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

*  Rumor has it the Vegas 888 high-rise condo project next to the Palms Casino may be in serious trouble. The info IVLV heard on the street was the Vegas 888 sales office has been closed and the property is up for sale. This property was purchased for $50 million by Florida-based company Del American. You may be familiar with that name, they started the Vegas Grand project at Flamingo and Swenson a few years ago and they stopped construction on that project which has prompted a wave of law suits/class action lawsuits. IVLV will keep you informed as this interesting story takes shape.

*  A real bargain is available from Las Vegas. Impress your wife or girlfriend at a discount price. A friend of IVLV has found himself with a brand new, still in the original box, gorgeous Ladies Presidential watch and the intended recipient of this watch is no longer with him, she left before he had a chance to give her the watch as a gift. (Not all relationships in Vegas end perfectly.) This Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust Watch, The Rolex Lady President. 26mm 18K yellow gold case with a fluted bezel. Mother of pearl dial with Roman numerals is magnificent and will be sold far less than the original purchase price. This is a genuine Rolex watch, with all the paperwork, owner manual, warranty papers, original Rolex box, extra gold links and best of all, it does not cost today's standard retail price of $16,000.00+. This Rolex watch was purchased in Las Vegas a few years ago for $11,750.00 plus tax from the local Rolex jeweler, price tag still on the paperwork. Rather than continuing to keep the Lady President watch in his safe deposit box, he thought it is finally time he can part with it. Since the watch owner or IVLV is not in the watch business, we searched the Internet and found used watches of the same type selling for $7000-$11,500. We could not find anyone on the Internet that had a pre owned watch that was still never been worn. Therefore, the owner is willing to part with this authentic Rolex watch for the discounted price of $7500.00. IVLV has the Rolex in our possession and the watch will be sold on a fist come first served basis. And yes, there is only one of these, this is one time only offer. Call 702-242-4482 for additional details and payment/shipping arrangements. See photo.

*  Another interesting land transaction has been proposed for Las Vegas. This time it is the mighty Cox Communication company. You know the cable people. They want to buy from the city of Las Vegas 7.69 acres of land with is adjacent to the building the want to use for their new corporation offices. What is so remarkable about them wanting to buy 7.69 acres, they offered the amazing price of $1? Want to know the best part, the city will probably do the transaction because they feel it is going to increase the job base in the area. Not trying to sound like sour grapes, but IVLV promises to hire more employees if you gave us millions of dollars worth of land.

*  The summer heat is in full force in Las Vegas and so is the local desert fire situation. This time of year the southwest states are plagued with brush/forest fires and the surrounding desert of Las Vegas has already seen their share. Last week a dark smoke cloud filled the Vegas sky for more than two days. Rest assured, Vegas is not going to burn down, but with the outside temperatures reaching more than 110, additional caution is suggested to those touring the surrounding Las Vegas area sights.

*  Just announced...Opportunity Village attempts to break the world record for the Largest Santa Gathering with the Great Santa Run and Kris Kringle Jingle at 8a on December 9, 2006, at the Freemont Street Experience. The Great Santa Run serves as a fundraising effort to benefit Opportunity Village and an attempt to break the current world record for the Largest Santa Gathering. Registration is open to the public, and offers a fun warm up event for the New Las Vegas Marathon being held the following day. The first 5,000 jolly joggers will receive a five-piece Santa suit complete with hat, belt and beard and a gift bag. Participants may choose from the 5K Fun Run/Walk or the Kris Kringle Jingle one-mile stroll for the casual walker or jogger. Registration fees are $45 prior to December 9, and $75 on race day. The current world record for the Largest Santa Gathering was set in December 2004 with 4,260 participants at the Newtown and District Dial-A-Ride Santa Run in the UK. Opportunity Village expects at least 5,000 participants for the Great Santa Run.

*  The final performance of Buck Wild! at the Sahara Theater will be on Saturday, August 12, 2006. Their 1 year contract with the Sahara is up and the show owner, David Saxe, has decided not to renew it. IVLV is not sure if the show will be closed permanently or moved to a new venue, time will tell.

*  Following Saturday's (July 15) energetic Eddie Money performance, the Silverton Casino Hotel Lodge's popular live entertainment series will begin a year-long hiatus. The series, currently held in the Outdoor Events Center, will end temporarily to make way for a brand new entertainment venue, located in the Silverton's revamped pool area. The new venue and pool arena will re-open in Summer 2007.

*  Master magician and illusionist David Copperfield continues his 2006 tour at the MGM Grand's intimate 740-seat Hollywood Theatre with scheduled performances on November 9 through November 29 and December 21 through January 3, 2007. Tickets are priced at $97 inclusive and can be purchased at MGM Grand ticketing outlets.

*  As we have reported previously, conventions are a life line of income for Las Vegas and recently conventioneers have gone to other cities. For example, the decline in total number of people coming to Las Vegas conventions in the past few weeks might be blamed on high gasoline costs or high temperatures, unfortunately neither is correct. Vegas had 3.34 visitors in May 2006, and this is down 0.9% from the previous year. Traffic from California on Interstate 15 averaged 40,288 vehicles per day in May 2006, and this is down only 0.4% from same time last year. The only reason IVLV sees convention business is down is because other cities are making serious attempts to lure away major conventions from Las Vegas. For example, the Kitchen/Bath Industry convention was held in Chicago this year, thus taking the 55,000 attendees out of Vegas. Also moved this year was the American Institute of Architects convention, it moved to Los Angeles along with the 24,500 attendees. The reason we report on these statistics is help Las Vegas visitors understand that casinos generate money, but conventions make the mega resorts even more money. Remember, fewer conventioneers is direct relationship to what hotel rooms may cost in the future.

*  July 18, 2006....Insider Viewpoint of Las Vegas is expanding once again and this time it is into the world of full color printing. What does this have to do with you? Starting July 18, 2006, we will offer wholesale full color printing of business cards, flyers, letterhead, envelopes, posters, postcards, business starter kits and many other print items. For years, ever since the beginning of IVLV, before the Internet when we actually printed a monthly magazine, we have been in contact with the largest printers around the world. Over the years many friends and IVLV readers we have helped obtain the best prices on color printed materials. Starting July 18, 2006 we will take those contacts and a print broker and offer you wholesale printing costs for small print jobs as well as larger print jobs. We will offer full color, high gloss, UV coated one or two sides, pre folding is available on the highest quality 14pt, 16pt, 100lb gloss stock. Please note, for those of you that are tired of paying retail for printing, IVLV will provide a source for wholesale printing and quick delivery. IVLV will provide a complete online shopping program that allows the most novice or the most sophisticated buyers the easiest way to obtain printed material at wholesale prices. We will advise you when the online wholesale print company is posted at the IVLV web site.