Treasure Island is no longer on the Strip, but Social House is! Social house has taken over the former Treasure Island locale at The Crystals.

Pure Management Group is operating the Social House Brand, and which is located on the second floor of Crystals, complete with a closed off dining area and a lovely dining terrace that overlooks the first floor. Social House executive chef Joe Elevado delivers a great new menu with many former Social House favorites in addition to new dishes from the far east.

Social House has added Asian inspired dishes onto its new menu, and with it, Asian décor as well is featured in the restaurant. The prices for food and drink are pretty typical, but a great way to save a few bucks is to go to Social house from 5-7pm. Cocktails are $8, so are specials, and domestic beer is a mere $4! If you really want to save, Neveda locals get 20% off their bill Sundays – Thursdays, so bring your ID and invite all the friends out to socialize!

Social House’s hours are from Monday-Thursday, and Sunday 5 pm - 10 pm. Friday and Saturday, the hours are from 1pm – 11pm.

Rumor has taken the place of the former St. Tropez hotel and offers very luxe lodging complete with a 30,000 square foot pool area outfitted with private cabanas, and hammock-strung palm trees. Great rates, great location, great eats at Rumor’s restaurant Addiction, and stunning chic rooms aren’t the only thing being offered at this chic hotel. Free wifi throughout the hotel is a plus, but the best perk hands down is probably the completely free in-room adult movies. That’s a first!

Right now, there is a special web offer available at Rumor. Book a one night stay, and get a second night free! To use this deal, simply use the discount code Web1. Hurry before the best dates are all taken up! To score this deal, guests must book before September 30th, 2010. The offer expires October 30th, 2010, so don’t miss out!

Rates are reasonable, and the suites are very brand new having undergone a make over. Rates start as low as $79.99, so using that web offer could definitely make staying at Rumor a steal of a deal.

If you’re looking to gamble, simply cross the street to hit the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Check out Rumor now at http://www.rumorvegas.com/.

Lilith Fair, the popular female music festival, hasn’t toured since 1999, a fact which has made is quite difficult to regain its momentum in its first year touring since then. It has been plagued with misfortune since the get-go, with artists cancelling and ticket prices dropping. Las Vegas even had to scale down its event venue, downgrading it from the Mandalay Events Centre to the Mandalay Bay Beach.

Due to all of these unfortunate circumstances, several artists were forced to drop out before the Las Vegas tour date. So, Vegas tourists and residents missed out on an opportunity to see Marina and the Diamonds, Emmylou Harris and Queen Latifah.

However, despite all of these shortcomings, the event was a success. There was a fair turnout for both the mainstage and the second stage events, and the audience was enthusiastic for all of the performances. Although only three main stage acts remained - The Bangles, Sarah McLaughlin and Miranda Lambert – a good time was had by all, and the festival founds are hopeful that upcoming tours will be well-received.

We believe that that they should chalk it up to unfortunate circumstances. A festival that hasn’t toured in ten years is likely to experience some setbacks during their comeback performance, and we believe that next year’s event will be less of a mess.

Being located in the South Western United States, Las Vegas has an expansive and impressive offering of Mexican food. But, with so many great restaurants, its difficult to choose where to get the best taco in town – but the local Las Vegas newspaper, the Las Vegas Sun, seems to have made a unanimous decision.

Los Tacos, located at 1710 E Charleston Ave, is the best taco in Las Vegas. It is a popular lunchtime spot, which residents and tourists alike flocking to the location for its family-friendly atmosphere, affordable prices and authentic food.

Many patrons note that their favourite aspect of the menu is Los Tacos minimalist approach to Mexican food. Las Vegas is full of Fusion restaurants who attempt to be creative by fitting as many different cultures into one dish as possible. But, Los Tacos takes another direction, by offering up simple tacos will cheddar cheese, pinto beans and, sour cream and guacamole.

It is this simplistic approach that has kept the family-owned business running for so launch and simultaneously secures its future success for years to come.

So, we must agree with the Las Vegas Sun! It is certainly our recommendation if you’re looking for the best taco in a city full of restaurants claiming to offer the most authentic Mexican food.

Recently, casino operator Steve Wynn has come under fire for requiring dealers to split their tips with the supervisors. The case was taken to the Nevada Labour Commission, which ruled that Wynn’s tip out system was not illegal.

Over the past year, Labour Commission has debated this decision, undergoing several public hearings as dealers fought for their right to keep their own tips. Dealers at Encore Casino will now also have to abide by Wynn’s rules. However, dealers who are now bound by the new rule have stated that they will be taking legal action with the Supreme Court.

“We know this will be a long battle” says Wynn Dealer Meghan Smith. “Its only Round One of Round Three”.

Because the decision was so thorough and underwent so many different hearings, legal experts believe that the dealers will not be able to win their appeal against the company. But, the dealers and their supporters do not believe that just because the tip-splitting system was made illegal, that it isn’t necessarily right.

Although the decision has encouraged other casinos like Ceasar’s Palace to adopt similar tip pool systems, many Las Vegas casinos are keeping their own systems in place. Harrah’s has spoken out recently to state that it will not follow Wynn’s lead and will allow dealers to keep their own tips.

Earlier this month, MGM Mirage’s name change was finally approved by its shareholders. Now the company goes by the name of MGM Resorts International, to advertise its commitment to expanding its global presence.

