Archive for the 'Las Vegas' Category
Fourth of July: Fireworks shows, parades & parties in L.A., Las Vegas, San Diego
July 3, 2009 1:44pm
Maybe you have Fourth of July weekend plans, maybe you don’t. But these fun Fourth of July events in L.A., San Diego and Las Vegas might entice you to hop in the car after a cameo at your neighborhood block party.
Los Angeles Area
The Standard Hollywood is hosting a poolside Ping Pong Tournament. What to expect: hipster crowd, prizes, organic hot dogs, BBQ and cute referees. Doors open at 11a.m.-7p.m. DJ Max Vanville will be spinning. 8300 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; (323) 650-9090
Go to the Rose Bowl if you want a great big fireworks show. Americafest is a local tradition and you’ll be joined by about 25,000 others. Tickets are $13, 7 and under are free. 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena. Sat., 7 p.m. (626) 577-3101
Redondo Beach puts on a fun, free Fourth of July for families. There’s a kids parade, puppet shows, live music and fireworks at 9:30 p.m. Seaside Lagoon, 200 Portofino Way, Redondo Beach. Sat., 2 p.m.
See a full hour of fireworks a the L.A. Coliseum. And the best part? Totally free. 3911 South Figueroa St., Los Angeles.
Rush Street in Culver City will be celebrating Independence Day all weekend long. The Doors cover band Peace Frog will be playing on July 3, the anniversary of Jim Morrison’s death. Expect drink specials and even a raffle for an electric guitar. 9546 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 837-9546
Foreign affairs: Where Gov. Mark Sanford should have been sleeping
June 24, 2009 4:04pm
Memo to: All American elected officials
From: Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times travel writer
Regarding: National and international affairs
And: Where to have them
Hey, stuff happens, and sometimes a fella strays. Sometimes, a governor needs to spend Father’s Day weekend cheating on his wife in Argentina. But as South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford can now authoritatively say, South America is perhaps a bit too far to stray.
Then again, look at the stateside troubles of U.S. Sen. John Ensign, the Nevada Republican who just admitted a 2008 stateside affair with a campaign aide, or John Edwards, the philandering Democratic presidential hopeful from North Carolina. If you’re going to stray, U.S. territory might not be far enough away.
A prudent elected official seeks middle ground. And no, we don’t mean Las Vegas. Because deep down, don’t you suspect that what happens in Vegas ends up on video somewhere?
But we can help. Whatever your amatory outsourcing needs, gentlemen, we suggest you consider these assignation destinations. Or, you know, be good and stay home.
Guantanamo Bay Press banned and extra beds available soon.
Rome Long flight, but very romantic. And the media is so busy covering Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s high-level appointments of various attractive young women —and subsequent threats of divorce by his wife — that tailing you wouldn’t be worth the trouble.
Darien Gap, Panama Green and steamy. And since there are almost no paved roads, they’d never find you. Just don’t forget the mosquito repellent.
Asuncion, Paraguay Because they put the “para” in “paramour.”
Rio de Janeiro Incumbent mistress getting old? Browse Ipanema Beach for a successor.
Tijuana Lots of hotel vacancies. And prices have never been better for car upholstery, dentistry and cosmetic surgery.
Nuuk, Greenland Taste the reindeer. See the aurora borealis. Enjoy Nuuk nookie.
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Because once you’ve pulled on those yellow rain slickers, you’ll be just another happy, hooded, damp couple.
The Cayman Islands Between flings, check your offshore accounts.
— Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times staff writer
[Photo: The Spanish Steps in Rome, a very romantic city. Credit: Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times
Be my guide: Music-driven road trip to Los Angeles kicks off in New York
June 22, 2009 7:20am
My reader-guided musical road trip from New York to Los Angeles starts today, June 22, and already I’ve received plenty of tips on where to go. Watch for updates and photos over the next two weeks on the Daily Travel & Deal Blog and, later, a story in the Los Angeles Times Sunday Travel Section.
