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Other Vegas News: Casino Battle In China
Rick Takes Chicken Challenge
LAS VEGAS -- The creator/operator of The Venetian, Sheldon Adelson, and next-door neighbor Steve Wynn will be going head-to-head again, this time in China. Adelson was granted permission from the city of Macau to build a new hotel-casino in the resort town just days after former Mirage chairman Wynn was given the go-ahead for a casino of his own. No details on either project were released, but the minimum investment required to gain the licenses was $500 million. With these flamboyant visionaries, you have to know the final result won't be something simple or small. The proposal to turn a crime-ridden section of downtown Las Vegas into an urban hotspot got a ceremonial kickoff last week as the mayor and a city councilman drove giant street sweepers through the neighborhood. The six blocks of Fremont Street just east of the Fremont Street Experience are the target for the city's revitalization plan, which is hoped to transform the strip of tacky souvenir shops and rundown motels into a hub for nightclubs, taverns and shopping. To get things started, city police will increase their presence to try to rid the area of prostitution and drug dealing, with cosmetic sprucing and new businesses hoped for by sometime next year.
And finally, more news on my favorite new Vegas attraction, the $10,000 Chicken Challenge at the Las Vegas Tropicana. Turns out my little joke about the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals probably not liking the new game -- where people play tic-tac-toe against a live chicken -- wasn't really a joke. Officials with PETA have filed a formal protest against the attraction, claiming that it is cruel to the chickens. Officials for the Tropicana said that each chicken only "works" one hour a day and the rest of the time they are very well cared for. In fact, they say that compared to the lives that most chickens lead, the stars of the Chicken Challenge are treated like royalty. One more note -- I took the challenge myself last weekend ... and lost. But I'm convinced the chicken cheated and will demand a rematch.
This Week's TriviaQ. On July 2, 1973, the Holiday Casino opened. Over the years the hotel changed names and designs. What is it known as today? ANSWER The Weekly Trivia Question is sponsored by the Online Memorabilia Museum at Vegas4Visitors.com
The Full Story
In Next Week's ColumnNext week: The latest from Las Vegas. Plus, don't forget to send me your questions about Las Vegas. I've got room for more, so send them in today! Click here to go to the main page of Vegas4Visitors.com and see all of the fantastic resources Vegas4Visitors has to offer you when planning your next trip to Las Vegas. Rick Garman is the head writer for Vegas4Visitors [an error occurred while processing this directive] | [an error occurred while processing this directive] |