LAS VEGAS NEWS HEADLINES* LAS VEGAS EVENTS* INTERESTING STORIES* Oct.12,2007 NASCAR's favorite burger joint plans 20 Las Vegas stores Checkers franshise owner will face stiff competition in war for the local burger buyer BY VALERIE MILLER Burger King, McDonald's, Sonic and gobs of other fast food offerings fill bellies throughout the valley everyday. Now, locals will have one more choice to satisfy their burger-and-fries cravings. Checkers Drive-In Restaurants announced plans recently to open 20 area stores throughout the next four years. The Las Vegas expansion is part of the Tampa, Fla.-based chain's efforts to move west. It already has California operations in Fresno and Orange County. The first franchise development agreement was made with David Meldrum and Nick Nasrollahi, who spent 20 years with the Jack in the Box organization. Nasrollahi says he plans to own and operate all 20 of the local franchises, as opposed to subfranchising out the territory as some franchise owners do. Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, a Tampa, Fla.-based fast-food chain, is planning to open 20 restaurants in Las Vegas as part of the company's efforts to expand throughout the West. "I intend to open seven to 10 by the end of 2008, and 10 to 12 by the end of 2009. After that, it will probably be two to three per year," he said. "Within four years, I would like to have the 20 (stores) done. That's the target." North Las Vegas will likely be the site of the first Checkers, he said. The company is considering other locations for building the signature checkered modular restaurants. General ground leases will be signed with shopping centers for most locations. "We will be opening restaurants throughout the valley," he said. Nasrollahi predicted "great hamburgers" and Checkers' specialty pies will be hot sellers, drawing people to the quick eateries. Checkers' typical store model has two drive-throughs and an outdoor patio for customers. The franchisee said the double drive-throughs will set the chain apart, even if a few vintage McDonald's have such a feature. Major competition will come from Sonic, Jack in the Box, and McDonald's, as well as Burger King, In-N-Out Burger and Carl's Jr., Nasrollahi believes. The prices will be competitive, however, he said. They will fall in between the pack. The average burger combo meal will run about $5. Nasrollahi said his goal is to be competitive and offer better quality, but franchise costs aren't cheap. The initial franchise fee is $30,000. The modular building and equipment costs run in the "low $300,000s," said Ron Levondosky, the executive vice president of franchise operations at Checkers Drive-In Restaurants. Another 4 percent of annual net sales is paid back to the owners of the Checkers name. Each restaurant will have 25 to 40 employees. The restaurants are smaller is size, at about 800 square feet, which saves the franchisee real estate costs, he noted. Any given shift may have eight to 14 employees working. Checkers was founded in Mobile, Ala., in 1986. It is now one of the official burger restaurants of NASCAR. It has 826 stores nationwide with plans to open 40 stores this year and 80 more across the country next year. Its food has a cult following, as does In-N-Out's, Levondosky said. The seasoned, battered fries are the chain's most popular fare. Oldies music is piped in to set the Fifties' drive-in mood. Checkers' model thrives on becoming part of the neighborhood it serves, store by store, rather than mass marketing, he added. "That's what we do best. We provide cups to (high school) football teams for their concessions and for little league. Then they come to us after the game," he said. The Checkers exec adknowledged that competition in the Las Vegas market will be stiff. "On the East Coast, we don't have the Carl's Jr.'s, In-N-Outs or Jack in the Boxes," he said. Levondosky was buoyed by the success of Checkers in California markets, however, where those other chains do have a presence. Checkers' move to Las Vegas makes sense, said Pat Moreo, the chair of the Food and Beverage Management department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration. "I think it will be perfect for them. I think it will work well," he said. Take-out food trends are on the Tampa-based chain's side, Moreo said. "People are cooking at home less and less." HOUSE PRICES FALL WHILE JOBLESS RATES RISE OCT.26.2007..... Las Vegas home sales hit their lowest level in nearly seven years in September, local housing analysts reported. Home Builders Reasearch recorded 1,399 new home sales in September, and SalesTraq showed 1,328 sales. Those are lowest numbers since January 2000, the two companies said. For the year so far, Home Builders said home sales are down 44.3 percent to 15,475 from a year ago. Median home prices were also down from a year. SalesTraq said median home prices were down 