Las Vegas roundup: A guilty O.J.; Disney’s ‘Lion King’ coming to Mandalay Bay; ‘Welcome’ sign gets parking lot; October hotel deals

The big news surrounding Las Vegas today is that O.J. Simpson was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping. And the trial just may have put the Palace Station Hotel & Casino on the map. The Vegas blog Movable Buffet notes that Simpson will stay in jail until sentencing in December, but there is a possibility that he could be sent to Nevada’s maximum security prison in Ely. Read on for more news involving Las Vegas shows, hotel deals and more.

Shows | ‘Mamma Mia!’ is in the final phase of a terrific run at Mandalay Bay. The last performance will be Jan. 4, 2009 [Updated Oct. 6 from Jan. 2] . Meanwhile, excitement is building for “The Lion King,” which will open at the Mandalay Bay Theatre May 2, 2009.

News |  The famous Las Vegas “Welcome” sign is going to get a parking lot. Just 12 spaces, but still, if you’ve ever driven down the south side of the Strip and waited for traffic to make a U-turn — only to crawl on by so you could take a photo — you’ll be pleased at this new convenience. They broke ground on Sept. 10 and expect to finish late next month. [via the Las Vegas Sun]

Deals | In case you missed it, there’s a “Jersey Boys” suite deal going on at the Palazzo. Also, the Vegas.com Deals page shows a great Palms promotion. Buy one night, get another night free if staying Oct. 5-9 and 12-16, 2008 only. Don’t forget that next weekend is Columbus Day weekend. If you have Monday off, feel a little better spending more money on a Saturday night hotel knowing you’ll save on Sunday night hotel rates. Have a look at TravelWorm for some deals you might not find on other travel websites. (Example: A room for Oct. 11-13 at Hooters Casino Hotel for an average of $91 per night while Vegas.com is charging an average of $119 per night that weekend, pre-tax).

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: Daniel Gluskoter, Pool / Associated Press]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 4, 2008 at 3:01 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under Deals, Las Vegas, News, Tips & Advice, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.