Las Vegas Strip will be closed to automobile traffic on New Year's Eve -UPDATED

Getting around town will be a tad tougher on New Year's Eve night with these closures announced:

From the Las Vegas Sun:

Getting around Las Vegas will be a little more difficult than normal Thursday night as thousands of people descend on the city to ring in the new year, closing the Strip to vehicle traffic for the night.

Las Vegas Boulevard will be closed from Sahara Avenue to Russell Road from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Beginning at 6 p.m., walkways, elevators and escalators along the boulevard will be shut down and hotels and other Strip business close their driveways.

Metro Police will beginning closing roads that connect to the strip at 6:30 p.m.

Because the Strip will be closed to allow for foot traffic, cars also will not be allowed to use the east-west arterials to go through the area, including Tropicana Avenue, Harmon Avenue and Flamingo Road.

Locals who want to get from one side of town to the other will need to use roads north of Sahara or south of Russell, or take one of the valley’s freeways.

Freeway ramps on Interstate 15 will be partially closed to only allow traffic to go west on the arterials beginning between 5 and 6 p.m.

If you want to get around the valley without driving, the Regional Transportation Commission is offering free bus service valley-wide from 6 p.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Friday. Buses will then run on a reduced Saturday schedule for the rest of New Year’s Day.

The bus will also offer free service from the new Centennial Hills Park and Ride lot on Grand Montecito Parkway, near Durango Drive and Elkhorn Road. The buses will go from the lot to downtown Las Vegas from 5 p.m. New Year’s Eve to 4 a.m. New Year’s Day.

Because of the closure of the Strip, the double-decker Deuce service will only run on Las Vegas Boulevard from downtown to Sahara Avenue.

In addition, routes 105 (Martin L. King), 108 (Paradise) 116 (Koval/Industrial) and 207 (Alta/Steward) will have detours during the street’s closure.

Celebrations on the Strip officially end at 1 a.m., when cleaning crews move in to get the road reopened by 4 a.m.

The Fremont Street Experience will have restrictions as well on New Year’s Eve.

The pedestrian street will close at 5 p.m. Gates to enter a party, which costs $10 for locals and $20 for out-of-towners, open at 6 p.m.

New Years Eve also brings tighter restrictions for minors and drinkers on the Strip and in downtown.

City and county ordinances ban cans and bottles on the Strip and in downtown areas from 6 p.m. Dec 31 to 5 a.m. Jan. 1.

Metro also asks partygoers not to carry large backpacks or other bags that could carry cans or bottles.

A parent or legal guardian must accompany children under the age of 18 from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. on the Strip.

Don't Drink and Drive

Drunken revelers have several options for getting home safely this new year.

The Regional Transportation Commission will offer free bus rides along its regular bus routes from 6 p.m. today until 9 a.m. New Year's Day.

The Designated Drivers program makes sure both inebriated drivers and their vehicles get home safely. It's free over the New Year's Eve holiday. The program's number is 456-RIDE (7433).

And AAA Nevada will pour you into a tow truck cab and haul your vehicle home.

The ride is free for the first five miles; after that drivers must pay the company's regular towing fee, which varies.

The service is offered from 6 p.m. today until 6 a.m. New Year's Day. Its number is 800-222-HELP (4357).

If none of these options appeal to you, there's always a cab.

DON'T SHOOT, EITHER

North Las Vegas police are again promising stepped-up enforcement of firearms laws to reduce celebratory gunfire meant to ring in the New Year.

It's part of the city's "What Goes Up Must Come Down" campaign.

Additional officers will be on patrol tonight, with some specifically assigned to respond to gunfire calls.

The extra officers are necessary to "reduce this reckless behavior before someone is seriously injured or killed," Police Chief Joe Forti said.

Residents should call 911 if they see someone firing a gun and can help police pinpoint the shooter's location. But refrain from reporting "possible gunfire" because those noises often turn out to be fireworks, police said.

Las Vegas New Year's EVE Fireworks and Celebrations- UPDATED

With New Year's Eve kicking off a long-holiday weekend this year, it was announced that firework displays will return to famed Las Vegas Strip.

Las Vegas Events and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority  announced today that the New Year’s Eve celebration known as America’s Party: Las Vegas New Year 2010 will include a spectacular fireworks show fired from seven rooftop locations along the Las Vegas Strip.