3.3 percent to $312,639. CLINT KARLSEN | REVIEW-JOURNAL A district court judge says the Fontainebleu resort can continue building a 23-story parking garage and convention center at the $3 billion resort despite complaints from residents in the neighboring Turnberry Place high-rise. RALPH FOUNTAIN | REVIEW-JOURNAL A worker at the Main Street Station serves customers at the downtown hotel-casino’s buffet. About 4,400 Culinary Union Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 workers at nine downtown hotels approved new contracts last week. Hubble Smith Review-Journal Nevada's jobless rate rose to 5.1 percent in September, its highest level since October 2003. The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said the unemployment rate is four-tenths of a percentage higher than the national level and up from 4.2 percent last September. In Clark County, the September jobless rate was 5.2 percent. The continued rise in joblessness is due to the nationwide housing slump, as well as a large jump in the state's labor force in September, the department said. The department said the contruction and gaming industries lost 1,200 in September, and the two industries have lost a combined 7,700 jobs in Nevada since last September. Sean Whaley Review-Journal Capital Bureau District Court Judge Michael Villani ruled that Florida-based Turnberry Associates can build a 23-story parking garage and convention center for the planned $3 billion Fontainebleu resort on the Strip without meeting a 3:1 setback requirement in the Clark County land application use code. Residents of Turnberry Place said the Clark County Commission approved a height variance for the project illegally, but Villani did not agree with the merits of their argument. Specifically, he said the four 38-story towers are multifamily dwellings and therefore do not fall within the guildelines of Clark County Code 30, which imposes a 3:1 height setback requirement for imiprovements on property adjacent to "single family residential uses." One resident whose third-floor luxury condo is within 90 feet of the parking garage said, "We lost the battle, but not the war ... yet." Hubble Smith Review-Journal Downtown casino workers won't earn as much money as their colleagues on the Strip. But recently approved labor contracts do include new job security provisions that protect workers if the casino-hotels where they work change hands. Some 4,400 workers approved the five-year contracts between Culinary Union Local 226, Bartenders Local 165 and nine downtown properties on Saturday. Under the deals employees got the new job security provisions they wanted and maintained health benefits that don't require worker contributions. Employers got deals that won't cost as much as Strip union contracts. The economic package for Golden Nugget Workers includes $2.90 per hour worth of new pay and benefits over five years. That figure is $2.40 for other downtown casinos including, Main Street Station, the Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Fremont, Four Queens, Fitzgeralds, Four Queens and the Western. Workers at Binion's, the Golden Gate and Jerry's Nugget are still without new contracts. John G. Edwards Review-Journal Despite climbing vacancy rates and weak absorption of new space coming on the market, Las Vegas office owners were able to bump average monthly asking rents to $2.36 a square foot, according to a third-quarter office market report from Las Vegas-based Applied Analysis research firm. Las Vegas has a 12.4 percent vacancy rate for 44.1 million square feet of office space, the firm reported. Net absorption for the quarter was 500,000 square feet, down from 800,000 the previous quarter. Still, the newest office building at Hughes Center is getting $3.85 a square foot for rent and when the next building comes, it'll probably be $4 a square foot, Colliers International office broker Dean Kaufman said. "Four (dollars) is a number that's never been seen in Las Vegas, but if it's going to happen, obviously this is the place," he said of Las Vegas' premier office complex that was recently acquired by Stanley Morgan investment bank. Oct.5,2007 First FRIDAY celebrates 5th anniversary in downtown Las Vegas... It’s the first Friday of the month tomorrow and that means the First Friday art festival downtown. While each First Friday is a unique event, tomorrow marks the 5th anniversary of the monthly street festival. The street festival takes place in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District and surrounding neighborhood and gives local artists a venue to display their work. First Friday features over 50 outdoor artists, artisans and entertainers and 80 indoor art, food, drink and shop venues. I’ve heard people lament about Las Vegas lacking a sense of culture and community, but the First Friday festivals are proof enough that, in fact, they thrive in the