Most people have at least a passing knowledge of the famous ESPN SportsCenter ads, where sports mascots work as employees in the SportsCenter studio. Vegas.com is trying to build on that familiarity with a new Las Vegas campaign, except they're replacing franchise mascots with casino characters and the SportsCenter studio with... um...the Vegas.com studio? Maybe? The entire campaign could actually stand to be a little bit more punchy. Also a little bit more funny.
The clips are being posted over at Vegas.com/exposed. After the jump we've put one of the commercials, a spot that plays on the Treasure Island pirates. When we originally found this thing on AdFreak they included it with a clip starring Carrot Top. We obviously like you guys too much to expose you to that.]]>
To save some bucks and see some great desert scenery, road trip it to Las Vegas from California. It's a great last-minute-getaway option instead of paying pricey plane tickets and bag fees, and another perk is that hotels like the Luxor and the MGM Grand offer free self-parking for guests. We recently made the six-hour trek from San Diego and came out better for it, thanks to some tips.
Jaunted's Top Three Tips For Road Tripping To Vegas:]]>
It's a whole new type of laid-off travel; gold mining is back with a vengeance and oftentimes, the richest veins are closer than you think. All this week we'll be digging deep into the USA's dirt to uncover the best spots for sifting your way into a small fortune, or at least one month's rent. Any suggestions or questions? Let us know.
Usually folks don't head to Las Vegas anticipating a weekend of sitting quietly by a stream, panning for bits of gold. So that's why, if you do opt to step away from the slots long enough to indulge fantasies of treasure hunting, an LV-based tour company will take out out for it in sufficiently flashy style.
Smack down $200 and pack your Timberlands for the "Off Road Hummer Gold Rush Adventure Tour" from Grand Canyon Tour Company. They'll pick you up at your Vegas hotel in a rough-and-ready Hummer, before driving you out into the middle of nowhere for a 4x4 experience, a visit to the Eldorado canyon, and some panning of your own outside of Savage Mine.
Keep whatever you find, even though you know that it'll end up on the craps table later that evening. And since this is only a day-long tour, no commitment to pioneer living with outdoor toilets and baked beans cooked over a fire needed.
Related Stories:
· Hummer Gold Rush Adventure Tour [Grand Canyon Tours]
· Panning For Gold Makes a Comback [Jaunted]
· Gold Mining Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: customsnow162] ]]>
Las Vegas may have a fake Venice, New York and Egypt, but perhaps they should start thinking about installing a replica Trafalgar Square now that British Airways has announced plans for a new non-stop route from London.
Due to go direct from the land of fish and chips to the city of all-you-can-eat buffets starting this fall, the once-daily roundtrips from London-Gatwick to McCarran will join Virgin Atlantic in shipping over the Brits and their pounds sterling to drop in casinos. According to info obtained by the Las Vegas Sun, England is already "the No. 3 provider of foreign tourists to Las Vegas behind Canada and Mexico."
This whole business with the added flights is also about to give "Triple 777s" a new meaning, as BA's arrival on VA's route means that their planes will be going head-to-head for a jackpot win on Vegas supremacy. As if the BA thorn in Richard Branson's side wasn't in deep enough already. And just like everyone else on their way to the "Sin City," all British Airways wants to do is score.
Related Stories:
· British Airways to Start Daily Service to Las Vegas [LV Sun]
· Las Vegas Travel [VegasChatter]
· British Airways Coverage [Jaunted]
[BA photo: griffs0000; Triple 7s via AskGamblers]]]>
Are you one of the casualties of the hurtin' economy? We're here to help with Laid-Off Travel, a new series on where to go when you don't have somewhere to go from 9 to 5.
Macy's announced this week they would be trimming 7,000 jobs and 11 stores from its operations throughout the country, citing a recession-induced slowdown in sales. While there won't be a Lehman Brothers-style mass exodus, unhappy former retail-sector workers everywhere need a break -- why don't you try:
Kingdom: Magic Kingdom, that is. Walt Disney World's three-nights-free Orlando resort deal is blowin' up our sister blog HotelChatter (though you have to buy four nights to get three free). We're waffling between the kitschy Pop Century Resort and the un-Floridian Polynesian.
Ka-ching!: We would never recommend spending all your severance at the tables, but a little chunk might be fun. For a more solid investment, try a little retail therapy at the luxury boutiques that can no longer afford to turn you away. Today we pulled a $368 flight/hotel deal for this weekend that would put you on the Strip (albeit in the slightly less splash Stratosphere, Circus Circus or Riviera).
Keuka?!: If your personal unpaid indefinite vacation happened to catch you in NYC, maybe you need a few days to focus on something besides the CNN news ticker -- like brushing up on your wine-tasting skills. The Keuka Lake Wine Trail, starring seven wineries along one of the less well known Finger Lakes in upstate New York, will put the fire back in ya.
Related Stories:
· Macy's to cut 7,000 jobs [LA Times]
· Stay Three Nights Free at Disney World Resorts [HC]
· Keuka Lake Wineries [Keukawinetrail.com]
· Wine Travel: Rooster Hill Vineyards [Jaunted]
· Laid-Off Travel [Jaunted]
[Photo: Marjie] ]]>
Las Vegas has long trafficked in excess, doing a brisk business as a destination where it's standard operating procedure to blow your whole wad in a weekend. But what happens to Vegas when people don't have a wad to blow anymore? Is it still worth a visit? The answer is a resounding yes, according to USA Today, which offers a variety of tips on how to have fun in the casino resorts even if all you have in your pockets is some loose change, a bus schedule, and a flask of Early Times whiskey. In fact, Vegas will be glad to relieve you of whatever cash you happen to have left.
A few tidbits: instead of blackjack, play Pai Gow poker, an Americanized version of an old Chinese game. Most hands only cost $10, and often result in a "push," in which you get to keep what you wagered, extending your time at the table even if you will eventually lose it all to the dealer. And there's no need to blow a few hundred bucks on tickets for one of the endless incarnations of the Cirque du Soleil franchise when free entertainment abounds on the Strip. The fountains at the Bellagio are a good bet, with dramatic water shows set to music every day that are visible from the sidewalk. Not to be outdone, the Mirage gets a new volcano on Monday, with flames that do a five-minute dance for free. And of course it doesn't cost anything to walk through the various casino resorts on Las Vegas Boulevard, but it takes some serious will power not to indulge in any of the sybaritic pleasures on display.
My personal suggestion for a good time in Vegas that won't cost a dime: a hike through Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. Just watch out for those scruffy wild burros. They'll hurt your feelings.
[Photo: USA Today]
Related Stories:
· Las Vegas Still Offers Fun at Low Stakes [USA Today]
· Budget Travel Coverage [Jaunted] ]]>
What the world looks like when you get off the Palazzo tasting tour.
We were fortunate enough to get invited to the Palazzo Las Vegas last week to check-out the hotel scene. But as with most hotels these days and especially in Las Vegas, the hotel is often not about the hotel. It's about what else is at the hotel.
And aside from the gambling, the Palazzo has a ton of other distractions and ways for you to spend your cash, whether you won it at the blackjack tables or whether you're just burning your paycheck.
While the Shoppes at the Palazzo definitely caught our eye (hello, massive Barneys department store!), there are 12 restaurants to indulge in. We tested a few of them out. Be prepared to leave your calorie-counting ways behind.
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