The firing locations (from the south, heading north) include the following resort properties:  MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood, Aria, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island (TI), Venetian and the Stratosphere. 

Fireworks by Grucci of New York will again coordinate the pyrotechnic display.   Locally, Fireworks by Grucci has produced many of Las Vegas’ largest special events and grand openings, including the official Las Vegas Centennial celebration.

 In addition to designing the pyrotechnic display, Fireworks by Grucci will work directly with the Clark County Fire Department and Building Services to ensure both fire and structural safety guidelines.

“We are moving the fireworks show back to where it should be,” said LVE President Pat Christenson.  “Fireworks by Grucci, the Clark County Fire Department and Building Services and the individual resort properties have worked tirelessly since January of this year to address the fire and structural safety issues associated with firing the show from the rooftops.  Our goal each year is to design a show that is befitting of this city and provides a great backdrop for the thousands of revelers on the Strip.”

According to the LVCVA, Las Vegas hosts several hundred thousand visitors for New Year’s Eve.  

"Las Vegas continues to be the best venue in the world to ring in the New Year," said Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the LVCVA. "The fireworks will culminate an evening of celebrity-hosted events at nightclubs, special dining experiences at restaurants, live music at the Fremont Street Experience downtown and much more.  There is no other destination that offers the excitement on New Year's Eve."

The pyrotechnic show will display the letters LV along with such effects as blue comets, a golden kamuro, silver palm trees and multicolored peacock tails.

The New Year’s show, which will last 7 minutes, 11 seconds, will feature about 96,000 aerial bursts launched from the rooftops of seven casinos along the Strip.

If you are going to Las Vegas for the holiday weekend and need show tickets, click here:  Las Vegas Show Tickets

Downtown, the Fremont Street Experience party will feature "TributePalooza," a collection of classic rock acts playing the music of Aerosmith, Depeche Mode, Guns N' Roses, INXS, Led Zeppelin, No Doubt, U2 and Van Halen. FSE will also have a live fireworks show. The event begins at 6 p.m. and there is a $10 charge for locals. The event was free last year.

"It's a nominal fee. It won't break anybody," Goodman said. "The priority is to have a great party."

Las Vegas' famed Fremont Street Experience is ready for a rockin' New Year's 2010 Weekend celebration with its 2nd Annual TributePalooza.  The spectacular New Year's Eve includes live concerts by eight of the world's best tribute bands, a 2009 year-in-review show on the Viva Vision screen, followed by a countdown to midnight with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and then Fireworks by Grucci under the canopy choreographed to virtual fireworks on Viva Vision.

TributePalooza bands will deliver performances emulating classic favorites Aerosmith, Depeche Mode, Guns N' Roses, INXS, Led Zeppelin, No Doubt, U2 and Van Halen.  Plus, there will be a live stage show, Jimi Hendrix and the Psychedelic Ride.

New Year's Eve is the only day of the year with ticketed admission to Fremont Street Experience. Wristbands are $10 for locals with valid Nevada ID and $20 for out-of-state visitors.  Fremont Street Experience is restricted to persons 21 and over on New Year’s Eve.  Wristbands can be purchased in advance by calling 702-678-5600.

The street will be packed with action while the giant Viva Vision screen dazzles with a light-and-sound extravaganza 90 feet above the street.  The five blocks of the fabulous Fremont Street Experience, home to 10 legendary casinos, will be transformed into the biggest private party in Las Vegas, with upwards of 30,000 people in attendance.

Revelers are invited to celebrate the dawn of a new decade in true Las Vegas fashion at the city’s one-stop outdoor entertainment venue.  The night will be filled with music as the eight ultimate tribute bands will provide continuous live concerts on both 1st Street and 3rd Street stages from 6 p.m. until 1 a.m.  The performance schedule is as follows:
 
6 - 7:15 p.m.
INXS-IVE (INXS) – 1st Street Stage                                                            
The Joshua Tree (U2) – 3rd Street Stage                                    
 
7:30 - 8:45 p.m.
Blasphemous Rumours (Depeche Mode) – 1st Street Stage                        
Fan Halen (Van Halen) – 3rd Street Stage                        

9:15 - 10:30 p.m.
No Duh (No Doubt) – 1st Street Stage
Led Zepagain (Led Zeppelin) – 3rd Street Stage            

10:00 -11:15 p.m. and 12:15 a.m.
Jimi Hendrix and the Psychedelic Ride Main Street Stage            

11,11:45 p.m. and 12:15-1 a.m.
Aeromyth (Aerosmith) 1st Street Stage
Appetite for Destruction (Guns N’ Roses) – 3rd Street Stage
 
The New Year's Eve celebration at the Fremont Street Experience brings crowds of partygoers to Downtown Las Vegas every year and has become a tradition for visitors and locals alike.  Fremont Street Experience continues the 2010 launch party throughout the holiday weekend with Rock `N Recovery free concerts on Friday, January 1 and Saturday, January 2. 

