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    • • LV's McCarran International (LAS) is the 8th busiest Airport in the U.S. and number 23 in the world, with 41.7 million passengers
    • • 79 percent of McCarran's departures and 82 percent of arrivals are on time, the average departure delay is 52 minutes and arrival delay is 50 minutes, and cancellations are at 0.6 percent
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Podcast Reviews

Ahhhh… Podcasts, what a wonderful thing! After I received my first iPod, a good friend told me about podcasts (What the hell is a podcast?). After I was enlightened the first podcast topic I searched for on iTunes was Las Vegas, go figure…. 

Below you will find a list of Las Vegas podcasts along with my 2 cents worth of a review. By the way, you don’t need an iPod to listen to a podcast. You can use any mp3 player or listen right from the web.

Warning:  before you begin listening I must warn you that these podcasts can become habit forming and may cause strong urges to book LV trips regardless of the cost or amount of vacation days you have left.

Five Hundy by Midnight

www.fivehundybymidnight.com

I must admit this is my favorite LV podcast and hence why I listed it first. Hundy is produced weekly (usually released Sunday evenings) by Tim and Michele out of there Minnesota home. The podcast usually runs between 45-60 minutes.

This is a well done “amateur” podcast that has been around for several years now. Even though you hear airplanes flying over during the summer, Dogs slurping water out of their water bowls and ice rattling while Tim and Michelle get their drink on while recording the podcast. But please don’t let this fool you, all of this is part of the charm hundy has to offer. This podcast has a loyal following and is highly respected in the Las Vegas Podcast community. The content covers everything Las Vegas.

A large potion of the podcast is dedicated to listener reports called “Drunk Dials” where listeners call in and share anything they want about Las Vegas. Callers report on current Las Vegas trip events, reviews, deals or just trip plain drunken ramble.  Anyway  a lot of great stuff comes out of the callers. I have gotten a lot of great information from Hundys listeners.

The Strip Podcast

www.thestrippodcast.com

Of all Las Vegas podcasts, The Strip podcast is probably the most professionally done. Produced weekly by Steve and Miles these guys are residents’ with incredible connections. They offer weekly interviews with nationally recognized and local Las Vegas celebrities. Besides celebrities, real Vegas movers and shakers (aka Steve Wynn) have been interviewed. You won’t find news regurgitated here, you get news directly from the source. The content is all Las Vegas with little fluff. To be honest it took be awhile to get use to their voices and overall volume level of the podcast. Hang in there you won’t be disappointed.

Steve’s weekly tips: http://www.stevefriess.com/podcast/topsecrettips.htm

Living in LV

http://www.livinginlv.com/

The theme of this podcast is exactly what the title says, but in their own words: “Living In Las Vegas Podcast gives an entertaining first-person look into what it’s like to call Sin City”. The podcast is produced monthly and usually runs for just over an hour, Scott and Melissa are the hosts.  The podcast is full of great reviews of restaurants, new attractions, hotels and shows. The hosts of this podcast are truly likable. Melissa is a Las Vegas recruiter and shares good advice on finding a job in LV and who hasn’t thought about what it would be like to live in sin city. I look forward to this podcast every month.  

The Vegas Tourist Podcast

http://www.thevegastourist.com/

The Vegas Tourist podcast is a good podcast with good information. The following comes directly from their website.

“Let Mark and Sazzy show you around Las Vegas.
We are a couple of locals who love the city and want to share it with the world. Warts and all. There is a lot here, so sit back and look around. We have a great podcast where we like to share our thoughts and reviews on the places, people and events that make this the entertainment capital of the world. Plus interview some interesting characters along the way.”

 To be honest I struggle with this podcast, even though it manages to produce some good information I find the hosts annoying at times (most of the time) but judge for yourself.

 Vegas Gang Podcast

http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com/

The Vegas Gang podcast is a bi-weekly podcast that focuses on the gaming industry, LH politics and other issues related to Las Vegas. No “Drunk Dials” here, this is a more serious podcast with great information on the business side of Vegas. Sound quality is poor in my opinion because the podcast is a recording of a conference call. I hope this podcast continues, the participants are knowledgeable and I feel this more serious look at Vegas nicely balances the other Las Vegas podcasts.