city. The festival has grown massive in five years and attracts over 10,000 people each month and is consistently voted as the city’s best art event. Local bands play throughout the night and children use chalk to strut their own artistic stuff on the street. First Friday not only supports local artists, but has had a tremendous impact on the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas. LAS VEGAS AFL TEAM Tuesday Oct. 15, 2007...... CLEVELAND – The Arena Football League will relocate the Las Vegas franchise to Cleveland, where former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar will run the team. The move was approved last week in Chicago, and team owner Jim Ferraro announced Tuesday that Kosar will be the team's president. Home games will be played at Quicken Loans Arena, home of the NBA's Cavaliers. Advertisement“We are excited to be bringing the fast-paced action of Arena Football to the city of Cleveland,” Ferraro said. “We will have one of the best arenas in the league and Bernie is the perfect match to lead the charge.” Kosar won a national championship with the Miami Hurricanes in 1983, then played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Browns, Cowboys and Dolphins. “Cleveland is legendary for its passion for football, which makes it ideal to host an AFL team,” said Arena League commissioner David Baker. “I'm convinced the football fans of northern Ohio will truly enjoy the AFL's hard-hitting action played by world-class athletes who sign autographs after every game.” Power Pass brings fun at a bargain 01:35 PM PDT on Thursday, October 4, 2007 By BRUCE CAMENGA Special to The Press-Enterprise A new concept for those wanting to do almost everything is the Las Vegas Power Pass. Using smart card technology, the Power Pass can be used to visit the most exciting attractions in town. I will forewarn you that the people who are expert planners will get the most out of these cards. After all, with twenty of the top attractions (not including those which are free) to choose from, there are a lot of choices to make. The Hoover Dam tour is one of the attractions included in the Las Vegas Power Pass. The Power Pass is available in one, two, three, or five-day versions. The prices run $70, $95, $120, and $165, respectively, for ages 13 and up. Children 12 and under receive a price break of $20, $35, $40, and $45 respectively. The pass is a real bargain for those in town for a few days with a yen to see and do as much as possible. The passes can be obtained here. The passes also allow "front-of-line" privileges at many attractions and also offer discounts and special prices at selected retail shops, restaurants and sporting events. When planning on attractions to see, make sure the schedule you make corresponds with the open hours and days of each particular event. When scheduling your tour, leave enough time to get from one place to another and enough time to enjoy each attraction. Some of the attractions will require that you have your own vehicle or deep pockets for a cab ride. Some of those attractions out of town include a mini Hoover Dam tour (in Boulder City), Nevada State Museum (in Henderson), Bonnie Springs Old Nevada (near Red Rock Canyon), and the Las Vegas Zoo (in North Las Vegas). Even with a five-day pass, you will not be able to visit all the attractions. That I guarantee. Choose wisely. The kids might not take to the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum and grandma might not be up to the Adventuredome at Circus Circus. There is more than just something for everyone in the line-up; there is a lot for everyone. The Las Vegas Power Pass can be purchased or more information can be found at..Visit 20 top Las Vegas attractions at one low price! LV airport traffic surges in August 3 October 2007: by Benjamin Spillman Las Vegas Gaming Wire LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Nearly 4.3 million people flew to and from McCarran International Airport in August, a 6 percent increase from the same month in 2006. The busy month pushed the year-to-date total to 32.2 million, up almost 5 percent from the pace set in 2006. Southwest remained the busiest carrier in Las Vegas with nearly 1.5 million passengers in August, up almost 11 percent. US Airways, United, Delta and Continental rounded out the top five. Among those, only Delta and Continental had increases for the month. US Airways traffic was down 7 percent and United fell almost 6 percent. Airlines that posted the biggest percentage increases were discount regional carriers. The 68,000 passengers Spirit Airways carried in and out of McCarran in August represented a 337 percent increase from August 2006. ATA posted a 94 percent increase for the month. Aloha was up 73 percent, AirTran 40 percent, Frontier 38 percent and Allegiant 33 percent. International traffic was also strong. About 187,000 people arrived