Welcome to Kimo’s Vegas… The Players Edge!

On Saturday Maria Venus Raj, Miss Philipines auctioned a pair of Manny Pacquiao’s gloves at Mandalay Bay. The champ’s autographed mittens were part of the Miss Universe National Gift Auction to benefit the Nevada Cancer Institute. The congressman told the Miss U contestant "you must be confident. Just think you are in the Philippines. There are many of our countrymen there who will support you. I will call our friends who are there to help you."

So that’s what it’s called these days… LV Metro arrested 20 people in raids on three reflexology massage parlors. The group was charged with conspiracy, racketeering and obtaining money under false pretenses. Apparently the “reflexologists” were promising you know what in exchange for money. Cabbies drove victims to the off strip locations in return for kickbacks.

Kimo's Vegas Tip: Bing the online search application has added a new feature to it BingMaps. Chose the city, enter your location (LAS for McCarran Airport) and destination (like Caesars, NV) push calculate and it'll tell you what the cab fare should be between the two points. Get the link to check it out at www.KimosVegas.com... bookmark it on the cell phone and never get long hauled (cabbie lingo for taking the long way) again. Try here!

Time flies… seems like only “yesterday” when Cirque du Soleil opened Beatles Love at the Mirage. Four years later over 3.5 million people have experienced the musical legacy of John, Paul, George and Ringo… it’s probably the closest most folks will ever get to going to a Beatles concert.

Le Dive… for $999 a night, certified SCUBA divers can dive with the cast of the Wynn Las Vegas’ Le Reve during the show. You’re once in a lifetime chance to see the show from the performers perspective includes a Resort Room, VIP Indulgence tickets, a private backstage tour and an SDI Certified SCUBA training session with the Le Rêve diving team.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. is the officially the largest casino operator on the planet with $8.91 billion in revenues last year.

The heat was on the mercury in Las Vegas thermometers hit triple digits for 45 days in a row with the average temp for the month of July at 106.6! All together now… “but it’s a dry heat”.

Southwest Airlines has announced a new schedule that will reduce the number of seats they fly into McCarran International Airport by 1,600 per day! The reduction by the airports largest carrier begins November 7th. In June 3,400,550 passed through the gates of the airport.

The Golden Nugget has launched a new game on Facebook. It’s FarmVille ala glitter gulch (the old nickname for casinos on Fremont Street). Instead of getting your hands dirty on a virtual farm you’re running a joint like Sam Rothstein in the movie Casino. It’s also one of the first games to feature contextual sound effects… that keep you apprised with what’s happening on the casino floor while you do other stuff (like work).

Extracurricular surfin’… there’s some great deals on the Vacations Hawaii website.

Get the latest Vegas news, text OCEANIC VEGAS to 32862, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, here online at Around Hawaii and every week in MidWeek. Send me your Vegas questions, manao, photos and reunions to me.

© 2006 www.KimosVegas.com Kimo Akane