Ed Komenda
Story Archive
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Las Vegas
'We are back': SLS Las Vegas opening Labor Day weekend
Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014 The announcement arrived today in the form of a banner across the forthcoming resort’s website, where SBE Entertainment CEO Sam Nazarian posted a blog item about the opening.
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Las Vegas
Las Vegas arena to echo Strip’s glowing neon, surrounding mountains
Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013 Executives of AEG and MGM Resorts International have released renderings of their $350 million, 20,000-seat arena.
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General
Police: Guest killed after tackling gunman at nightclub; 2 security officers wounded
Monday, Oct. 21, 2013 A Las Vegas Strip nightclub patron was shot dead early this morning after he tackled and wrestled with an armed, disgruntled patron who had just shot two security officials at Drai’s nightclub. Metro Sheriff Doug Gillespie identified the suspect as Benjamin Frazier, 41, of Las Vegas.
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Breaking News
Final piece of giant observation wheel set in place
Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013 The High Roller’s towering wheel is complete. Under overcast skies, construction crews today installed the last section of the observation wheel on the Las Vegas Strip. Resembling a giant bicycle rim, the 550-foot wheel is one step closer to becoming the largest in the world — bigger than the London Eye and Singapore Flyer.
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Breaking News
Caesars announces new retail tenants in Linq project
Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013 Caesars Entertainment has revealed a list new tenants slated to open within its $550-million Linq development.
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Business
Drinking at the Bellagio: How booze travels from a secret room to your glass
Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013 An outsider might conclude there's a lot of partying going on in an employees-only floor at the Bellagio. There's no bar in sight but still the place smells like booze. Inch closer to a pair of double doors across the hall from the resort’s carpentry office, and the alcoholic aroma grows stronger. Peek through a pair of windows and you find the source.
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Breaking News
Treasure Island plans to build mall on Las Vegas Strip
Monday, Aug. 5, 2013 Treasure Island wants build a three-story shopping center on the Las Vegas Strip. If approved by Clark County commissioners Wednesday, TI would have to eliminate a third of its Sirens of TI lagoon to make room for the 46,000-square-foot center. Spread over 19.5 acres, it would include a pharmacy, retail shops, restaurants and an automobile salesroom.
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Business
Coming soon: Six features of the Linq, Caesars' new entertainment-dining-shopping promenade
Tuesday, July 30, 2013 For months, there has been the steady buzz of saws, the hammering of nails and the grumbling of bulldozers. Now, at the end of a 1,200-foot pedestrian walkway, a 550-foot-tall observation wheel is taking shape. Developers of Caesars Entertainment's Linq offered a sneak peek today of the development, a $550-million dining, retail and entertainment promenade expected to open in December.
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Gaming
Welcome to the future of Las Vegas
Thursday, July 11, 2013 It’s 8 p.m. July 11, 2033. Hot and getting hotter. There’s a high of 117 outside McCarran International Airport, and you’re fighting the odd desire to crack an egg over the asphalt, Tweetagram it. You can see the Strip through the glass window at arrivals. It looks roughly the same as you remember—the iconic shapes of the Luxor, Paris and Wynn still cutting through the sky—but you’ve heard a lot has changed since your last visit. “You want in?” your girlfriend asks, sitting in a semicircle of friends. She’s put together a Texas hold ’em table on her tablet, connected to a pack of players in a hotel room at Caesars Palace.
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Business
Which Las Vegas attraction was named the No. 1 landmark in the U.S.?
Tuesday, June 25, 2013 Bellagio’s fountains have been named the No. 1 landmark in the U.S. TripAdvisor picked the famed Las Vegas attraction based on millions of reviews.
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Breaking News
Bally's tower gets new rooms, new name
Monday, June 24, 2013 Bally’s Las Vegas plans to renovate 756 rooms in its South Tower and rename it the Jubilee Tower, named after the longest-running burlesque act in Las Vegas and slated to welcome its first guests in late summer.
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A&E
The 'Boy Hunter' is ready for work: Krave Massive, the world's largest gay club, opens Saturday
Friday, June 14, 2013 After months of preparation and several setbacks, Krave Massive finally has arrived. The club welcomes its first guests Saturday night. Owner Kelly Murphy couldn't be more relieved. Planning the grand opening of the world’s largest gay club in a new downtown location hasn’t allowed him much sleep over the past year.
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Business
Chocolate-lovers take note: New business to sweeten the deal at MGM park project
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 A giant Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and Hershey's bar are slated for the sweet spot between the Strip's Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge.
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Business
A Las Vegas mystery: What's up with all the shoe prints in casino garages?
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 Anyone who has parked in a casino garage has probably seen them: thousands of dirty shoe prints stamped onto garage ceilings and support beams. Almost all of the Strip properties display them. The prints come in all shapes and sizes and feature varying degrees of darkness. Some suggest the stamper used a bare foot. Almost all of the Strip properties display them.
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A&E
Happy screams fill Wet 'n' Wild on its first day serving the general public
Monday, June 3, 2013 Ashley Demille's toddler had yet to speak, but the 25-year-old mother had no doubt her daughter was excited to splash around Wet 'n' Wild. "She's just been pointing toward the slides and going "ooooooh," Demille said, standing in line to get into the new water park Monday morning.
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A&E
‘Jackass’ star helps open Chronic Tacos at Palms
Friday, May 31, 2013 Chronic Tacos, a popular Mexican food joint out of California, has opened a restaurant at the Palms. Known for serving gigantic portions of authentic Mexican food crafted from age-old recipes, the new Chronic Tacos is next to Earl of Sandwich and Brenden Theaters in the Palms.
