LAS VEGAS -- For the second time in less than two years, downtown Las Vegas stalwart The Lady Luck has a new owner.

AMX Nevada -- an obscure, newly formed company -- ponied up millions of dollars to purchase the struggling Lady from Isle of Capri, a national chain of mainly riverboat casinos that picked up the hotel in 2000 for about $14 million and has been losing money ever since.

A spokesperson for the new company said it will be go forward with improvements already under way at the hotel and with plans to turn one of the two towers into a time-share condo property.

AMX intends to lease the casino out to a separate operator and manage only the hotel and ancillary features.

Surprising absolutely no one, President George W. Bush signed a bill last week that formally makes Nevada the nation's nuclear dumping ground. The bitterly contested legislation cleared the way for development of a waste site under Yucca Mountain, about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. If licensing and legal challenges are cleared, trucks and trains carrying nuclear waste from the nation's power plants and weapons facilities could start rolling in 2010.

I don't know why I read or report on stories like this because they only depress me, but here comes another one of those "Why Don't I Have That Kind of Luck?" tales.

A Hawaii resident, who asked to go unnamed, wandered over to Main Street Station downtown shortly after he checked into the neighboring California, put $2 into a Wheel of Fortune slot machine, pulled the handle, and won almost $2.2 million.

I want to be happy for him, I really do.

This Week's Trivia

Q. The following hotels opened in July of their respective years. Which opened first? The International (now the Las Vegas Hilton), Stardust, Bonanza (replaced by MGM Grand/Bally's), The Landmark (torn down in 1995), or the Holiday (now Harrah's). ANSWER

The Weekly Trivia Question is sponsored by the Online Memorabilia Museum at Vegas4Visitors.com

The Full Story

• Station Casinos Plans Another Las Vegas Property
• Broadway Shows Headed To The Strip
• Penn & Teller Break Down Magic, Amaze
• Other News: Lady Luck Gets New Owner
• Vegas Q&A: Are Slot Payouts Dropping?
• Vegas Q&A: Finding The Tackiest Gifts
• Vegas Entertainment Top 21

In Next Week's Column

Next 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

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