Nearly three dozen people posted comments on my earlier blog post. Many others e-mailed suggestions or Twittered them in 140-character, bite-sized nuggets (except for “adamstue,” who rebelled against Twitter’s length limit on messages by simply sending a series of tweets – sneaky).
A few trends emerged. Many readers were excited about stops in New Orleans and Washington, D.C. , but Houston and El Paso didn’t fair so well. And I received plenty of earnest pleas to hit Memphis instead of Nashville.
Las Vegas: Britney Spears ‘Circus’ tour tickets on sale Friday
June 18, 2009 4:56pm
Britney Spears is bringing her “Circus” concert tour to Las Vegas. She’ll be performing at the Mandalay Events Center on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26-27, 2009. If you are on the Mandalay Bay e-mail list you were sent an invitation to buy tickets Thursday, a day before the general public, between 10 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Tickets will be on sale Friday, including VIP packages, beginning at 10 a.m.
Where to buy? Ticketmaster / Prices will range from $55 to $578 per ticket.
Staying at Mandalay Bay: Rooms at Mandalay Bay on Sept. 26 start at $189, pre-tax, for a DLX room.
Contact: Mandalay Bay Events Center, (702) 632-7777
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo: Singer Britney Spears performs onstage during the opening night of "The Circus Starring Britney Spears" tour at the New Orleans Arena on March 3, 2009. Credit: Jeremy Cowart/Getty Images]
Southwest Airlines deal offers $38 fares for 12 hours
June 18, 2009 10:00am
Southwest Airlines is selling $38 one-way summer fares, today only, through its DING! desktop application, which posts short-term deals. The sale started at 7 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m., Pacific time.
The deal: It seems to beat some of the lowest prices out there. When I checked Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) round trips for July 14 to 18 on Kayak.com this morning, the lowest one-way fare was $49. Ditto for Southwest’s own (non-DING!) website.
Last-minute Father’s Day hotel deals in Los Angeles, Vegas and San Diego
June 16, 2009 4:05pm
Would the dad in your life prefer a night out of the house and away from all his parenting roles instead of celebrating with the family at home? Mom, can you find a babysitter on short notice? Here are some last-minute hotel deals for this weekend. Kids, don’t be surprised if Dad books the night at the hotel and leaves you a note with the bill.
Los Angeles
Thompson Beverly Hills: For hipster dads and those who are ready to let their hair down, rooms this weekend start at $179 Saturday and Sunday, marked down from $495 on Last Minute Tablet Hotels.
The Georgian: If you want to take dad to the beach, why not head for Santa Monica? The Georgian has suites discounted 40% right now through a 48-hour sale on Hotels.com. I found rooms this weekend Friday-Sunday for $213 per night, down from $355.
Las Vegas
Dad deserves a trip to Vegas. DealBase beat out Hotels.com and Vegas.com on last-minute Sin City deals for these two hotels — $99 per night at Planet Hollywood ($198 total for two nights Friday-Sunday), $200 per night at Caesars Palace ($400 total for two nights Friday-Sunday). Note that there are lots of hotels under $100 per night on Hotels.com for their summer sale — stay two nights, get 30% off.
Be my guide: Building the ultimate iPod set list for a road trip from New York to Los Angeles
June 16, 2009 7:58am
Jack Kerouac and Hunter Thompson hit the road decades ago, each with little more than a car, a suitcase full of clothes and presumably another suitcase stocked with some fairly potent narcotics.
I will embark on a similar journey next week from New York to Los Angeles. In place of the copious amounts of drugs, however, I will be packing a laptop and an Internet-connected cellphone that will aid me in discovering this expansive nation, with its diverse inhabitants and culture.
As an amateur rock musician and enthusiastic consumer of such, music will be my guide. No, scratch that. How about you be my guide? To provide travel tips, send e-mails to mark.milian@latimes.com, leave comments on this blog or, for those on Twitter, send tweets to @mmilian.
