The Philadelphia Phillies have already won the World Series – but if you were in Las Vegas or placed a Vegas bet, then you would think that Philly won a day early at the sports books.
Any bets that were made on the Phillies to win the world series over the Tampa Bay Rays in game 5 which happened to be the final game of the world series were paid out in Phillies favor at the call of the rained out game.

Even though the game was tied 2-2 when the rain ended the game which was postponed until yesterday the score went to Philly.

According to Nevada Gaming Commission rules, if a Major League Baseball game is rained out, sports books use the score from the last completed inning. Most Las Vegas sports books are using the 2-1 score which was the score at the end of the fifth inning to appoint the win to Philadelphia.

“I’m sure there are disgruntled bettors because people see it as a 2-2 game and they’re stuck with a losing ticket,” said Harper, whose company supplies odds to sports books. “It’s a break for someone who had a Philly ticket.”

Philadelphia was the favorite in Game 5 at -170, meaning that someone would have to bet $1.70 to win $1, Harper said.

“Being a World Series, it was a highly bet game,” said assistant manager of the Hilton Race and Sports Book in Las Vegas, without disclosing specific figures. “It affected a lot of people. We were answering questions all day.”

Regardless of the payout the Phillies did end up winning the world series and those casinos that waited to pay the Philly fans eventually had the same result. Good thing too because it obviously kept this a much cleaner victory for the Phillies.

General Growth Properties Inc., Which is the owner of many retail mall properties throughout the United States and Canada is coming upon some serious financial problems that have been looming in the air for months.

The Chicago-based organization has proclaimed plans on Monday to attempt to sell all 3 of the high end malls in Las Vegas which include the Grande Canal Shoppes, the Shoppes at the Palazzo and biggest of all the Fashion Show Mall.

“The only properties that we are looking to sell right now are those three Las Vegas centers,” said David Keating, General Growth Properties’ spokesman. “As far as Burlington Town Center, that wasn’t on the announcement. From my understanding, Burlington Town Center is doing quite well … traffic is up due to the Canadian market.”

The company has more than 210 mall locations throughout the states and Canada and seems to be feeling the wrath of the economy.

When asked how the malls were doing in Las Vegas, a rep from GGP mentioned that stores are not shorting out on their leases nor are they seeing many bankruptcies or closures but they just aren’t seeing as strong of a return as in previous years and the upkeep is costing much more than what they are making.

“We recognize that we are facing unprecedented challenges in this economic environment, and we are committed to working with all our stakeholders to achieve a successful outcome to our strategic review process,” said Adam Metz, who was named Monday to serve as interim CEO in a shake-up of top level management.

The Flamingo in Las Vegas has announced that the brother-and-sister combo of entertainers Donny and Marie Osmond are continuing their Las Vegas Strip variety show for two more years.

Flamingo President Don Marrandino is proclaiming that visitors love the show performed by the duo and that it has been an ongoing hit since it began bringing guests in not only from the hotel itself but the neighboring hotels and the all over the strip as well.

While the financial terms of the transaction were not revealed at this time, it is clear that the couple have agreed and signed to stay until October 2010.

Donny and Marie Osmond took over as Flamingo headliners after Toni Braxton’s show ended in April due to health concerns and an alleged heart problem. Tickets to the Donny and Marie show range from $90 to over $250 for the show that is about an hour and a half in length.

The show is introduced by Danny Gans and Chip Lightman of GansLight Entertainment. The show airs several weeknights and is a great distraction for people that are trying to get away from the standard performance or simply tired of playing the games that the casinos have to offer.

If Donny and Marie are not exactly the entertainment that one is looking for, The hotel as well as many other neighboring hotels offer a large assortment of entertainment to choose from including many shopping venues and plenty for amazing shows and concerts to go see.

Those wishing to visit some beautiful Las Vegas homes in the Northern area of Las Vegas and see if there is something that they would like to put a bid on is almost half way nearing its end. The home auction has now been running for about 2 weeks and will end on November 6th. The auction is held by LFC Group of Companies which is a Southern California online auction marketing company.