and departed McCarran on scheduled service from terminal two, which is largely foreign traffic. That was a 14 percent increase. For the year international traffic is at nearly 1.5 million, 16 percent ahead of the 2006 pace. Korean Airlines, LTU and MAXjet Airways were among airlines that didn't have scheduled service to McCarran in 2006, which contributed to the overall increase. Air Canada, the foreign carrier with most traffic at McCarran was up almost 4 percent in August. Budget Your Wedding Expenses: Great Ideas: The New Las Vegas - Wedding Capital of the World Sept.28.2007 By Julia Walker. Whether it’s a case of ‘I do’ or ‘I do - again’, the Wedding Capital of the World can provide a great location to get married or renew your wedding vows. Enjoying a resurgence as a ‘must see’ destination, Las Vegas has shaken off it’s tacky, downmarket image and has emerged again as a glittering jewel in the heart of the Nevada desert. If you want 5 star luxury in your hotels, world class dining with more than its fair share of celebrity chefs, and entertainment to rival any major city anywhere (shows include several by Cirque du Soleil, while residencies by artists such as Celine Dion and Elton John have become synonymous with the city), Las Vegas is for you. The Las Vegas Strip hosts some of the biggest and brightest hotels in the world. The latest addition is casino developer Steve Wynn’s self-titled Wynn Hotel. The Wynn is a $2.7 billion development and, like most of the hotels in the city, is on a massive scale. To give some context to this, the main feature of the hotel is a man-made mountain and waterfall that runs into a 3 acre lake. The waterfall and lake have images displayed on them to produce a unique show on the hour, every hour, called “Lake of Dreams”. And if you have your own waterfall and lake, why not?! The Wynn was built to outshine Steve Wynn’s previous luxury hotel The Bellagio - most recently made famous as the casino robbed by George Clooney and Brad Pitt in the film ‘Ocean’s Eleven’. And the Bellagio is no slouch in the luxury stakes either - its Picasso restaurant has real Picasso paintings on its walls. Outside the hotel, its musical fountain shows have become one of the unmissable sights of Las Vegas. If you wanted more proof that Las Vegas is changing, you don’t have to look far. The Venetian Hotel has its own Guggenheim Museum. In the hotel and independent shopping malls you will find all the upmarket shops you would expect in the most exclusive of shopping streets - Chanel, Dior and Ferrari-Maserati to name but three - as well as more affordable high street staples. Themed ,Traditional and Outdoor Gazebo Weddings Flowers,Wedding Clothing,Favors,Full Service But if you’re looking for somewhere to get married, or you want to renew your wedding vows, Las Vegas could be the place for you. So what’s the appeal? Well, it can be as simple or as elaborate a ceremony as you want. It can be as traditional or themed as you want. And there is a ceremony for any budget - starting at only $25 and going up to $20,000 plus - and everything in between. And you’ll have plenty of choice of restaurants to celebrate your wedding. There is no minimum stay required to get a marriage licence in the city - all you need is $55 and i.d. and you’re ready to get married. And the wedding is legal in the UK when you get home. If you’re renewing your vows, you’ll just need to take a copy of your marriage certificate to your chosen chapel. There are over 70 chapels and other venues around Las Vegas, some of them within the major hotels as well as a big selection of independent chapels. And that’s before looking at ‘destination’ wedding venues such as the Grand Canyon, Mount Charleston and Lake Las Vegas. If you’re looking for a wedding chapel with celebrity links, The Little Church of the West is a pretty little wooden chapel that has been around for over 50 years - which is positively antique in Las Vegas terms! They have married stars including Judy Garland, Betty Grable, Deanna Durbin, Shirley Bassey and Richard Gere - it’s also the chapel where Elvis and Ann Margaret exchange vows in the film ‘Viva Las Vegas’. Or the famous Little White Wedding Chapel which has married stars including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland [she obviously liked Las Vegas for her weddings!], Joan Collins, and more recently Demi Moore and Bruce Willis. It is also where Britney Spears started her first round of married life - it lasted only 55 hours. If you want to follow in the footsteps of the King, Elvis and Priscilla married at the original Aladdin Hotel back in 1967. That hotel was replaced by a new and improved Aladdin, but you can still book your ‘Love Me Tender’ Wedding Package with Elvis impersonator here. In fact if you want an Elvis impersonator at your wedding, you have 94 ceremony options at various chapels - the Graceland