I will post updates to the Daily Travel & Deal blog, snap photos of the scenery and Twitter my progress. Plus, of course, credit readers when I visit a place they suggested. Then I’ll write a story for the Los Angeles Times Travel Section about the trip.
Thanks to the ubiquity of wireless technology (well, we’ll see what happens deep in the countryside), I’ll be able to stay perpetually connected with readers and vice versa.
Las Vegas: Smoking-hot hotel deals on and off the Strip
June 11, 2009 1:25pm
Practically every Sin City hotel is offering some kind of discount or incentive to lure you in this summer. If you can get away midweek, you’re set to save the most, but even weekender packages are well-priced for the hottest, driest months. Following is a selection of particularly pocket-friendly sales to get you started. Prices below don’t include taxes.
$27 at the Excalibur
Ever stayed at this classically Vegas (as in, over-the-top) place? If not, you can take advantage of a 30% discount being offered for first-time guests. For stays now through Feb. 28, 2010, you must book by June 24 to secure these discounted rates. Rooms are as low as $27 per night for stays Monday through Thursdays in June and July, but starting rates for weekend nights are $69 to $116.
$39 at Bally’s
Internet-only rates here are as low as $39 per night, midweek, this summer. No minimum stay is required for this rate.
$40 at Luxor
Its Get to the Point sale runs through June 24 (for stays between now and Feb. 28, 2010), and offers rates as low as $40 per night. Read the rest of this entry »
Roundup: Dave Matthews GPS; Las Vegas Bellagio hotel deal; U.S. Airways employee helps passenger get gun on plane
June 5, 2009 9:14am
> The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that gaming revenues were down 14.1% in April. The economic downturn continues to make Vegas more affordable for travelers at both the budget and luxe end of the spectrum. This week Bellagio announced a stay-two-nights-and-get-the-third-night-free offer with prices starting at $169 per night. Through Oct. 1.
> A U.S. Airways employee was charged with helping a passenger get a semiautomatic handgun onto a plane departing from Philadelphia and headed to Phoenix.
> Travel Humor — Need a new gadget for your summer road trip? Jimmy Fallon suggests you check out the Dave Matthews GPS.
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images]
Las Vegas: Travel tips for the 2009 World Series of Poker
May 26, 2009 1:47pm
Summer is nearly upon us in Las Vegas, and that doesn’t just mean temperatures that exceed 110 degrees — it also means it’s time for the World Series of Poker. For non-poker players, this is the Superbowl of poker. Some poker players plan their trek to the Rio, where the WSOP is held, for months. Others just nip in to ogle the professional poker players they’ve seen on TV, such as Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Chris Moneymaker, Chris Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Annie Duke, Scotty Nguyen and more. The good news is that the World Series of Poker lasts for seven weeks. So even if you are traveling to Vegas for a convention or a weekend getaway, you can stop by the Rio to hear thousands of poker players in one room, all vying for the coveted gold WSOP bracelet.
World Series of Poker Travel Tips
Where to stay — Harrah’s has hotel deals with special rates for WSOP players. These rates are good across the Harrah’s family of hotels and can be accessed at the WSOP website. Most Harrah’s properties run a shuttle to the Rio during the WSOP, which may save you some walking and the cost of a cab. The Palms and Palms Place are across the street and in close proximity.
If you want to play — There are 57 different types of poker events to choose from, including No-Limit Texas Holdem like you see on ESPN or GSN, as well as games you might never have heard of, such as Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball. Given the tough economic times, the WSOP has scheduled its “stimulus special,” a No Limit Hold Em tournament that kicks off Saturday, May 30. The buy-in for this event is $1,000. Although that may not sound like much of a deal to some, that is actually the lowest open field event buy-in the WSOP has had in at least a decade. There are plenty of women in the room and the Ladies No-Limit Texas Holdem World Championship event takes place June 7 with a $1,000 buy-in. The main event is the granddaddy that everyone is waiting for. The World Championship Texas Holdem Event ($10,000 buy-in) begins on July 3 and lasts for 13 days. Here is the full schedule of WSOP events.