While the real estate market within the United States has suffered as a whole, the tourist states are experiencing the largest downturns. The Las Vegas housing market has been hit hard and is really feeling the drop especially in the industry of condos and new home developers with remaining inventory.

Bids for brand new homes are starting at as low as $99,000. And since the auction is available live online from the comfort of your own home one can close the deal as fast as they like as long as they meet the minimum requirements and are approved for financing.

The online format is also great for those bidders that are outside of the Las Vegas area or are even international investors looking to own some US real estate. They can look at floor plans, dive into layouts and examine everything that they need without ever having to fly in and visit the busy auction rooms.

Unfortunately for Vegas even people that are there for business are tightening up there budgets and there wallets. Many companies that send employees for corporate conventions or seminars are instructing them to limit the spending.

A New Mexican resident in town for a conference, said he had no interest in gambling or spending a ton during his trip. “People need to get back to the idea of living on less than they make, not more than they make,” he said, as he stood with friends outside one of Las Vegas’ attractions, a mall modeled after the forum in ancient Rome. “We’ve become a society that lives on credit. We need to increase our savings.” Its just seems tough to keep up these days.

Since most baby boomers are currently watching their 401K plans dwindle away faster than any spin on a slot machine. Going to Vegas to spend the remainder of what they may have saved for retirement seems to be at the end of their lists if at all.

If you are planning a trip to Vegas the chances are that you are going to spend at least a little money. Most visitors that are there for pleasure still do pack in some nice dinner, a good show and a few go’s at the tables. However, the city is now having to do more than ever to entice visitors their way!

Business is seemingly slow in Las Vegas, like almost everywhere in the United States these days, and so, the city is trying to convince people more than ever that, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” And this is the only place that the fun happens!

Actors have been summoned to speak on behalf of the Vegas strip and are saying that you can have a wild time and head back to your regular life as soon as the weekend ends. Now, for some actors this is the regular life!

“You can actually rent a motor coach with a stripper pole in the back and have your whole crowd on a motor coach with entertainment on board.” One movie star said.
The deals in Vegas right now are hard to beat!

Hotels, Resorts and attractions are all offering amazing and cheap deals, Many hotels on the strip are offering deals that include the room, dinner credits, play credits and spa credits all under $100 per night!

Log onto casino website and search out deals or simple search on a travel engine to find the exact package that you are looking for with transportation.
If you are planning a trip you should consider booking soon because Christmas and New Year’s are busy times!! .

Some of the best deals in the world can be found in Vegas right now. And with summer out the window for most of us on this side of the road we would love to find some deals and head over to Las Vegas!

If you have time to spare and can plan your vacation a little in advance than the 3 week away option is the one for you. Book a trip at least three weeks in advance and receive at least $100 off the total price of your trip. Or for those of us up for some last minute action wait until the Wednesday night and plan a quick 4 day trip that you are sure to remember.

Once you’ve landed, you’ll enjoy the best deals at the city’s finest hotel, casinos and shopping destinations.

You can plan a trip for as low as $89 a night at Planet Hollywood or roam the canals of the Venetian from rates starting at $189 per weekend night.

While you are there talk to the host to arrange show tickets, spa packages, or tantalizing dinners within each hotel or anywhere else on the strip.

Check Vegas based websites for weekly deals, specials and reviews. The staples in Vegas are always strong and guaranteed to satisfy but there are also many new attractions and venues that are constantly opening and inviting visitors from all around the world.

LVS which is the stock symbol for the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and is the second largest casino operator by market share value is currently trying to figure out a way to revise the terms to receive a loan which is over 5 billion dollars to fund a casino project in Macau.

Due to the current economic situation times are currently rough and several banks are seeking help and recue themselves.

Borrowing costs are at the utmost high amid what could possibly be the worst U.S. banking crisis since the Great Depression, which was brought on by the collapse of investment banks including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Both the Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts Ltd. (which is a company owned by Steve Wynn who is currently majority stake holder of the Wynn and Encore resorts on the strip in Las Vegas) are one of the gambling companies investing $25 billion in Macau, which is the only city in China where it is legal to gamble. Sands was planning at least nine more hotels and resorts on a strip which is now Vegas’ biggest gambling competitor.