About 250,000 people are expected to be on the Strip, with more than 30,000 downtown.





Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign gets Vandalized AGAIN!

From Fox5:

The iconic Las Vegas sign has been vandalized for the second time this year.At about 7:30 Friday morning, a barefoot man wearing a barrel and a Santa's hat threw red paint on the front of the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign and black paint on the back of it, as FOX5 News was broadcasting live.

The man, Joe Pepitone, told FOX5 News he threw the paint at the sign as a form of protest. He was also one of the protesters in front of the Clark County courtroom during the O.J. Simpson heist trial.

At the time, FOX5 was reporting at the world famous sign on the southern end of the Strip about a program Metro police have implemented to try to get graffiti artists to redirect their tagging to actual art canvasses to be sold to fund the program.

Pepitone, who was half-naked, said he had lost his job and gambling winnings.Police said Pepitone could face jail time if cleaning up the damage costs more than $250. Otherwise, he could face a fine, police said.Pepitone tripped and cried after defacing the sign, and he complained of ear ringing, so an ambulance transported him to a local hospital for treatment.

Needless to say Joe Pepitone, Reality called, your 15 seconds of fame are up.

Sahara Hotel Closes Two Towers

Each year, just before Christmas, the famed Las Vegas Strip is unusually quiet and slow.  Some great deals can be had in various hotels up and down the famed boulevard.

At the Sahara Hotel, one of the original properties on the north end of the Strip, they have been fighting an uphill battle in the wake of fewer tourists visiting Las Vegas due to the economic recession.  First, spokespeople for the Sahara Hotel said that they were closing two of the hotel's towers because of the slow Christmas traffic in Las Vegas.

Now, they are saying they aren't sure when the towers will reopen.  Could the Sahara Hotel be in greater financial difficulty than many have thought?  The years of poorly thought out remuddles have taken their toll on the property.  Add to that, all of the action the last few years on new hotels has been in the Mid-Strip and South end of the boulevard, far from the Sahara.

If the towers stay closed after the first of the year, it could be the harbinger of things to come for the former stomping ground of Louie, Keely and Sam.

From the Las Vegas Sun:

The Sahara hotel-casino in Las Vegas is temporarily closing two of its three hotel towers and its buffet, citing slow business during the holiday season.

Verena King, a spokeswoman for the company with Preferred Public Relations, couldn't immediately say Tuesday how many rooms at the 1,720-room property would be affected; or how many jobs would be affected.

"If the demand did increase, then more rooms would be made available (at the closed towers)," King said.

She said the closures are effective immediately and it's not known when, after the holidays, the towers will re-open.

The closures come as many industry analysts feel demand for Las Vegas hotel rooms will not grow enough in 2010 to fill all the new and existing hotel rooms in the U.S. gaming capital.

"We maintain our cautious outlook for Las Vegas, as we believe fundamentals should remain challenged through 2010 as Las Vegas attempts to absorb the large increase in supply in a contracting demand environment. We estimate Las Vegas Strip’s room supply to increase by approximately 15 percent (10,000 new rooms) over the next 12 months, starting with the opening of CityCenter (5,895 rooms) in December," Deutsche Bank analyst Andrew Zarnett said in a report Monday. "Based on our analysis, we expect same-store Las Vegas revenues to decline by 10 percent and EBITDA to decline by approximately 20 percent as new capacity cannibalizes existing Strip operators."

EBITDA, a profitability measure, means earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Despite an uptick in visitation to Las Vegas, Las Vegas Strip gaming win fell 10.2 percent in October vs. October 2008 as statewide win of $800.3 million slumped 11.5 percent.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that 3,153,159 people visited Las Vegas in October, up 3.7 percent from October 2008.

But the city's room inventory was up 2.8 percent in October, to 141,489 rooms -- so occupancy was down 1.2 percentage points from a year ago to 82.6 percent.