Castaways Coming Down; Cosmopolitan Going Up
Monorail Reaches 10 Million Riders
Updated: 10:50 am EST November 1, 2005
Several people have written in asking me about the status of the Castaways hotel just east of downtown Las Vegas.As you can see from this picture it's well on its way to being no more.The bulk of the property has already been torn down, including the motel buildings, the casino, the bowling alley and the parking structure, with deconstruction of the hotel tower well under way.The hotel opened in 1954 as the Showboat, a name it carried until Harrah's purchased and then sold the property a few years ago. Subsequent owners tried to make a go of it under the Castaways banner, but the hotel was forced to close in 2004.Weeks after a new company announced ambitious plans to remodel and reopen the hotel, local gaming giant Station Casinos stepped in and bought the property, but it has refused to say what it intends to do there, other than tear the old place down.There are currently no plans in the works to build a new Stations hotel on the land.
A groundbreaking of sorts was held recently for the new Cosmopolitan resort complex on the Strip that unveiled new details about the project.I say "of sorts" because rain forced the cancellation of the actual ceremonial shovel turning, but the company in charge of the project held a ceremonial unveiling anyway.Cosmopolitan is a $1.8 billion hotel, condominium and casino complex planned for approximately eight acres of land just south of Bellagio, effectively surrounding the Jockey Club time-share complex. It will feature two towers of around 60 stories each, with a total of 3,000 units -- 2,000 of which will be condominiums, plus 1,000 hotel rooms managed under the Hyatt banner. The roofs of each tower will feature pools with, presumably, some of the best views in all of Las Vegas.The owners of the condos will be able to place their units into a rental pool so average Joe's like you and me can stay there when the mortgage payers aren't in residence. Even before the earth was turned (or not) the developers had already sold 1,300 units valued at more than $100 million.The two towers will be linked by a common building that will contain a 75,000-square-foot casino and more than 300,000 square feet of restaurant, entertainment and retail space. The façade of that building will be all glass so pedestrians and drivers on the Strip will be able to see inside.The Cosmopolitan is scheduled to open in 2008, about a year or so ahead of the massive Project CityCenter complex of hotels and condos being built next door on the current Boardwalk Hotel site.For more information on this and other upcoming hotel projects, visit the upcoming hotels page on Vegas4Visitors.com.
The Las Vegas Monorail reached a milestone recently when Paul Savoia of Ontario, Canada, bought a ticket and became the 10 millionth passenger on the system since it opened.Savoia was notified shortly after entering the fare gate, where monorail officials hosted a small recognition ceremony and presented the winner with a lifetime pass on the Monorail; a three-day, two-night future stay at the Sahara Hotel; two tickets to see Barry Manilow at the Las Vegas Hilton; two tickets each to Legends in Concert and the Auto Collection at Imperial Palace; and a golf shirt from the MGM Grand Hotel.It was a much-needed PR boost for the monorail, which suffered from a series of mechanical mishaps in its early days and declining passenger counts in more recent ones.
There was an interesting story in the Las Vegas Review Journal last week that highlighted a troubling issue that many Vegas visitors should be aware of: Cab driver kickbacks.Although it is illegal, it is common practice for the proprietors of strip clubs and other venues to offer tips to cab drivers to bring patrons to their establishments.These tips used to be a few bucks, but according to the story it's not uncommon for a cab driver to get as much as $90 for every person he or she drops off at a strip club. This intense competition for customers is leading cab drivers to steer passengers to certain destinations where they know they'll get larger rewards, going so far as to tell fares that the place they want to go is not worth their time or effort.So beware the recommendations of cab drivers in Vegas these days. If you have done your research -- like you should -- and know where you want to go, don't let a cabby talk you into going someplace else. He may not have your best interest in mind.
A groundbreaking of sorts was held recently for the new Cosmopolitan resort complex on the Strip that unveiled new details about the project.I say "of sorts" because rain forced the cancellation of the actual ceremonial shovel turning, but the company in charge of the project held a ceremonial unveiling anyway.Cosmopolitan is a $1.8 billion hotel, condominium and casino complex planned for approximately eight acres of land just south of Bellagio, effectively surrounding the Jockey Club time-share complex. It will feature two towers of around 60 stories each, with a total of 3,000 units -- 2,000 of which will be condominiums, plus 1,000 hotel rooms managed under the Hyatt banner. The roofs of each tower will feature pools with, presumably, some of the best views in all of Las Vegas.The owners of the condos will be able to place their units into a rental pool so average Joe's like you and me can stay there when the mortgage payers aren't in residence. Even before the earth was turned (or not) the developers had already sold 1,300 units valued at more than $100 million.The two towers will be linked by a common building that will contain a 75,000-square-foot casino and more than 300,000 square feet of restaurant, entertainment and retail space. The façade of that building will be all glass so pedestrians and drivers on the Strip will be able to see inside.The Cosmopolitan is scheduled to open in 2008, about a year or so ahead of the massive Project CityCenter complex of hotels and condos being built next door on the current Boardwalk Hotel site.For more information on this and other upcoming hotel projects, visit the upcoming hotels page on Vegas4Visitors.com.
The Las Vegas Monorail reached a milestone recently when Paul Savoia of Ontario, Canada, bought a ticket and became the 10 millionth passenger on the system since it opened.Savoia was notified shortly after entering the fare gate, where monorail officials hosted a small recognition ceremony and presented the winner with a lifetime pass on the Monorail; a three-day, two-night future stay at the Sahara Hotel; two tickets to see Barry Manilow at the Las Vegas Hilton; two tickets each to Legends in Concert and the Auto Collection at Imperial Palace; and a golf shirt from the MGM Grand Hotel.It was a much-needed PR boost for the monorail, which suffered from a series of mechanical mishaps in its early days and declining passenger counts in more recent ones.
There was an interesting story in the Las Vegas Review Journal last week that highlighted a troubling issue that many Vegas visitors should be aware of: Cab driver kickbacks.Although it is illegal, it is common practice for the proprietors of strip clubs and other venues to offer tips to cab drivers to bring patrons to their establishments.These tips used to be a few bucks, but according to the story it's not uncommon for a cab driver to get as much as $90 for every person he or she drops off at a strip club. This intense competition for customers is leading cab drivers to steer passengers to certain destinations where they know they'll get larger rewards, going so far as to tell fares that the place they want to go is not worth their time or effort.So beware the recommendations of cab drivers in Vegas these days. If you have done your research -- like you should -- and know where you want to go, don't let a cabby talk you into going someplace else. He may not have your best interest in mind.
The Full Story
- Queen Musical To Close; Shows Could Shuffle
- Documentary Takes Unconventional Look At Vegas
- Castaways Coming Down; Cosmopolitan Going Up
- Vegas Q&A: Readers Respond About Coinless Slots
In Next Week's Column
Next week: The latest from Las Vegas.Plus, don't forget to send 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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