Living in Las Vegas

This is the year for a quickie Las Vegas Valentines Day wedding.  This weekend some Las Vegas wedding chapels are hosting up to three times as many ceremonies as they did last year.  Couples had to wait in line at the District Court Regional Justice Center to get a marriage license for this weekend.  For those who are really serious about a quickie wedding, I checked out the Tunnel of Love over at the Little White Wedding Chapel and their drive-thru wedding is $40. Can’t beat that deal if you’re on a tight budget!

For all of us married couples, Vegas is chaos on Valentines Day.  For the most part you’re talking long waits and crowds of people at all the restaurants. But if you’re trying to get a hotel room there are some fantastic deals. My husband and I are going to brave the crowd this year, for what I recall will be the first time, and head over to Outback Steakhouse (Reader Pick Best of Las Vegas last year!).  We are going to try and get out a little early to beat the crowd and just enjoy some much needed alone time.

With the economic uncertainty, this past year has been a long year for everyone.  I am thankful that the one thing I don’t have to feel uncertain about is my spouse, thankful to have had 12 years with him, and  I definitely feel lucky to be in love.

Happy Valentines Day!

It’s the 28th annual Best of Las Vegas poll! I apologize for running a little late on this one, I didn’t know they were going to be closing categories by a certain date.  So if you haven’t voted yet, we missed the Eat & Drink and Locations categories.

For the rest of the poll, the Hotels and Entertainment ballot will appear January 18, 19 and 21 (deadline is 5 p.m. January 26) and the Shopping, Sports, People and Best of the Worst ballot will be open on January 25, 26 and 28 (deadline is 5 p.m. February 2). You can vote online or in the paper.

The RJ is awarding prizes to all participants, and you can have up to 3 entries.  Prizes include two tickets to Best All-Around Performer, two tickets to see the Best Show, dinner for two at the Best Gourmet Restaurant in a hotel, dinner for two in the Best Gourmet Restaurant not in a hotel, lunch for two at the Best Place for a Power Lunch, a gift certificate to the Best Mall, and the grand prize of a night on the town featuring a dinner, show and overnight stay at a local hotel.

Results will be printed in the newspaper and posted online on March 29. Good luck to all!

I am sorry it has been almost a week since I have posted. It seems like it’s been forever. I have been way under the weather!

Anyway, a bunch of stuff has happened. No. 1 being of course, OJ’s 9 to 33 years.  I originally thought it was 15, but it’s no parole for at least 9 years.  OJ is currently residing at High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs, Nevada.

The National Finals Rodeo has been in town since last Thursday.  That’s always a big deal out here.  The events wrap up on Saturday.

There is a new volcano that opened Monday at the Mirage.  Very bittersweet for me as I have fond memories of going to see the volcano as a kid.  The show runs on the hour from dusk until midnight.

In the sprirt of the holiday season, the Hard Rock is going to have free drinks at several of its bars on Dec. 17 from 7pm to 9pm. No catch as far I can tell. Just stop by one of the bars and relax.

Tomorrow at 6:00pm Mayor Oscar Goodman is going to light up Las Vegas’ Christmas tree down on Freemont Street. I haven’t been there in awhile, but Freemont Street it great for a Vegasy night out.

Over the weekend we stopped by the Parasol Up Parasol Down bar over the Wynn and had a really nice time.  The outdoor waterfall show caught our attention and we sat outside and had a few reasonably priced drinks.  We’ll definitely be stopping by again.

I think that about sums things up for last week.  Hopefully I’ll be back on point this week!

Although I am not the biggest fan of Lifetime movies, I can’t wait to see their new movie based on the book “Murder in Sin City” by Las Vegas Sun’s writer, Jeff German.  Due to the fact that Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish were actually found not guilty of murdering Ted Binion, the movie is more generically titled “Sex & Lies in Sin City: The Ted Binion Scandal.”

Mena Suvari plays Sandy Murphy, a stripper who is put on trial for the murder of her billionaire boyfriend, Ted Binion.

