The Las Vegas Art Museum will receive 50 works from famed Dorothy and Herbert Vogel collection from the national gift program “Fifty Works for Fifty States.”

The program, launched by the couple and with National Gallery of Art, titled gives 50 works from the contemporary collection to an institution in each state.

Libby Lumpkin, executive director of the Las Vegas Art Museum, says the museum received a tentative list of works Thursday. The list includes pieces by such artists as Richard Tuttle and Larry Zox.

“We are very honored to have the confidence of the National Gallery of Art,” Lumpkin says. “I have been an admirer of the Vogels and their collection for many, many years. They are the quintessential example of how you can be a collector without having an enormous amount of money. They got to know the artists and the gallerists. They followed their instincts. And they had great instincts.”

The couple started collecting art in the 1960s. Herb Vogel was a postal clerk. Dorothy Vogel was a librarian. Their collection of 4,000 works includes mostly minimal and conceptual art by such artists as Sol Lewitt, Sylvia Plimack Mangold and Christo and Jeanne-Claude

The National Gallery of Art is working with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services on the national gift program.

Lumpkin will attend a celebration for the program in November at the National Gallery of Art. The works are scheduled to arrive in December and the museum will hold an exhibit shortly after.  Article by: Kristen Peterson – Las Vegas Sun

TAO Nightclub is easily one of the top five nightclubs in the United States, and is widely considered a favorite by Las Vegas locals and visitors from around the world.

Millions of dollars have been poured into the construction and décor of this milestone of Las Vegas entertainment. The money was well spent and it’s evident everywhere, throughout the hot nightclub.

Definitely one of the hot spots on all the Strip, when Tao Nightclub at The Venetian celebrated its grand opening, it was done in true over-the-top, Las Vegas fashion.

It included a wild three-day party with plenty of celebrities joining in the fun. Mariah Carey, Usher, Paris Hilton, and Wilmer Valderrama were among the party-loving guests who celebrated the opening of this stylish, Asian-themed, 10,000-square-foot nightclub and ultra-lounge.

Go-go dancers, private skyboxes, European bottle service, and a terrace overlooking the lights of the city attract Vegas VIPs, well-heeled visitors, and of course …. Hollywood’s young and beautiful set.

Walk in to TAO Nightclub and come face to face with live performance art: Two live Buddhist monks sit on an enormous Buddha hand, and scenes from Shanghai opium dens come to life.

Sleek, sexy, and ultra-hip, Tao is a high-energy, see-and-be-seen venue that has helped make The Venetian one of the hottest resorts in town.

So throw on your sexiest I-belong-here outfit and get ready to party.

TAO Nightclub
3377 Las Vegas Blvd S # 2025
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 388-8588

It’s sometimes hard to tell if that thing behind Wynn Las Vegas is a golf course or a CIA annex.

The staff treats Steve Wynn’s latest $500-green-fee course (he introduced that nice round number to Las Vegas golf with Shadow Creek, which he no longer owns) like it houses national security documents. Maybe the real dossier on weapons of mass destruction is buried under the fifth green.

Hey, it’s Vegas. Anything is possible.

The Wynn Las Vegas Golf and Country Club is the second collaboration of Tom Fazio, Steve Wynn and Mother Nature has resulted in 18 unforgettable holes. Right outside the resort’s back door.

That would explain the paranoia surrounding the Wynn Golf and Country Club. Pro shop attendant Heather Wicks made it seem like she was letting a few potential customers through the pearly gates when she allowed them to walk out onto the patio that overlooks the 18th green.  Full article

Wynn Las Vegas Golf and Country Club
3131 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV, 89109
Phone(s): (888) 320-9966
Fax: (702) 770-1570

Despite the current economic troubles, the Super-Rich continue to traverse the globe on private jets, experiencing the best the world has to offer in terms of hotel and resort accommodations, shopping, and living the private jet lifestyle.

The Chairman Suite at the Palazzo Resort in Las Vegas is one of the priciest suites in the U.S., selling for $20,000/night.

Open for only a few months, this roughly 8,000 square foot four bedroom suite has proven to be one of Las Vegas‘ best new hot addresses.

Fun loving options include a media room with disco lighting and a karaoke machine.

A full compliment of services from the hotel’s Canyon Ranch Spa can be ordered up

Los Angeles chef about town Jet Tila has been tapped to open a to-be-named pan-Asian restaurant at casino mogul Steve Wynn’s new Wynn – adjacent Encore resort in Las Vegas.

Tila, whose family owns L.A.’s Bangkok Market, has been teaching cooking classes — at the New School of Cooking in Culver City and Sur La Table, among other venues — and consulting for Bon Appetit Management Co. Tila also has contributed to the Los Angeles Times and has appeared regularly on KCRW’s “Good Food.”

“America’s already very accustomed to Chinese and Japanese food, so it’s time to bring in bolder flavors,” Tila says. “Indian flavors, Singaporean flavors, and of course, Thai –- I think Thai has been misrepresented. I’m trying to bring it back to what it’s supposed to be.”

The nearly 100-seat restaurant also will serve sushi and dim sum. Asian restaurants at Wynn include Okada (Japanese), Michelin-starred Wing Lei (Chinese) and Asian bistro Red 8.