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Business
Renowned MIT card counters return to Vegas — this time as gaming panelists
Wednesday, May 29, 2013 They used math to beat casinos for a living. Their exploits have been immortalized on the silver screen — in films like "21" — and before that between bindings on the best-seller list. Educated at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the MIT Card Counting Team hauled millions of dollars out of casinos from coast to coast throughout the '80s and '90s. Now, the team is long gone, but a few of its former members made an appearance at the 15th International Gambling and Risk Taking Conference at Caesars Palace this week to look back at their time counting cards for big cash.
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Las Vegas
Can brick-and-mortar casinos stand up against Internet gaming?
Tuesday, May 28, 2013 It’s a question that’s loomed over the gambling industry since Internet gaming became a reality: In a battle between brick-and-mortar casinos and online casinos, who wins?
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Business
Rio plans zip line ride between two towers
Wednesday, May 22, 2013 Imagine this: you’re soaring 400 feet above the Las Vegas Strip, strung on a zip line between the Rio’s two towers.
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Las Vegas
After $7 million renovation, Terrible’s casino now the Silver Sevens
Friday, May 17, 2013 The Terrible’s cowboy is taking the next horse and buggy right outta town. The Affinity Gaming casino has a new name: The Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino.
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A&E
Dragons on the Strip: Las Vegas chosen as one of seven homes for rare lizards
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 It’s the summer of the dragon at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium. After a year of preparation, two Komodo dragons from Prague are on display. The juvenile dragons, both male, join a large number of exotic reptiles showcased at the aquarium, including an adult Komodo dragon, a golden crocodile and a green sea turtle.
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Gaming
Downtown's Golden Nugget now in the baccarat business
Monday, May 13, 2013 Baccarat players have a new pit to play in. The Golden Nugget has opened a baccarat pit downtown, located just past the casino’s Rush Tower lobby and valet entrance.
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A&E
The man who considers 16 scoops of ice cream an appetizer
Monday, May 13, 2013 Ryan Rodacker doesn’t want a chair. The professional eater from Portland prefers to stand and wait for the beast to lurch out of the kitchen. Plus, any pro will tell you it’s easier to slay beasts standing up. It’s Thursday afternoon at Windy City Beefs-N-Pizza in Las Vegas, and Rodacker — a 36-year-old 200-pounder known in some circles as “Max Carnage” — psyches himself up by thinking about the busy week he just put in.
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Las Vegas
Slides up, lifeguards training for opening of Wet ‘n’ Wild
Thursday, May 9, 2013 All the slides are up and running at the forthcoming Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas. As the park’s Memorial Day opening approaches, landscapers have been carving out the finishing touches on the grounds of the Summerlin park.
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Food
What the Firefly outbreak means for the restaurant's future and the alleged victims' pocketbooks
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 When Bill Marler’s phone rings, he usually has a pretty good idea of what the callers want to talk about: food poisoning. Over the last two decades, Marler has built a reputation securing settlements for victims in contaminated food cases.
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Business
Online poker: The perks and pitfalls of being first in the country
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 The race to roll out the first legal, real-money poker website in the United States is over — and it ended in Nevada. Station Casinos on Tuesday launched a 30-day trial of UltimatePoker.com, which allows in-state gamblers to play online poker from computers or mobile devices. “It’s a new day in online gaming,” Ultimate Poker Chairman and Founder Tom Breitling said. “Nevada is first, and Nevada should be proud.”
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A&E
Cowabummer: The planned Memorial Day opening of Henderson's Cowabunga Bay Water Park is delayed
Friday, April 26, 2013 Families looking forward to splashing around Henderson's Cowabunga Bay Water Park this summer will have to wait. The water park won't open until Spring 2014.
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A&E
Would you pay $250,000 to push a button?
Monday, April 22, 2013 Guests at the Bellagio can buy a chance to control the resort's famed dancing fountains – for $250,000 a pop. High rollers can pay to press a shiny red button that controls the fountains and makes them dance to the customer's favorite tunes. The deal is offered at Hyde Bellagio.
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Business
Looking for a young, rich 'sugar daddy'? You'll likely find one in Las Vegas
Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Las Vegas has always been known a destination for big spenders. So maybe it’s not surprise the city also has been named one of best places to find a sugar daddy.
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Business
Big and tall: Aria lights up new 250-foot LED sign
Tuesday, April 9, 2013 You can’t miss it. It’s 250 feet tall, 65 feet wide and packed with 11 million pixels spread over 10,000 square feet of LED screen. It’s Aria’s new marquee, and it’s the tallest on the Strip, according to MGM Resorts International officials.
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A&E
Sushi, steak and tapas: Six valley restaurants ranked among best in U.S.
Friday, March 29, 2013 Six Las Vegas Valley restaurants have landed on a list of the best places to eat in the country. OpenTable.com, a restaurant reservations website, sifted through more than 15 million reviews to name 100 winners in the "2013 Diners' Choice Award." More than 15,000 restaurants were considered. Nevada came in fifth place for number of winners, trailing California, Florida, New York and Illinois.
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Business
Want your own mini casino? For $300,000, the Bellagio can make it happen
Friday, March 29, 2013 If you’re a player with a preference for privacy, and you have a healthy pocketbook, the Bellagio may have the gambling parlor for you. The casino recently opened a new private gaming room named Villa Privé. But there’s a catch: access to the 2,600-square-foot salon is by invitation only and reserved for high rollers. The parlor is located far from the Bellagio’s main casino floor on the resort’s exclusive Villa level.
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Business
Flight delayed? McCarran Airport is a good place to 'hook up,' online survey says
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 Las Vegas has long been known as the marriage capital of the world. Now, the city's airport was named one of the best to hook up in. McCarran International Airport was ranked No. 2 in a list of the country's best airports for hookups.