CONDOS AND
CLOONEY: Actor George Clooney and restaurateur Rande
Gerber announced they will team up with two real estate development
companies, Related Las Vegas and Centra Properties, to create Las
Ramblas, a $3 billion off-Strip hotel, condominium and casino
complex. Construction is slated to begin in mid-2006 on the Harmon
Avenue project, which, when all is said and done, will encompass
more than 25 acres and 11 high-rise towers featuring 4,400 hotel,
condo and condo-hotel units. Phase one, set to be completed in
early 2008, will include four towers, one with 300 hotel rooms and
370 condo-hotel units, an adjacent building containing 556
condo-hotel units and two condominium buildings at the entrance of
the project housing 285 and 344 condo units, respectively. Also
planned for the complex are a 30,00-square-foot spa and health
club; a large main pool with private cabanas; nightlife, dining and
shopping outlets; a casino; and an open-air pedestrian boulevard
modeled after La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain. In addition to
investing in the project, Clooney and Gerber, who is married to
former supermodel Cindy Crawford, also will be residence owners.
For more information about the project or to make a reservation for
a condominium or condo-hotel unit, call (866) RAMBLAS or visit www.lasramblasvegas.com.
RUNAWAY BRIDES
(AND GROOMS): Organizers of the new Las Vegas Marathon,
scheduled for Dec. 4, are looking for one or more couples willing
to run the entire 26.2-mile race and get married at the Run Through
Chapel that will be set up near Mile 5. Incidentally, the minister
who would officiate the brief ceremony, which will be carried on
live TV, is in training to run his first marathon that day.
Interested couples should send an e-mail explaining why they would
like to get married on the run along with a brief history of their
relationship, names, ages, phone numbers and e-mail address to [email protected]. For more information
about the race, visit www.lvmarathon.com.
PICTURE
THIS: Through Sept. 18, the West Las Vegas Library,
located on 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd., will host A Look Back, an
exhibit of 32 photographs that pay tribute to entertainers of color
who helped establish Las Vegas as the Entertainment Capital of the
World. The photos, on loan from the Las Vegas News Bureau, showcase
such entertainers as Sammy Davis Jr., Anthony Quinn, Lena Horne,
the Kim Sisters, Tito Puente, Dorothy Dandridge, Nat King Cole,
Cher, Ricky Martin and Jose Feliciano. For more information,
contact the library at (702) 507-3980.
HOME
RUN: Las Vegas has been chosen to host baseballs annual
winter meeting in December 2008. Its the first time the city will
serve as host city of the event, which attracts approximately 4,000
people, including top minor and major league executives and
representatives from companies exhibiting at the meetings baseball
trade show, the largest exhibition of its kind in the
world.
ARTS AT THE
LAKE: Casino MonteLago, located at Lake Las Vegas in
Henderson, will host its third annual
Fall Fine Arts Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24 and 25. There is no admission fee for the festival,
which kicks off Sept. 23 with live
entertainment from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and a
fireworks display at
10 p.m. The next two days, more than 70 regional
artists will exhibit
their works throughout MonteLago Village. Live
entertainment also
will liven up the scene from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on
Saturday. For more
information, phone (702) 939-8983.
SHOP TIL YOU
DROP: General Growth Properties expanded its Club
Estrellas shopping program, which provides special offers and
amenities at participating centers to visitors from Mexico and
Latin America. Club Estrellas offers are available three ways: Tour
operators and travel agents can provide printed vouchers with their
clients confirmation documents before departure; Mexicana Airlines
passengers can receive a voucher from select ticket offices
throughout Mexico; or travelers can visit www.AmericasShoppingPlaces.com to print a voucher
directly from their computer. Travelers must then present their
vouchers at guest services or a designated retailer to receive
their Club Estrellas packet. Las Vegas-area shopping venues that
are part of General Growth Properties Americas Premier Shopping
Places, a collection of more than 40 tourism-oriented centers
located through the U.S., include the Fashion Show mall, located on
the Las Vegas Strip; the Grand Canal Shoppes, located at the
Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, and the Boulevard Mall, 3528 S.
Maryland Parkway. For more information, log on to www.AmericasShoppingPlaces.com.