Las Vegas being most definitely regarded as the city of lights promises to power off and turn off as many lights as possible in an effort to save the world and power off during earth hour as the rest of the world also unites in worldwide hour without light.

This year earth hour will take place on March 28th at 8:30pm. With this event that began in Australia a few years ago, the mayor of Las Vegas had many doubts that this city would join in. But the casinos on the strip all agreed in a pleasant surprise as they have promised that they too will out the lights for this one hour of the year to stand united with the remainder of the world in a fight against climate change and global warming.

Organizers of the event are hoping that the remainder of the city of Las Vegas will follow the lead of the strip and do their part in keeping the earth as green as possible. The event follows the already widespread attempt to make the year a greener in every way.

As conventions roll through Las Vegas, the strip and the convention center everything this year points towards a greener direction. With the economy taking a more than usual hit, many think that trying to save every where they possibly can, would be a great start in the right direction.

So where do you plan to be on March 28th at 8:30pm? Where ever it is if you dedicate this hour to your planet it is sure to pay that same respect forward and in result directly back to you.

A true symbol of music, Bette Midler is still performing her show at the Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. From costume changes to unexpected encores every single show promises to deliver an entertaining evening leaving show goers asking for more and always presenting Midler with a standing ovation at the closing of all her shows.

Better Midler signed a two year contract that will be reviewed at the close of the two year period to establish whether or not she will be signing on to perform for an additional time period. Bette performs songs from all of her albums and at the ripe age of 63 she is as much a crowd pleaser as she was thirty years ago.

Tickets for the Bette Midler Show can be purchased at ticket sales offices in Las Vegas and of course can also be purchased directly at the Caesars Palace hotel. The tickets range in prices starting as low as $150 dollars and go as high as $1000 per ticket for the most premium seats in the house.

The show is available in conjunction with hotel packages as well as hotel and air packages also. While the show is scheduled to be on five times per week it is more than often sold out so it is a good idea to purchase tickets in advance if you know you will be in town to see the show prior to arriving.

To see a full list of songs that are preformed and read some reviews of what others thought of the show please visit the hotels website or browse Bette Midler online.

Booking online was surely popular in the past but if you are looking to book a vacation online now than you will be happy to find that now is a better time than ever. One hotel in particular is offering to very inviting web offers. That hotel is the one and only Bellagio.

If you log onto the Bellagio website and search for web only promotions you will find a page that asks you to enter your personal information such as your name, your address and your email address. After you have entered this information you are taken to the next screen which will allow you to see the web deals that are currently available strictly by booking your trip online.

There are currently 2 on going promotions, one being the “one night free” promotion which allows guests to book to nights at the going rate and receive the third night completely on the house. The starting rates for these rooms are only 169 dollars per night so the average rate for all three nights is barely over a hundred dollars.

The second promotion that they have going on is the “special rates” promotions which allows guests to view a calendar for the upcoming months and select room rates starting as low as $129 per night which is almost unheard of for the Bellagio.

The Hotel and Casino has been revamped and updated in recent years and is completely as posh a destination as anyone would expect from a five star luxury resort. So log on now and book your trip today!

So perhaps you are thinking the type of coupons that you get at the grocery store for a dollar of this or a dollar off that, well this deal is much better than a dollar off.

If you have ever taken a taxi in Las Vegas you may have noticed the little book in the back of the passenger seat that had suggested forms of entertainment and often offered a deal or two should you select that venue of entertainment.

Well, coupon books are making a huge come back in the city of Las Vegas as those that dare to make the trip and spend whatever spending cash they have left in this not so happening economy are turning to these books for a deal. And so, some of the nicest hotels in the city have began to offer bargains within these same exact books that people used to throw out the window.

Hotels and Restaurants throughout Las Vegas have reported that they have experienced a larger than normal amount of coupon users, and they do not mind at all. If people are looking for deals that means they are still frequenting at least some of these locations which is much better than them not coming by altogether.

While coupons may not be the answer to the entire economic situation, perhaps there is something there, if the entire country just saved a little more and spent a little less then perhaps there would be much more to go around. Who would have thought that a theory like that could come out of a city like Las Vegas.

There is a lot of extra landing room at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport these days as they are experiencing the biggest loss of passengers that has been in seen over five years time. Forty Four million people came in and out of that airport over the year of 2008 which was already almost an eight percent drop since 2007. This year looks like it is set to follow an equally down turning pattern.

Las Vegas is feeling the withdrawal all around as the hotels and the restaurants are all also reporting quite the down turn in visitors and guests.

And while less people are coming to Las Vegas, there are also much less leaving the city as well. People that call the city of lights their home are travelling much less which is probably due to the economy and the lack of money that is being brought in to the state that is then forwarded on to the city’s population.

All major airlines reported that they experienced short falls in 2008 and that 2009 is often to an even rockier start. With the new government in power everyone in the travel and tourism industry is hoping for at least a little positive change and relief but it seems that even if that change is going to come, it will take some time to do so.

Whatever the case the Las Vegas airport is not the only place feeling this bad time that they entire nation is facing but as always things are bound to change, we are just hoping that its sooner than later

There has never been a better time to plan a trip to Las Vegas than right now. Almost every, if not every single hotel on the strip is offering some sort of deal or promotion.

