The city of Las Vegas does not slow down for anything. Even ridiculous temperatures in excess of 45 degrees don’t stop the gamblers, conventioneers and star watchers from spending some time in Sin City. Most of the hotels are showing high occupancy rates for July and August.

Events like the World Series of Poker and Ultimate Fighting Championships help bring in people from all over the world during the summer months. Las Vegas is ready for the heat; with pools and air conditioning just about everywhere you need to go.

Most working-class people vacation during the summer anyway, so it’s the only time many get the chance to go there and enjoy the city and its surrounding attractions. The heat doesn’t slow down the rich and famous from weekending in Sin City. The nightclubs are jammed with Hollywood types in town for some things that will remain in Vegas.

Las Vegas is certainly a place where the rich get richer. When casino revenues go down, like they did this year, the games are altered to increase the house edge. Many Vegas casinos are offering blackjack games that only pay out 6/5 on a natural blackjack.

Expansion continues within the city, and new and improved mega resorts are being built and planned for the future. Steve Wynn is one of the richest men in the world, and even Donald Trump is building in the city now. Entertainers in the city make ridiculous amounts of money. Comedians and musicians sign contracts worth over a hundred million dollars. That’s why we pay so much to see them.

The rich have been able to create a mindset in vacationers that it’s ok to spend too much money on something in Vegas. We’re supposed to waste money here, that’s what Vegas is all about.

Paris Hilton has made a lot of money just for being famous. The heir to the Hilton fortune has played a big role in the recent development of the City of Las Vegas. Just about any new nightclub or resort that’s planning a grand opening wants to have recognizable celebrities in attendance. Paris leads the field in desirable celebrities; more than Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan combined.

Bars will pay her ridiculous sums of money to make an appearance. Paris has the run of the city when she’s in town, with every casino trying to cater to her and her friends. It’s been rumoured that she gets as much as $500,000 to appear, a claim she has denied and called inaccurate. I doubt it’s far off that number, though. Her latest was an appearance at TAO Las Vegas to film scenes for new MTV reality show “Paris Hilton’s My New BFF.”

The first way to save cash in Vegas is to stay at good – but not the best – hotels. Instead of paying $200 per night at the Bellagio, you can stay at Treasure Island or Bally’s for a fraction of the price. Your room will still be great and you will pocket over $100 a day with which to gamble.

Keep close account on your comps and make sure you get everything you can. Don’t be afraid to ask a pit boss for a coupon to the buffet or a show. Just make sure you ask nicely; don’t demand one, and you’ll be surprised what you’ll get.

Save the drinking for the casino floor. Don’t spend a fortune in the bars on cocktails when you can get them for free on the floor. Get your glow on before you head to the nightclub or you’ll be dumping $10 a drink inside.

The World Series of Blackjack is a tournament of 40 competitors vieing for the top prize of 500 000 dollars. The tournament features 40 top Blackjack players from 14 casinos from around the US. The tournament is being hosted this year at the Las Vegas Hilton and is being televised on the Game Show Network.
Some of this year’s top pros include Anthony Lu, Jeff Bernstein, Randy Driggers, Tony Duong, John Grannis, Angie Hardy, Mikka Padilla, Charlie Montoya, Dominick Haven and Shawn Crowder.

The WSOB is broken down into eight 5 player preliminary rounds followed by two semi-final rounds. Wild card rounds follow with the tournament wrapping up with a Final round to determine the champion.

‘We do it all Vegas’ started out as a merchandise site and has evolved into one of the most informative gaming sites online. The site covers just about every interesting topic that concerns , and is a must-see research tool before any trip to Sin City. It has information on industry news, city info, poker, gambling, shopping, tickets, coupons, poker supplies… and I could go on and on. They do it all Vegas.

The online gaming information is nowhere near the best, but it is adequate and up to date. The real value on this site is the information on the city, which is an amazing source with which to plan your trip, giving you up-to-date information about shows, attractions, discounts, dining, nightlife, real estate… once again, I could go on and on. Plus it’s one of the best sources for poker merchandise and supplies you will find online.

Most of us in North America think the Mecca of gambling is Las Vegas. We know about Atlantic City and Monaco, but few of us are aware that there is a place to gamble that is about to become bigger than Vegas. The place I speak of is the southern Chinese city of Macau.

Macau has been a gambling town since the Portuguese government legalized it in the colony back in the 1850’s. Know as the “Monte Carlo of the Orient” Macau had exclusively Asian games until the introduction of western-style games in the 20th century. Since a law was passed in 2001 that ended Stanley Ho’s 40-year gambling monopoly the city has flourished. Today sports betting, horse racing, greyhound racing, and casino games are all available in the casinos.

The success is due to the heavy profits made from the game of baccarat and the rising Chinese economy. The 26 Macau casinos have already make more than the 40 casinos on the Vegas Strip. Macau earned $9.5 billion in 2006, compared to all of Clark County’s $10.6 billion, and will earn more in profits than the entire county by 2010.

The Chinese economy has been able to attract big-name Vegas hotels, including a couple of Vegas casino owners who have built gambling houses there. So far the Sands and the Wynn Macau are operating, and soon the new Venetian Macau. Tourism is thriving, and Macau had 22 million visitors last year. The new Venetian Macau is set to open next month and will certainly attract tourists from around the globe. It is going to be the largest building in Asia, and the second largest in the world. There will be 3000 suites, 1.2 million square feet of convention and exhibition space, one million square feet of retail space, and a 15,000 seat arena.

The future planners are focused on building more attractions and providing more shopping so the economy of the city can be sustained into the future. A major percentage of the revenue comes from the VIP baccarat high rollers, who could disappear as quickly as they were created if the Chinese economy takes a down swing.

On August 31st the newest hip nightclub will be opening in Vegas. The club will be called LAX, and it will be in the Luxor Hotel. Vegas is one of the hottest nightclub spots in the country and the Luxor wants in on the revenues the trendy Hollywood types are bringing to the city these days. The opening night will be hosted by none other than Britney Spears and a boatload of her friends.

The LAX at the Luxor will be the second edition of the very trendy L.A. hot spot that is expanding to Vegas. It will be run by the successful Pure Management group, so it promises to be one of the trendiest clubs on the strip. It’s replacing the old Vegas nightclub legend RA, and the more than $20 million that’s going into the renovation should make for a funky place.

The Luxor is hiring Britney because of her successful launch of the LAX’s sister venue Pure in January of 2006. Spears allegedly passed out at the end of the evening - her people said she had collapsed from exhaustion, but she was seen drinking from a bottle of Dom Perignon earlier in the night.

I truly question the choice of the Luxor to hire Britney for the opening. The fading pop star isn’t exactly the “in girl” any longer, and her recent behaviour hasn’t been stellar. A lot has happened since January of 2006, and I don’t think she’s the draw she once was. She recently walked out on a photo shoot for OK magazine where she was reported to have destroyed a designer dress and left before they had any photos they could publish.

Investors, which include Wilmer Valderrama, Nick Lachey, and Christina Aguilera, must know what they’re doing by hiring Spears. They at least know that there will be lots of paparazzi and publicity around the wig-wearing pop star, but I guess that’s the point