Vegas Trip Report: November 14 – 17, 2008

Departed Detroit Metro airport at 6:05am Friday morning (Flew SpiritAir $44/person roundtrip taxes/fees included), we arrived in Las Vegas at 7:15am (Vegas time). On this trip I went with a couple of buddies and stayed at the Riviera. We stayed at the Riviera because we got a great deal though TripRes.com with an average rate of $38 per night (Thur, Fri, Sat). The Riv casino is a shithole but the room was newly remodeled with a flat panel TV and an awesome bed, pillow, and blanket. Seriously one of the best beds I’ve ever slept in, what a total surprise!

Tip: Currently the Riviera is offering a free Breakfast or Lunch buffet when you sign up for their players card and if you show them proof that you flew there. They also give free play of $1 – $500, I got $2.

Warning: The Riviera buffet is barely worth being free. Do NOT pay for this buffet!

Warning: During time of this trip the Riviera was surrounded by construction making it very difficult to walk to any other casino other than Circus Circus (Dump).  We had a car which made it easy to travel (Dollar Rent a Car $10/day).

We visited a lot of off strip casinos this trip. Here is a run down:

South Point: This casino is about 5 miles south of the strip right on Las Vegas Blvd. The Casino/Hotel is large and offers many perks. I would definitely think about staying here. Great Sports book, $5 minimum on table games, a large variety of new slot machines, and a very good and very reasonably priced buffet. Breakfast is $6.99, Lunch $9.99, Dinner about $14.99 check the website for details, prices slightly higher on the weekend.  Breakfast was GREAT! I highly recommend this casino.

Terribles: Just off the strip, cheap tables, very smokey, and horrible waitress service. My friends did not like Terribles one bit they thought it was a real dump and I have to agree.

Silverton Hotel and Casino: Wow! The Silverton is just west of Las Vegas Blvd, south of the strip. We saw it on the way to South Point and thought we would check it out and I am glad we did. The casino offers $5 table games, good variety of slot machines, but it does not have a good sports book. This casino is a “locals” casino. When you walk in you are greeted with a very large saltwater aquarium with sharks, stingrays, and schools of fish. There is also a Bass Pro Superstore attached to the casino.

Green Valley Ranch: Interesting casino about 10 or so miles from the strip in I think Henderson, Nevada. The Casino looks good, has average waitress service, decent selection of slot machines but something is just not right with this casino but I can’t put my finger on it. This casino has a food court right on the casino floor with a good variety of items to choose from. New club members get $5.00 in free play when they sign up. I probably wouldn’t go back here as it doesn’t offer anything unique.   

Tuscany: About two blocks east of Bally’s on Flamingo. Small casino that is only five years old but looks like it’s twenty. It kind of reminds me of someone’s basement with slot machines and table games in it. However, this little casino offers some unique perks like very good waitress service. New club members get between $5 and $500 in free play when you sign up for their players club. And now for the best part, $3 minimum blackjack tables with an option to surrender half of your bet on the first 2 cards. To surrender you actually have to draw a line on the table (sand) for the cameras. No thrills casino but good blackjack odds just off the strip.

Scam Alert: Beware of con men approaching offering free tickets to events because they have to get out of town and don’t want to waste tickets. They will have you call the Bellagio concierge office and reserve them in you name. This is all very convincing, don’t get taken, just say no thank you!

In my opinion the best drinks in Vegas is hands down The Wynn Hotel and Casino, followed by Palazzo and The Venetian.  The Bellagio has the best Strawberry daiquiris, try one, you won’t be disappointed I promise.

November is a great time to visit, tempatures were in the mid seventies during the day and high fifties during the night.

We sadly departed Vegas at 8:20am Monday morning and arrived in cold rainy Detroit at around 3:15pm. I am eagerly awaiting my next Vegas trip.