Some packages are as simple as including a hotel stay for 4 days, which usually run Thursday thru Sunday, while there are other packages that offer everything from flights to hotel to restaurants, shows and other entertainment.

Looking for the deals has never been easier also. Simply log onto a travel search engine of the website of the hotel that you prefer, punch in the dates that you are looking for a watch the deals come up. It is also a good idea to take a look at the months schedule for the hotel as by doing that you can get an idea of how low the prices actually go.

Luxury hotels such as the Wynn and the Bellagio are offering room rates starting from just 179 dollars per night, rates like this were almost unheard of this time last year! But if you are happy staying at a hotel that is not at the top of the A-list than 179 dollars can pay for your entire weekend if you choose to stay at a hotel such as Bally’s which is currently offering a full weekend promotion.

Flights are cheap too! Getting to Vegas to enjoy your trip should not be a problem as many airline companies are currently offering seat sales as well as advance purchase tickets to Las Vegas. So all you have to do now is gather some friends and plan your fun Vegas getaway!

As many know the month of January is usually the start of a slew of convention shows for Las Vegas. First the Consumer Electronics show followed by the ever popular Adult Entertainment show and now the International Builders Show.

Its seems a bit ironic to hold a builders convention in a state that is arguably the one state that feels the short comings of the current economic times the most.

So it comes without shock that the International Builders convention this year is experiencing a much smaller turnout that last years and of other years past.

Member rates in the overall association of Builders has shrunk a whopping 20%. Construction workers have lost over 3 million jobs throughout the US and interestingly enough of the over 6 million homes that are available and some are even vacant in the US today 1.5 million of those homes are beautiful new construction.

Its not yet known exactly how many people came out to the show in Las Vegas but of the 90,000 people that were present last year it is said that there were quite a few missing. And as most expected with fewer people come fewer showcases. The booths were less in numbers as were the innovations and displays.

Similar to that of last year the tune played by most in the industry was that of “going green”. Cutting costs was also a topic that rang through the air. And while in order to turn old construction green meant creating costs many companies should how this would be a cost savings in the near future and how much extra it would cost those that did not end up switching over at the nearest opportunity.

In this tough financial times it seems as though Las Vegas is playing their cards right. With a recap of what is happening in the city this year held this week by city officials, a common trend has risen; most projects are on hold indefinitely.

With hotels not seeing the return of what was seen this time last year and numbers down all around the hotels have had to open their eyes to what the economy is really facing and put some of the most anticipated updates and projects on hold.

Las Vegas hotels have tried to do several things to keep the traffic flowing through. They have lowered room rates by almost 40% in some cases, they offered plenty of two for one deals, they are giving away free dinners and other forms of relaxation and entertainment but nothing is bringing people back at the rate they saw last year and in years past.

While officials are saying even though the situation is tough it seems to have gotten a bit better in the last few weeks. But better definitely does not mean good!

There are still many vacancies to fill, people are not staying in Vegas as long as they used to, they are not spending what they used to on shows and food and they are surely spending much less on gambling.

And so comes a reaction from Las Vegas hotels and casinos; following the trend of their patrons they have put a hold on many projects that they had planned to be completed by the end of 2009. Projects such as the City Center and many other renovations for hotels and casinos. Perhaps these projects will start again in the near future, but not until other things change first.

The Las Vegas Monorail project that is built through Bombardier Transportation has decided to extend the contract with the company and keep them on board for further expansion for the next five years and $58 million dollars worth of business for the Transportation company that also specializes in subway systems throughout the world as well as airplane and other large machinery construction.

The Monorail currently runs a short 3.9 mile trip making several stops throughout the strip. There are only several places to board the monorail. The new project has plans for potentially extending the route of the train to the Las Vegas McCarran Airport in hopes of offering a service that is at a reduced rate from the current bus and cab fares that are currently the only form of transportation from the airport short of renting your own vehicle.

The train is a self operated fully automated machine that does not require a driver to run the operation. It is important to note that while no driver is present it is a fully monitored transportation vehicle and there is always someone present should a question or an unexpected situation arise.

The monorail has proved useful especially in times where the city is experiencing several conventions happening at the same time with line ups for taxi’s running in waiting times that run well over an hour. And while the monorail has only a few stops one of the most important stops is located directly near the convention center allow visitors to just jump on and arrive at there destination much sooner than they would if they were to wait in line for a cab.

This past week was one that Hollywood will likely like to forget faster than ever. Joaquin Phoenix who is the brother of late actor River Phoenix took the stage at a Las Vegas hotel and performed a rap while fellow actor and friend Casey Affleck videotaped the whole performance.

The performance can be found on Youtube.com and is a rather embarrassing attempt of karaoke style rap. The former actor was attempting some sort of rebirth into the Hollywood scene and this was the wrong thing to do to say the least.

While actors often like to put on a show in a Las Vegas crowd for all the young fans to see and adorn. This was a complete embarrassment to Joaquin. The performance left much to be desired and the actor should perhaps venture back into the world of acting and stay away from rapping all together.

It was said that while the performance wasn’t as entertaining as expected the party surrounding the event was quite the opposite. The younger crowd of Hollywood stars has been said to throw a great party that always goes into the wee hours of the following morning.

The actors spent the weekend in Las Vegas and when asked the actor said that he will continue to pursue his dreams whether it be singing or acting he says it is important to follow your heart and do what feels right and what you think you were always meant to be doing.