MID-May '06 Insider Viewpoint Column

As our name states…Insider Viewpoint of Las Vegas, the facts and gossip from the streets of Las Vegas.

May 15, 2006 Street Facts

* Beginning Saturday, June 3, Hooters Casino begins the 10th year of their four-part swimsuit contest, with the final winner taking home a first prize valued at $50,000. June 10, 17 and 24 will be the other three contests and a grand finale on July 25.

* Terrible's Casino is undergoing Phase I of their expansion project which includes an expanded casino floor, a new hotel tower, a new 500-space parking garage and a celebrity grand opening expected this summer.

* Big band swingers Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will jump and jive into the Silverton Casino on Friday, June 9 at 8p. Tickets for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are $40. The concert will be held in the Silverton's Outdoor Events Center.

* The 1st Annual Las Vegas Venom All-Star Basketball Game will start at 7pm on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 at the Palo Verde High School Gymnasium. This event will feature the Las Vegas Venom All-Stars playing against The Court Jesters. Admission at the door is $10 adults and $8 children, children 4 years and under N/C. The Las Vegas Venom is a professional basketball franchise in the ABA (American Basketball Association.)

* Are you ready for a No Cover Blue Monday Night Series May 22, 2006? Soul Patch LTD. will be performing two shows beginning at 8pm and 9:30pm in The Casbah Lounge inside the Sahara Casino.

* It is official, the first annual Las Vegas Music Conference is going to be a reality and it will happen in Vegas on September 20-24, 2006. This annual conference is held in Las Vegas, and will be the cornerstone of future success for "up and coming" DJ's, producers and artists for electronic-based music. Additional info, tickets, etc. will be available soon.

* Sapporo, a high-energy Japanese-influenced restaurant has opened at Grand Flamingo Centre, 9719 West Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. The restaurant features three distinctive menus with incomparable Teppan Yaki, Sushi and Pacific Rim dishes prepared by experienced chefs, offering tastes suitable to every diner. Food service begins daily at 4p.

* Don't miss Rick Ginn and Finley Bolton in Misery by Stephen King performed at the CCSN Cheyenne Campus, Back Stage Theatre May 19–June 4, at 7:30p weekdays, 2p Sundays. Tickets are $10.00 and $12.50.

* Hooters Casino will host the 2006 Great International Chicken Wing Cookoff on May 19–21, 2006. The Great International Chicken Wing Cookoff is free to the public and the event will feature a variety of the country's best wing makers. Interesting note: 30 million Hooters Chicken Wings are sold each year, placed side-by-side, they'd encircle the globe at the equator.

* As of June 20, 2006 the show "Le Reve" at Wynn Las Vegas will be dark on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the remainder of the year. Show times will remain at Thu–Mon at 7:30 and 10:30p.