Encore is expected to open early next year. Other restaurants include Botero Steak and Switch, and as reported by Eater LA, Patina chef Theo Schoenegger also will be opening a restaurant.

Source: Betty Hallock

The innovative team behind the uber-successful Tao Las Vegas is proud to announce LAVO, a new dining and nightlife concept set to open this August at The Palazzo Resort hotel Casino in Las Vegas.

Latin for “to bathe or cleanse,” LAVO is an AvroKo designed space that derives inspiration from the bathhouses of ancient Mediterranean culture with a menu that highlights the best of the region’s cuisine.

The journey from lounge to restaurant to nightclub begins with an entry into the lounge surrounded by worn tile walls and water stained plaster. Twenty foot ceilings of old wood and low chandeliers crown an area featuring a curved bar, leather seating and Moroccan tables.

The restaurant is highlighted by a spectacular glass and wood screened bridge and is bordered by a grand carved stone wall.

Turkish water basins flank the bridge that leads to the second floor nightclub and the bridge itself becomes a gathering perch from which guests can observe the action below.

The nightclub features vaulted glazed tile arches opening to a domed ceiling above the dance floor. Revelers can enjoy a sexy, elevated VIP area with posh banquettes, embossed leather walls and mirrored mosaic tile niches.

THE RESTAURANT & CUISINE
Chef Ludo Lefebvre and his team of experienced chefs will treat guests to a culinary journey with selections of signature dishes from countries such as Spain, France and Italy. The menu is designed to encourage sampling and sharing among friends.
With classic French training, Lefebvre comes to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, where he held the distinction of being that city’s only chef to earn the prestigious Mobil Travel Guide Five Star award at two different restaurants; L’Orangerie and Bastide.
The 300 seat restaurant includes a 180 seat main dining room, a 20 seat private dining room and 100 seats on the outdoor patio overlooking the famed Las Vegas Strip. The restaurant will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, with late night dining until 2 am.

THE NIGHTCLUB
The 4500 square foot nightclub features 40 bottle service tables, state-of-the-art audio visual systems and the sounds of resident DJs Vice, Reach, Galleano and Berrie. The nightclub will be open six nights a week from 10 pm to 5 am.

THE TEAM
Marc Packer, Rich Wolf, Jason Strauss and Noah Tepperberg are all names synonymous with successful restaurant and nightlife destinations. Together, with Managing Partner Lou Abin, they opened Tao Las Vegas at the Venetian Resort hotelCasino in 2005, that quickly became one of the most sought after culinary and nightlife attractions in the city. A favorite of celebrities, locals and those in the know, Tao Asian Bistro, Nightclub and Beach has been the highest grossing venue in the country for the past two years. Individually and collectively, these operators have been the force behind such creations as Tao New York, Marquee Nightclub, The Stanton Social, Rue 57, Avra Estiatorio and Angelo & Maxie’s Steakhouse.

AVROKO
LAVO is designed by AvroKo, a full service, integrated design and concept firm that develops architectural environments, lifestyle brands and products. The company has developed design concepts for such global hotelgroups as Starwood and for restaurants including The Stanton Social and Public in New York and Social House and Company in Las Vegas.

THE PALAZZO LAS VEGAS
With over 3,000 expansive suites, luxury shopping and world-class dining and entertainment, the $1.9 billion, 50-story Palazzo Las Vegas literally takes luxury to new heights. Highlighted by a flagship, 85,000-square-foot Barneys New York, The Shoppes at The Palazzo features more than 60 luxury boutiques. Additionally, The Palazzo offers a variety of cuisines from a collection of award-winning chefs. Other one-of-kind offerings include, Tony Award winning Broadway musical, JERSEY BOYS, the world’s largest Canyon Ranch SpaClub, Jay-Z’s signature 40/40 Club and the Strip’s first Lamborghini dealership.  Source: LAVO/ PRNewswire

The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino is located off the Las Vegas Strip, and was the first all-suite casino in the Las Vegas area. It made its debut in 1990 as a locals’ casino, owned and operated by Marnell Corrao Associates.

The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino’s claim to fame is built on two things: spacious suites and scantily clad waitresses.

Every room in the hotel is a suite, open and uncluttered, decorated in warm neutrals. Perhaps the size of the rooms is intended to compensate for the frenetic crowds on the lower levels, where every day is a billed as a carnival.

The exterior certainly reflects the Mardi Gras madness happening inside; the Rio’s buildings themselves are bright red and purple, with gigantic masks hanging from the ceiling.

True to the essence of a Brazilian Carnaval or a Louisiana Mardi Gras, visual overload is the order of the day. On the main floor, the stunning Masquerade Village (recently revamped by Dick Foster Productions) is a roving party of acrobats, mimes and sexy dancers.

Dance along on the side, or for a small fee, you can get in costume and hop on one of the floats. The costumes are garish – think Carmen Miranda meets Cirque du Soleil – and that’s part of the fun. Throw on as many layers of beads as you can and move to the sinuous bahia beats.