Matthew Modine plays Ted Binion who is the owner of Las Vegas casino, Binion’s Horseshoe (now named Binion’s Hotel and Gambling Hall).

Rick Tabish, played by Johnathon Schaech, is Sandy Murphy’s lover and Ted Binion’s close friend, who is also put on trial for his murder.

And Becky Binion, his sister, is played by Marcia Gay Harden. She is convinced that Ted Binion was murdered.

The true story began on September 17, 1998 when Ted Binion was found dead in his home by his girlfriend Sandy Murphy. Police initially suspected an accidental drug overdose. 

Two days later, on September 19, 1998, Rick Tabish and friends were arrested while digging up $4 million of Binion’s silver in Pahrump, NV, that Tabish had actually helped Ted Binion bury there about 6 months earlier.  He claimed Binion said he could have it. From what I recall, this was a pretty big part of the whole thing.

Fast forward to May 20, 2000, Sandy Murphy and  Rick Tabish are found guilty of murder. Then, on July 15, 2003 their murder convictions are overturned and a new trial was ordered.  On November 23, 2004 the jury finally decides it was Ted Binion’s own addictions that killed him.

The movie premiers on the Lifetime channel on Saturday, October 25 at 9:00 p.m. with repeats on Sunday and Monday.  I hope it’s good!

Yes, surprise, surprise, OJ Simpson was found guilty. 

COUNT 1
Conspiracy to Commit a Crime: 1 year in prison

COUNT 2
Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping: 1 to 6 years in prison

COUNT 3
Conspiracy to Commit Robbery: 1 to 6 years in prison

COUNT 4
Burglary with a Deadly Weapon: 2 to 15 years in prison

COUNT 5
First-degree Kidnapping with a Deadly Weapon: 15 years OR life in prison, both with parole eligibility after 5 years (plus 1 to 20 years with deadly weapon enhancement)

COUNT 6
First-degree Kidnapping with a Deadly Weapon: 15 years OR life in prison, both with parole eligibility after 5 years (plus 1 to 20 years with deadly weapon enhancement)

COUNT 7
Robbery with a Deadly Weapon: 2 to 15 years in prison (plus 1 to 15 years with deadly weapon enhancement)

COUNT 8
Robbery with a Deadly Weapon: 2 to 15 years in prison (plus 1 to 15 years with deadly weapon enhancement)

COUNT 9
Assault with a Deadly Weapon: 1 to 6 years in prison

COUNT 10
Assault with a Deadly Weapon: 1 to 6 years in prison

COUNT 11
Coercion with a Deadly Weapon: 1 to 6 years in prison (plus 1 to 6 years with deadly weapon enhancement)

COUNT 12
Coercion with a Deadly Weapon: 1 to 6 years in prison (plus 1 to 6 years with deadly weapon enhancement)

The verdict was read Friday night at 10:55 p.m. and Simpson and his co-defendant, Clarence Stewart, were immediately cuffed and taken to the Clark County Detention Center.   They will remain in custody until their sentencing hearing on December 5th.

I have to admit I have mixed feelings about the outcome of this trial.  It does seem that he may have been set up.  But if he wanted his stuff back, there had to be a more legal way to do it.  He had to have realized that if his ass ended up on the stand again, the chances of going home were slim to none. 

Since it’s early this morning, I don’t have the scoop on all the details, but OJ Simpson is back in Clark County District Court today to begin trial for armed robbery and kidnapping charges.  The short version of the story is that on September 13, 2007, he went to a hotel room at the Palace Station with some friends to get back some of his sports memorabilia and allegedly held the two sports collectibles dealers at gunpoint. 

He was arrested on September 16, 2007.  Simpson claims he didn’t ask anyone to bring guns and that he didn’t know anyone in the room was armed.  But some of the men that were with him already pleaded guilty and have agreed to testify against him.

To top it all off, yesterday afternoon OJ was pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence.  Someone tipped off the Nevada Highway Patrol that maybe he shouldn’t be driving and the cops went to check it out.  Turns out OJ was fine.

 Both stories are a little strange, but it is OJ Simpson and it is Vegas . . .