Just a few more days until the curtain goes up on one of the most popular musical comedies in the history of live theater!! The Producers is about to open at Paris Las Vegas….and we don’t mean for a weekend or two. This is a long-term run and the only venue west of the Mississippi where you can see the show performed live on stage! Winner of 12 Tony Awards, the Las Vegas production of The Producers will feature David Hasselhoff in the role of the outrageously flamboyant Roger DeBris! What’s the story line? It’s all about a scam gone bad! The idea is to make a run with the money. How appropriate is that for Vegas! MS Las Vegas Real Estate isn’t going to tell you the rest. We don’t want to spoil your fun! Tickets range from $75 to $145 and it’s more than worth it. The Producers has to be the funniest show in the long history of Broadway. Go see for yourself! Hmmm….we’re wondering if David Hasselhoff has already bought a Las Vegas home? Maybe we could interest him in some luxury Lake Las Vegas real estate….somewhere in Celine Dion’s neighborhood!

Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market® is now the world’s leading retailer of natural and organic foods, with 187 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. What’s their mission? To obtain fabulous food products locally and from all over the world, often from small, uniquely dedicated food artisans. Whole Foods strives to offer their customers the highest quality, least processed and most flavorful naturally preserved foods that you can find anywhere. Why are we talking about this on the MS Las Vegas Real Estate blog? Because Whole Foods Market has two beautiful stores in the Las Vegas Valley and a third location is already on the drawing board! If you’re still wondering why we’re talking about this, then you haven’t been to a Whole Foods store. For devotees of this incredible culinary retail institution, a trip to Whole Foods Market is a special kind of nirvana. Where in Las Vegas can you find Whole Foods? The original location here in Vegas is on the west side at Boca Park. Residents of Peccole Ranch homes, Queensridge real estate or Summerlin homes are only 5 to 10 minutes away! Location number two is literally walking distance for residents of The District at Green Valley Ranch real estate. Whole Foods Market is right there off the 215 Freeway at Green Valley Parkway in Phase II of The District! In fact, most Henderson real estate locations are between 5 and 20 minutes from the Green Valley Whole Foods store. The store on the drawing board? Smack dab in the middle of the $7 billion Project CityCenter real estate casino resort development right next door to Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip!

The fourth annual list of brand winners and losers from marketing firms Landor Associates and Penn Schoen & Berland has been released and Las Vegas is right at the top! The survey asks 2,017 consumers to rank 92 brands that are most familiar to them and MS Las Vegas Real Estate couldn’t be more ecstatic about the results! “Las Vegas has taken the cake as THE destination for people of all ages and parts of the country to vacation and beaten out such stiff competition as New York City and Miami,” the report said. Holy desert destination Batman! It’s very simple, the foundation that supports the market for Las Vegas homes is the performance of the Las Vegas economy. Believe me, we’re humming right along and we haven’t heard any loud popping noise (the so-called housing bubble). What were the exact ranking results for the 2006 survey? Google was number one, followed by Las Vegas, iPod, YouTube and eBay. That’s right, Las Vegas finished one spot ahead of iPod! The Michelle Sterling Team at Prudential Americana is also thrilled about the number one ranking of Google as a brand! How come? Our website occupies a truly dominant position on the Google search engine for hundreds of search phrases that represent the Las Vegas residential real estate market. Lucky for us? Well, not really. Take one look at our world-class website and you’ll understand why we’re at the top of our game…and the top of Google!

Die-hard fans probably know that Anthony Zuiker is the creator of the “CSI” television crime drama. But here’s something you may not have known, Zuiker is a 1991 graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and is an alumnus of Chaparral High School in Las Vegas! How cool is that? Luckily for us, Mr. Zuiker is serious about giving back to his home community. In fact, he’s making an impressive jump-start contribution to a brand new piece of very special Henderson real estate. Anthony Zuiker recently committed one million dollars to help build a new $37 million crime lab in Henderson, Nevada! It’s a sure bet that when the facility is finished, film crews from the CSI series will be doing some “on location” filming!