Wedding Chapel even has a ‘Duelling Elvis’ package where you get 2 different eras of Elvis for your money. So what are the most romantic wedding package options available in Las Vegas? Well it obviously depends on your definition of romance - if you’re already married to your motorbike, for instance you can have a Harley Davidson wedding where you ride right up to the altar, or you can even get married in the Harley Davidson Caf, surrounded by Hogs and related memorabilia. But we have a few of our own favourite options: 1) Get married on a balcony overlooking the lake at the Bellagio Hotel. When the minister pronounces you man and wife, the fountains will play for you. 2) Get married in a gondola on the Grand Canal at the Venetian Hotel as a gondolier serenades you both. 3) Get married at the top of the Eiffel Tower at sunset for stunning views of the city. 4) Take a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon and get married in the Canyon itself your wedding photographs will be stunning And for something more out of the ordinary, how about the following: 1) Pirate ship wedding at Treasure Island. The bride enters down a rose-strewn walkway before a pirate swings down from the rigging with the rings. Not the most private of settings in the middle of Treasure Island lake, but great fun nonetheless. 2) Star Trek wedding at the Star Trek Experience. Get married on the deck of the Starship Enterprise in the presence of Borg, Ferengi and Klingons (depending on the package), before celebrating your wedding with a Federation wedding cake in Quarks Bar. 3) Wild West Wedding at Bonnie Springs. Just outside the city, get yourself married old west style in this old west town with your minister on horseback and cowboys holding the groom at gunpoint during the ceremony. 4) Belleza Dogs at the Belleza Wedding Chapel. If you can’t bear to be parted from your four-legged friend during your wedding, why not make him part of the event? Take your pooch along for the ceremony, and the Belleza will even throw in a bag of dog biscuits to keep him happy on honeymoon. Viva Las Vegas! 3)LAS VEGAS CASINOS VOTING SITES Las Vegas casinos become polling sites: LAS VEGAS, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Democratic Party officials, hoping to increase voter turnout in the Nevada caucuses, will for the first time use Las Vegas casinos as polling places. Although there will be more than 1,700 caucus precincts across the Silver State, estimates are that the votes cast in the casinos could be more than 10 percent of the statewide total, The Washington Post reported Sunday. At the Bellagio, many of the hotel workers will go on break around noon and gather in a 30,000-square-foot ballroom to vote for the Democratic Party nominee Jan. 19. At the Bellagio, executives estimate between 4,000 and 5,000 employees will be working at caucus time. PALAZZO OPENS IN DECEMBER Dec.5,2007 the Venetian's sister hotel will bring with it more than a dozen new places to dine, further complicating your choices when those pangs of hunger begin gnawing. Wolfgang Puck is opening yet another eatery in Vegas, his sixth. Cut will be the name of the new steakhouse at Palazzo. This is another Beverly Hills transplant, with all the trappings of the ultra-swank original, and hopefully its pedigree, being brought over. (It was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as a "Best New Restaurant" for 2006 and was picked by Esquire magazine as the "Restaurant of the Year.") Mario Batali will open his second restaurant a couple of hundred yards away from his B&B Ristorante at The Venetian. Carnevino will be an Italian restaurant and will most likely be infused with his unique twists on traditional dishes that have made him such a staple on cooking programs. Apparently, you can never kick up by too many notches, and to prove that, Emeril Lagasse will be opening another restaurant in Vegas. This one is called Table 10 and will feature Coastal Creole cuisine, specializing in seafood and other delicacies with his native New Orleans touches. Chicago native Charlie Trotter is bringing his culinary skills to Las Vegas for the first time with a restaurant at Palazzo called, appropriately enough, Trotter. Perhaps most famous for his PBS series "The Kitchen Sessions," Trotter has a couple of eateries in the Windy City that specialize in natural and organic foods, from naturally raised meat and game to line-caught seafood. So with a celebrity chef-heavy lineup like that, what else could you do to liven up the restaurant mix? You could throw in a real celebrity, of course. Rap artist and music label executive Jay-Z will open an American sports bar/nightclub/restaurant called the 40/40 Club. Palazzo is currently scheduled to open on Dec. 20. For more information, visit the Web site at www.palazzolasvegas.com.

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