Samba your way through the lounge and play some slots along the way, but leave time to visit the tropical paradise outside, complete with a sandy beach alongside the lagoon. You don’t have to be tall and tan and young and lovely to visit the Rio’s Ipanema Beach (although it certainly helps).

Waterfalls, Jacuzzis, and poolside beverage and food service will help you relax and gear up for another night of reckless abandon inside. Although Las Vegas is famous for catering to guests with a Y chromosome, the Rio Hotel and Casino bucks the trend. Their Ultimate Girls Night Out package includes access to the Flirt Lounge, designed by women for women.

Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
3700 W Flamingo Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89103

A black Maybach 57 rolls down the Strip ferrying another big dreamer. The luxury sedan passes the glittering gambling palaces and heads north to the Sahara Hotel & Casino, an aging, down-on-its-luck landmark that hardly seems fit for this well-heeled passenger. Except that he’s the owner.

“Wait until you see this place,” says Sam Nazarian, a 32-year-old real-estate entrepreneur and nightclub impresario from a wealthy Beverly Hills family. Over the past few years he’s injected new buzz into the Hollywood club scene and now intends to resurrect the forlorn Sahara with the same kind of cool.

The odds, as they say, are against him. Mr. Nazarian has never run a casino, and he is entering the business in a downturn that’s fleecing existing casinos and snuffing out new ones. Gambling revenues are down. Room rates are falling. Some companies have filed for bankruptcy protection and others are poised to.

But Mr. Nazarian, a tall, husky bachelor in a dark suit capped by a baby face, says his hotel and casino will have an edge over competitors. It will serve a market that he says has been priced out of Vegas: the young party crowd that’s dropped a fortune at his Los Angeles clubs and restaurants.

“There is an alienation of the high-energy, youthful crowd,” says Mr. Nazarian as he strides through the Sahara’s lobby, where he has already spent about $2 million in furnishings and décor.

Mr. Nazarian might be just another Vegas mark but for this: Where he goes, celebrities and moneyed youth tend to follow. His current slate of Hollywood-area hot spots — Area, Hyde, Foxtail, S Bar, Katsuya — draws such names as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. Full article

Walking into Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas is like stepping back into ancient Rome in its heyday but with every modern convenience.

Caesars Palace is Las Vegas. Period. Caesars Palace replicates the vibrance and decadence for which the Romans are remembered.

It is the original themed hotel and casino and the service and quality they provide has always been at the top. Located in the center of all the action Caesars Palace will overwhelm you with its size and its grandeur.

From gambling to upscale shopping in the Forums to dining in some of the finest restaurants in Vegas, this hotel has it all. Although it is located on the strip, except for visiting some of the shows at various hotels, you may never have to leave this hotel during your entire stay.

The amenity list is too long to list but here are a few highlights.

You can relax in their stress melting spa, have your hair done in their salon, watch one of your favorite performers at the Colosseum, shop ’til you drop in one of their 120 upscale shops, play golf at either Cascata Golf or Rio Secco.

You can also dance or socialize at one of their many clubs, or swim in one of their gigantic pools.

Via Bellagio at the Bellagio Las Vegas is one of the most elite shopping streets in the city.

Here, high-end retailers, such as Hermes, Tiffany and Co., Chanel, Dior, Yves St. Laurent, and Giorgio Armani compete for shoppers’ attention.

Via Bellagio, the shopping arcade at the Bellagio hotel-casino, is luxury at its finest. To call it expensive would be an understatement — you could plunk down a year’s salary in less than an hour, no matter what you make. But if you’re looking to do some high-end shopping (or just observe it), the Bellagio is the place to go.

Tiffany & Co. also features the designs of Elsa Peretti, with fashionable pens that cost no more than their equivalent elsewhere (unless purchased in 18-carat gold), sterling silver baby accessories, frames and paperweights. Designer Paloma Picasso’s jewelry also is featured.

Hermes is the perfect stop if you’re looking for finely made silk scarves, ties and suits. Chanel has a great handbag collection. Moschino, Giorgio Armani and Prada will keep your wardrobe up-to-date with the latest styles from the runway.

The shops are on the second level, at the entrance — a refreshing change for those used to hotel shops stuck in the back of the building. Definitely worth a stop — if for nothing else than the time-honored tradition of window-shopping!

Aureole at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is one of the fine-dining experiences around. It’s four stories of probably the finest wine collection in all of Las Vegas.

Charlie Palmer just does things right. His restaurants are always good and the same can be said for Auroele. It is as much of an event to eat there as it is a culinary foray into the depths of the limitations of your taste buds.

The wine list is exceptional and it is a small PDA that lists what seemed like a million bottles,(actually about 10,000). Get a good look at the wine tower and imagine yourself leaping off of that thing with an expensive vintage.The dining room is open and comfortable and feels like you walked right into a designers dreams. The lines of the place give it a very modern look.
You might try the rack of lamb in sweet garlic and any of the number of seafood dishes. The sole or the salmon it really does not matter they are all prepared with such care and served by a staff that knows how to do things right.

My wife had a very creative Halibut, the menu changes seasonally and I can only assume that everything is this good.   Article by Zeke Quezada, About.com