visitmylasvegas.com » 2007 » February

Specialty chocolatier Images in Chocolate today announced the first custom imprinted chocolate poker chip available in the U.S. marketplace. For the first time, casinos, hotels, and Las Vegas trade show exhibitors, among others, can increase their corporate brand awareness using these 1-1/2″ diameter, 100% Belgian chocolate promotional items.

With the tremendous growth in consumer interest for gambling-related products as a result of the continuing Texas Hold ‘Em craze, a custom-branded chocolate casino chip seemed to be a “sure bet.”

“Until now, there have been generic chocolate casino chips in the market but never one that could be custom imprinted for promotional use,” said Tim Dugan, company CEO. “Not only can our new chocolate casino chips be custom branded, they are the first to use 100% Belgian chocolate and also feature a much more authentic casino chip design than available before.”

A popular method of customizing these chips is to use a corporate logo on one side and imprint a variety of dollar denominations on the second side, replicating an actual casino chip.

“Although this product was designed with the corporate client in mind, we’ve seen tremendous interest in the consumer market as well, primarily from individuals having Las Vegas weddings or other gambling-themed events,” said Dugan.

Whether the event is large or small, these vibrant, customized chocolate poker chips are sure to raise the stakes in the promotion of any company’s image. And who couldn’t use a little chocolate now and again?

STOMP OUT LOUD, the extraordinary new production from the creators of the international sensation STOMP, comes to Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas this spring with a cast double the size of the original production and performed inside a new, $28 million theater specifically created for this production. The show opens this March.

Directed and created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, STOMP OUT LOUD will begin performances on March 24, 2007 with a grand opening slated for early April.

A unique combination of percussion, movement, and visual comedy, STOMP has created its own inimitable form of musical entertainment. With STOMP OUT LOUD, the experience is transformed for Las Vegas with new sequences and choreography, a dynamically expanded cast and a completely new environment that will immerse the audience from the moment they enter the 1,500-seat theatre. STOMP OUT LOUD is a journey through sound, a celebration of the everyday, and a comic interplay of characters wordlessly communicating through dance and percussion.

“We are very excited to bring STOMP OUT LOUD to Las Vegas because it gives us the chance to do things with the show that we’ve always wanted to do,” says co-creator Steve McNicholas. “We think it’s an ideal match and look forward to showing audiences a side of STOMP that they’ve never seen before,” added co-creator Luke Cresswell.

“STOMP OUT LOUD brings an energy, wit and exuberance that makes it the perfect entertainment centerpiece for Planet Hollywood,” said Robert Earl, co-chairman of Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. “Whether you’ve seen STOMP before or not makes no difference. You’ve never seen anything like STOMP OUT LOUD.”

STOMP OUT LOUD will perform in The Showroom at Aladdin Resort & Casino, soon to be Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino Thursday though Tuesday (dark Wednesday) with ticket prices ranging from $50 to $110. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale by March 1.

Singer/guitarist Mary Kaye, credited with linking “lounge” with Las Vegas, died in a Las Vegas hospital of heart and respiratory failure.

Kaye, 83, of the Mary Kaye Trio, was the one who suggested building a stage in the bar area of the Last Frontier and calling it a lounge, the Los Angeles Times said.

Norman Kaye, her brother and trio member, told the Times, “We were the first lounge group advertised as such. … It was a marvelous career for all of us.”

The group performed in the wee hours of the morning, helping to turn Las Vegas into a 24-hour entertainment capital. Headliners, including Frank Sinatra and Elvis, caught the trio’s lounge act between 1-6 a.m., according to a family history.

The best-known version of the trio included Mary Kaye on guitar, her older brother Norman on bass and Frank Ross, the group’s comedian and sometimes accordionist.

The band released a dozen albums before breaking up in 1966.

Kaye, who died Saturday, is survived by a brother, three children and nine grandchildren.
© 2007 UPI

Harrah’s Operating Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET), has launched the World Series of Poker Academy, a new instructional camp that offers participants an opportunity to learn first-hand from some of the poker world’s greatest players.WSOP Academy instructors include 10-time World Series of Poker® bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth Jr., 2005 World Champion Joe Hachem, 2004 World Champion Greg Raymer, former FBI agent Joe Navarro - an expert on nonverbal behavior - and WSOP bracelet winners Scott Fischman and Mark Seif, among others.

“School is in session at the World Series of Poker Academy,” said Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner of the WSOP. “Our new academy is a tremendous value. Participants will learn from the best minds in poker and have a chance to win a seat in the 2007 WSOP Main Event.

“If you want to learn the basics or master the game, the WSOP Academy is for you,” Pollack said.

The first season of the WSOP Academy will be capped by a three-day Main Event Primer at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The Main Event Primer begins July 3 and ends July 5 - the eve of the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’Em World Championship at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino®, home of the 2007 World Series of Poker.

Hellmuth, Hachem, Raymer, Navarro, Fischman, Seif, Alex Outhred and other top professional players are scheduled to help Main Event Primer participants prepare for the game’s most prestigious competition, which last year awarded more than $82.5 million to the WSOP Main Event alone.

All sessions of the WSOP Academy provide participants with in-depth seminars, interactive workshops and customized handbooks. Each session will also include a tournament that awards a seat in the $10,000 buy-in 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event.

The first WSOP Academy was held at Grand Casino Tunica in January. The second is scheduled for Caesars Indiana April 7-8. The third - a Ladies Only WSOP Academy taught by poker pro Annie Duke, who won $2 million in the 2005 Tournament of Champions - is set for Caesars Palace on June 8-9, the eve of the World Championship Ladies No-Limit Hold’Em tournament at the 2007 World Series of Poker.

A 71-year-old Las Vegan, on her way to see the afternoon performance of “The Magic of Rick Thomas” at the Orleans Hotel & Casino, made a little magic of her own today when she hit the dollar Megabucks(R) jackpot for $12,076,530.Nevada MegaJackpots(R) systems have been hit for more than $38 million in the last 10 days. Besides today’s big win, Wheel of Fortune(R) Special Edition(TM) produced a $7.8 million winner in Reno on January 27, and an $18.7 million Penny Megabucks(R) jackpot was won January 31 in Pahrump, Nev.

Today’s anonymous winner had come to the Orleans early to have lunch before the 2 p.m. show. After lunch, on her way to the theater, she stopped to play Megabucks(R).

“I have been playing Megabucks(R) for years,” she said. “I come here all the time, especially on Sunday after church. So today, I put in $20 and after several pulls, I saw the first Megabucks(R) symbol fall into place, then the second and then the third. It was all in slow motion, watching them drop down one at a time. But I knew right away I had won. I just didn’t know how much.”

The woman, a former interior decorator who moved to Las Vegas in 2000, said the winnings will help her pay off the mortgage on her home. She will also donate money to her church and share the winnings with her family.

Megabucks(R) is one of 24 Nevada MegaJackpots(R) systems operated by IGT. All IGT MegaJackpots(R) are paid in annual installments upon verification, except MegaJackpots Instant Winners Jackpots(TM) and Rapid Riches MegaJackpots(R), which are paid in their entirety upon verification. Both the penny and dollar Megabucks(R) progressives have top jackpots that build from a base amount of $10 million and are paid in annual installments upon verification.