what happens in Vegas comes home with me

Channeling the spirit of Hunter S. Thompson, I went on a six-day Las Vegas (work-related) bender last week and was fortunate enough to check out a few really cool spots.

CityCenter
As far as I can tell, I was the first media member to tour Aria, a 4,000-room hotel/casino in the middle of CityCenter. CityCenter is MGM Mirage's newest project on The Strip. It is four hotels, a high-end shopping district and two residential towers built on 76 acres of land between Bellagio and Monte Carlo. The $8.5-billion (yes, billion) project is five years in the works; two of the hotels and the shopping district opened earlier this month. Aria, which serves as the connective tissue for all the buildings in CityCenter, is set to open Dec. 16. There is a $40-million public art museum throughout the space and I was able to capture a few of the pieces with my camera.

I stayed two nights in Vdara, the condo-hotel in CityCenter, and spent two days touring properties and walking around with my camera. A story and slideshow I put together detailing CityCenter just days before its grand opening can be found here.

Golden Nugget
I stayed three nights in what is considered a staple of Las Vegas, the 63-year-old Golden Nugget hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, aka "Old Vegas." The Golden Nugget just last month finished the final piece of a three-tiered, $300-million renovation that started in 2005. A fourth tower, Rush Tower, added 20 percent more rooms to the property, some that overlook both the Fremont St. Experience and the panoramic strip hotels. The tower cost $150 million to build.
Rush Tower is a great addition to the Golden Nugget because it provides a luxury option downtown so you can enjoy the amenities of a nice hotel room and yet you are able to go downstairs and gamble and drink on the cheap. Rates in the new Rush tower rooms are as little as a $30 upgrade from the other towers, meaning you can get in for less than $100 a night. I'd definitely check it out if I were going back with a group of friends. The Golden Nugget now features nine restaurants, a 75,000-gallon exotic fish tank and an outdoor waterslide that passes through a shark tank.

At the bottom of this page is a slideshow I put together showing the new rooms at the Golden Nugget.

An acoustic evening with Dave & Tim
Ever since hearing Live at Luther College in 1999 I've wanted to see Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds play together, and I got my chance at Planet Hollywood while in Vegas. The two played for nearly three hours on the first night of a three-night concert. The show was taped and will be made into an album and DVD later.
Here's a video of Dave and Tim jamming on "Shake Me Like A Monkey" off Big Whiskey and the Gru Grux King, which was recently nominated for a Grammy. It was Dave's first nomination. Before the song, Dave said it would be the first time he's played "Shake Me Like a Monkey" acoustic.