At MS Las Vegas Real Estate we constantly strive to educate blog readers about the new and evolving Las Vegas. It’s like we keep saying…Las Vegas is rapidly becoming a real city! Cultural development is a significant part of the evolutionary process in Las Vegas and the Downtown Arts District is a dynamic part of our transformation. Every third Saturday of the month, the Arts District is converted into the largest street festival and farmers market in Southern Nevada! What’s the “Art About” party all about? It’s an opportunity to showcase the artistic contribution of locally based talent at every level. Included in the celebration of local talent is a monthly competition between gifted artists in the Clark County school system. The monthly festivities are hosted by the City of Las Vegas/Office of Cultural Affairs. You would be amazed at how many people seem surprised that Las Vegas has an Office of Cultural Affairs to begin with. The Michelle Sterling Team at Prudential Americana is proud to call Las Vegas home.

The glamorous Stardust Hotel is now a relic of Las Vegas history. Coming in it’s place, quite possibly the most elaborate piece of Las Vegas real estate on the world-famous Strip to date, the $4 billion Echelon Resort. Considering the fact that Bellagio cost just over $2 billion, this should really be something. The Echelon Resort will be comprised of two hotel towers with a total of 3,300 rooms. Guests will be roaming across 140,000 square feet of casino floor and choosing between 25 restaurants. When the Stardust first opened in 1958, rooms were $6 a night! Something tells me that Echelon will cost just a bit more.

Recently home to yet another version of Wayne Newton’s endless run on the Strip, the Stardust is actually the place where Siegfried and Roy got their start! It was also made famous by those “in the know” in the 1995 movie “Casino”. Robert De Niro’s character in the film (Ace Rothstein) actually ran the Stardust (during the 1970’s) in real life (Frank Rosenthal). I think he managed the joint on behalf of a charity or trust fund or something like that…lol! Mr. Rosenthal is still with us today (amazingly), but can no longer call Las Vegas home, or even land at the airport for that matter. He really is banned by the Nevada Gaming Commission from even setting foot in Las Vegas. I think he lives in Florida now, or at least that’s what they say on TV.

Las Vegas recently saw the introduction of another Echelon property, although this one is not quite as elaborate. I’m referring to Echelon at Centennial Hills Condos. I was frankly amazed that Boyd Gaming didn’t have a complete legal-lock on the Echelon name and that this beautiful new Las Vegas condo community could share the same labeling. Oh well, I guess you never know.

At MS Las Vegas Real Estate we just want to remind you that life in Greater Las Vegas extends well beyond the endless poker tournaments on ESPN. For example, check out the latest Southern Nevada fishing report (courtesy of the Las Vegas Review Journal). Now I just need someone who’s willing to bait my hook! Seriously though, outdoor recreational opportunities in the Las Vegas Valley are numerous to say the least. In fact, we just recently assisted a client with the purchase of a Las Vegas home because Red Rock Canyon has the second highest cliff climbing rating in the entire country. He can’t wait to get started! Who knew? Ok, back to the bait bucket and current conditions at hot fishing spots in Southern Nevada.

LAKE MEAD — Despite good weather last week, the lake was quiet and little action was seen in the Overton Arm area, according to Nevada Department of Wildlife creel census clerk Walt DeMattos. A few boaters out of Echo Bay reported catching striped bass in the 1- to 2-pound range.

In the Boulder Basin, fishing continues to be good for smaller stripers in the 1- to 2-pound range near the Special Events beach and the Hemenway fishing dock for anglers using shad and anchovies.

• ECHO CANYON RESERVOIR — Water temperatures continue to drop as nighttime temperatures fall below freezing. Fishing for planted rainbow trout is good using most baits or lures, such as PowerBait, worms and small spinners.

• EAGLE VALLEY RESERVOIR — Fishing has been excellent this week. Most anglers are doing well for rainbow trout using a variety of baits and lures. Fishing should remain good to excellent throughout the fall and winter months until the lake begins to freeze.

• KIRCH WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA — Water and air temperatures continue to cool off in the management area. The cooler water temperatures have knocked the weed beds down, leaving a lot more open water. Anglers have been doing well for rainbow trout using PowerBait, worms, spinning lures and flies.

Come on, admit it, you never thought in your life to wonder about the fishing conditions in Las Vegas, Nevada! More and more often, people make the choice to purchase Las Vegas real estate with no intention of ever walking into the Sports Book at Caesars Palace. Your lifestyle in Las Vegas can be whatever you want it to be! Ok, we’ll admit it, life as a meteorologist might get pretty boring. It’s sunny and clear about 325 days a year!

