Party are $150 and can be purchased online now at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com. Cabanas, daybeds and fire pits are also available through Nightlife Marketing by contacting nightlifemarketing@cosmopolitanlasvegas.com or702.698.7778.  Guests attending this event must be 21 and older.

Or you can ring in the New Year with Britney Spears, who recently announced a 2 year residency deal with Planet Hollywood. The singer will be performing her Piece of Me concert at 10pm on New Year's Eve. 

Among the early announcements is that DJ Calvin Harris is returning to Vegas again this year - he'll be playing live at the Hakkasan Las Vegas restaurant and nightclub at the MGM Grand. He'll be in the main room of a venue that, spread over 5 floors, is one of the biggest in town.

Other performers and venues are (all are ticketed events):

Paris Hilton bringing in the new year with a DJ set at the Hyde Bellagio 

John Legend at HAZE Nightclub at ARIA Resort & Casino - 

Maroon 5 at the Mandalay Bay Resort Event Center - 

Common at The Bank Nightclub at Bellagio - 

Miguel and Politik at Tao at Venetian - 

DJ Vice at Lavo at The Palazzo - 

Kristin Chenoweth at Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center -

Diplo at Surrender Nightclub, Encore -

Celine Dion at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace - 

Brad Garrett & Friends New Year's Bash at the MGM Grand - 

Kaskade at XS at Encore - 

Lil Jon at Tryst Las Vegas -

Keri Hilson at LAX, Luxor Hotel and Casino - 

Sebastian Ingrosso at Light Nightclub, Mandalay Bay - 

New York-New York Hotel & Casino is holding several events includng a dinner and dance party in the America Restaurant & Bar, an excellent Open Bar Party in The Sporting House and NYE Reventon at Gonzalez Y Gonzalez, which keeps going until 4am! There is also the V Bar Ultra Lounge Open Bar NYE Party at The Venetian Resort. Tickets for these events are also available at the door.

There is a New Year's Eve Night Club Crawl taking place that includes iconic venues such as PURE, V Bar, Planet Hollywood, Dal Toro, Kahunaville and Rockhouse, a great chance to visit a load of top venues in a single night out. 

The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino is holding a "Paint the Town Gold" NYE party which looks like a fantastic and glamourous night out - 

SHe By Morton’s are holding a big new years eve bash that will be hosted by Olympics legends and gold medal winners Ryan Lochte and Cullen Jones. The venue also offers floor to ceiling windows that will provide some great views of the fireworks over The Strip. 

If you are trying to get around or across the Strip that night please be aware of the following road closures that will be taking place on Dec. 31st:

Beginning at 5 p.m. Blockades begin to go up to prepare for the pedestrian-only celebration. The i-15 off ramp at Eastbound Tropicana, Flamingo and Spring Mountain will close to traffic.
All streets going westbound toward Las Vegas Blvd from Koval will close between Sahara and Russell.

In addition to the road closures, there will be many other things closed to revelers who celebrate on Las Vegas Blvd. that night. 

Beginning at 6:30 p.m., all moving walkways, elevators and escalators leading to or crossing Las Vegas Blvd. will be shut off. At the same time, Las Vegas Blvd fully opens to pedestrian traffic.

All walkways will be reopened following the fireworks and roads reopen around 1:30 a.m.