The Sands stock is continuing to see a downward cycle but investor analyst are advising a buy call saying that the stock will rise to a $44 high sometime within the next 2 years.

Las Vegas has Economic Woes with Rest of Country

In many ways, the city of Las Vegas is not really a belle weather as many people think. A lot of people like to look at Las Vegas and decide based on what is going on within the city how things are going in the rest of the country, but that is really backwards in terms of the actual logic. It would be more accurate to say that the United States of America as a whole is a belle weather for Las Vegas and this is primarily because the city of Las Vegas derives its main income flows from the rest of the USA.
Think about it from a logical standpoint. When people come to the city of Las Vegas, they are hoping to kick back and relax. Some people do this by gambling while others do it through other methods, but the main reason that people come to Las Vegas is to take a vacation and forget their cares and worries for awhile. Because of this Las Vegas has long been a city dominated by income from tourism venues and tourism income by definition depends on tourists to be sustainable. When tourists do not come, people that are in the tourism industry suffer. It is for this reason that it is way more accurate to think of Las Vegas’ economic well being as being a function of the economic state of the rest of the country.

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last month, you know that things are not going well for the US economy as a whole. The government is going to be bailing out companies left and right with trillions of dollars worth of money and of course the American dollar has gone downhill as a result of that kind of inflation. However, many people in Middle America and elsewhere around the country have been hit hard as well, with layoffs and salary decreases coming left and right as a result of the massive economic woes the country is currently facing. For this reason, many people can not afford to travel this year and the trips to Las Vegas that normally came about during the summer months are no longer happening and that in turn is negatively affecting the economy of Sin City.

A good example of this would be Westgate Resorts, a company that is responsible for booking time shares for such famous casinos as Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas. The current economic times have gotten so bad for them that they have had to lay off at least 200 of their workers. The main reason for this is that resort companies like Westgate depend on constant expansion to survive and keep their employees in work and when this does not happen (or is delayed in the case of many current resort projects in Las Vegas), bad things start to happen. While there have thankfully been no company collapses in Las Vegas, it is something that could still conceivably happen in the near future.

Las Vegas as a town is always a place that has known when to change with the times. It is a place that knew when gambling was no longer good enough by itself to form the staple of the town’s tourism industry and it knew when it was time to build things bigger and better in order to attract a different kind of crowd. Las Vegas is also a city that has known to build in layers so that the previous activities are always accessible to the people that have wanted them and for this reason Las Vegas is a city that has been able to build layers of tourists on top of each other in order to maintain the forward momentum of their numbers.

For this reason, it is perhaps no surprise to anyone that Las Vegas has started to invest in bigger and grander things. These things are designed to have two purposes. The first purpose is to attract the crowd of extremely wealthy people that are not interested in gambling and the second is to attract families with affordable luxury combined with amenities and activities that the whole family can enjoy. For this reason, Las Vegas has transformed its reputation from being nothing but a den for the seediest individuals imaginable to being a wholesome family experience that even the youngest of children can enjoy because of the activities available.

The latest in the line of resorts that put forward that second claim is The Palazzo Las Vegas. The Palazzo is a resort that was created to be a sister resort to The Venetian, but it really does have a style all its own. To start with, the tower itself is very impressive in terms of the architecture and it is something that people would enjoy from day one right through to the final saying. It is one of the most photogenic buildings around and because of that there are many people around that would enjoy The Palazzo just looking at it from the outside.

However, the inside of the building is perhaps even more impressive than the outside. A combination of the most luxurious things imaginable as well as large open spaces for the different rooms that people can book have made The Palazzo an overnight hit with most people that have already been there. In just a few short days it has catapulted itself to the top of the most talked about list in Las Vegas and that is an accomplishment worth nothing. Overall however, the luxury of The Palazzo is only appealing because it is affordable and attainable for most people and that in the end is what makes the resort as popular as it currently is.

Finally, it is also a resort in the spirit of Las Vegas resorts and that means activities that can be done inside. These include recreational activities like swimming, golfing and gambling as well as beauty enhancement spas and salons for people to really enjoy themselves and go to town. The Palazzo has it all and in the end it will be resorts like this one that revitalize the city of Las Vegas yet again.