MGM began its global expansion in 2007, when it opened the MGM Grand Macau, after which the company began exploring the option of opening casinos in Vietnam and Egypt. Now, MGM plans on opening over 40 casinos worldwide over the course of the next decade.

“This business model enables us to use our existing resources to extend the global presence reputation of our world famous resorts”.

At the shareholder’s meeting, the company also decided to launch a new rewards program called M Life by the end of the summer. It will first start in the company’s regional casinos before heading to Las Vegas at the end of the year.

It is great idea to launch a rewards program to coincide with MGM’s new global expansion, as it encourages players who may not be familiar with the brand to get acquainted with it. Already, experts in the gaming industry believe that MGM’s expansion will be a huge success, becoming one of the first American brands to take over the worldwide gambling industry.

Las Vegas-based painting Martin Kreloff is creating quite the buzz in America’s fine art scene. His Hollywood-inspired pieces have art lovers all over the country lining up to see and buy his work. Ethel Merman, Lucille Ball and sumo wrestlers are the subjects of his work, and Las Vegas is proud that such a unique and diverse artist has emerged from its own artist community.

His first ever solo show is called Stars and Sumos and premiered yesterday at the Laura Henkel Fine Art Gallery. Already, various newspapers in the city like the Las Vegas Sun are reporting about the show, lauding its innovative and unique style.

Martin Krelhoff studied design at Parsons and made a name for himself shortly after graduating when he moved to Miami. There, he developed a minimalist style before heading to Los Angeles, where he worked as a designer and portrait artist. Finally he moved on to Las Vegas, where he currently resides.

Krelhoff was obviously inspired by other pop artists like Andy Warhol and Al Hirshfeld, but with some obvious post modern twists. As part of the show, Krelhoffs displays paintings of sumo wrestlers and Hollywood stars, two of current obsession. Krelhoff notes that his love for movies dates back to his childhood and his celebration of the Japanese culture is a recent but passionate hobby.

Las Vegas casinos are an advertiser’s dream, as millions of customers come through their doors every year. Despite the economic recession, 28% of the American population visited at least one Las Vegas-based casino last year, making them ideal places for marketing campaigns.

To take advantage of all of the traffic that goes through Las Vegas casinos, Reel TV has launched a new advertising platform that allows television and animated ads to appear on slots machines. While slot machines are not in use and are idling, advertisements from a variety of companies show up on their screens.

Last month, the Las Vegas Sun reported that the Palms was one of the first casinos to utilize this technology, displaying advertisements for Bud Light across video poker screens. Now, dozens of other alcoholic beverage providers are looking into ways to take advantage of Reel TV’s innovative new software. Budweiser, Miller and Grey Goose are among the many companies that are lining up to use this advertising method.

Unfortunately, Reel TV has yet to implement sound technology into its offerings, but advertisers are finding ways around that. They can simply utilize the platform as they would billboards, print ads and other forms of media that do not support sound.

This is truly a unique innovation in the advertising and marketing world, and it will not be long before we see Reel TV in casinos across the country.

The Las Vegas community is always looking for a good reason to party – and what better occasion than the country’s Independence Day. July 4th is expected to be an exciting night on the Las Vegas Strip, and we have the inside scoop on where to find the best fireworks and parties in Sin City.

Popular Las Vegas hotels are putting together impressive fireworks shows. Primm Valley Casinos resorts will be putting $40 000 worth of fireworks on display at sundown, while the Las Vegas Hilton will be putting on its own show at 9:20pm. Ceasar’s Palace will also have a fireworks display at 9pm, but hotels aren’t the only places with symphonies of fire: Lake Las Vegas and the Motor Speedway will also have their own displays.

The night before the 4th of July also holds excitement as nightclubs across the city are hosting great parties to celebrate the occasion. Visit The Ditch Diggers Goldmine for $3 Stoli cocktails and $5 pichers while M Resort his hosting a party with complimentary drinks for ladies from 10pm to midnight.

There are also some great concerts going on this weekend, as Public Enemy takes the stage at Jet and OneRepublic is set to perform at Mandalay Beach.

If you’re going to pick any weekend to visit Las Vegas, this one would be it, as the 4th of July Celebrations are plentiful and exciting!

For the past two years, Boomers bar has hosted a weekly hip hop party, where hundreds of hip hop heads from across the city come together to celebrate their love of the genre. When Joe Coburn started the weekly event, he never expected it to catch on the way it did.

Hip Hop has always had a bad reputation, and Coburn started his parties to attract true fans who were about the music, rather than violence or any other the other negative attributes that have unfair been attached to the Hip Hop Genre.

“I turn away rappers who talk about guns”, says Coburn. “If there is an incident, security is there. But the fans keep people in check, because they want to this going”.

It is inspiring to see that hip hop has been able forge a community in Las Vegas, a city that has rejected the musical style for decades. The event at Boomers brings this community together and celebrates its innovations and the talents of local hip hop artists.

At the two year anniversary that took place just last week, Coburn ensured that the part would be live, bringing together all aspects of hip hop. Graffitti artists were there, painting a mural, while breakdancers took centre stage to wow the crowd. Even some local hip hop legends were attendance, showing their support for this one-of-a-kind weekly event in hopes that it will see many more years of success.