MS Las Vegas Real Estate would like to introduce you to the $750 million Town Square regional lifestyle center presently under construction on Las Vegas Boulevard just south of Mandalay Bay. This amazing 117 acre development is a partnership between Turnberry Associates and Centra Properties. Town Square will feature over 150 retail stores and a dozen restaurants. The design theme of Town Square is centered around old-fashioned American “Main Street” convenience and charm. Town Square will also provide a 20 screen movie theater and a venue for concerts and special events. The original plan called for a small hotel, but demand for premium office space was so strong that the developers decided to go ahead with a full 400,000 square feet instead. Just take a moment and consider what that says about the future economic prospects of Las Vegas and the market for Las Vegas homes! Town Square Las Vegas is due to open in late 2007. We’ll keep you updated on their progress!

After three years of hard work and who knows how many schmoozing sessions, two local businessmen have pieced together a prime 70-acre parcel of land between the Stratosphere Tower and the Charleston Blvd Arts District. MS Las Vegas Real Estate congratulates Robert Reel and Thomas Prato, who formed TR Las Vegas LLC to provide the basis for this endeavor. The name of this incredible feat of negotiating prowess is “Project Neon Lights” and local analysts have valued their parcel at eight million dollars an acre! This historic opportunity to become a major player in the revitalization of Downtown Las Vegas is being marketed to development companies world-wide. Robert Reel emphasizes that the size and scale of Project Neon Lights makes it suitable for a mixed-use development that could include a hotel-casino, retail shops, high-rise condominiums and other commercial buildings. The truth is, the Las Vegas real estate possibilities are endless. As we keep saying over and over, Las Vegas is the next major American city. Grab your 70 acres while you can!

There can be no question about it, the pricing/negotiating advantage in the market for Las Vegas homes has shifted in favor of buyers! At MS Las Vegas Real Estate, we couldn’t be happier about this. The days of competitive purchase offers being rejected outright by spoiled sellers looking for full-price and/or bidding wars for their property are now over. Here’s another thing that is melting away like snow in a rainstorm, the legions of seriously under-qualified Realtors that came out of the woodwork during the boom. The number of licensed real estate agents in Las Vegas is dropping like a stone, as well it should be! In a competitive market that continues to balance itself out, it’s critically important to engage the services of a professional Realtor with the skills, knowledge and experience to navigate shifting conditions. With comps all over the map as prices adjust to gravity, it’s important to work with a Las Vegas real estate agent that understands market dynamics and how they affect buyers advantageously. You can expect to see some fairly significant price cuts in the resale segment of the market in the next few months. With just over 20,000 homes currently listed for sale in the valley, it’s all but inevitable. The number of existing home sales dropped in August to 3,641 compared with 5,786 in the same month a year ago. More great news for buyers and more pressure on sellers to make deals. Here’s another important factor for consideration, a significant portion of the Las Vegas homes on the market are vacant! Speculators looking for a quick-flip are stuck with no renters and no buyers at inflated prices. Expect their pain to benefit rational buyers of Las Vegas real estate well into 2007. MS Las Vegas Real Estate brings 12 years of experience to the table at a time when that matters most. Our primary focus is to represent buyers and we’re ready to get to work for you! Give us a call at 888-349-2595.

No question about it, professional tennis suffered a terrible loss as Andre Agassi recently took his leave from the sport that transformed a Las Vegas local into an international star. But here in Las Vegas we’re thrilled to have him home more often! He and his wife Steffi are regular fixtures about town and his philanthropic contribution to the local community is just immense! In 1994 Agassi established his charitable foundation ( The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation) which now boasts an endowment of $55 million. October 7th will mark the 11th annual “Grand Slam for Children” charity benefit concert and will be held (as always) at MGM Grand with Andre as host. The Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy is due to graduate it’s first class in 2009 and The Boys and Girls Clubs of Las Vegas would be a shadow of itself without Agassi’s financial support. Andre and Steffi are also part owners of a number of excellent restaurants here in town and plan to start designing a line of home furnishings! MS Las Vegas Real Estate salutes the winner of 8 Grand Slam singles titles and the only player to be ranked in the Top 10 over three consecutive decades, Andre Agassi!

There’s no need to head to Cali to get the very best in high-end custom work done on your car, truck or SUV! Outlaw Motorsports has put Las Vegas squarely on the map when it comes to world-class “tricked out” transportation. Located just a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip, Outlaw occupies a 10,000 square foot garage outfitted with the latest state-of-the-art technology and equipment. The shop boasts one of the most accomplished custom crews in the industry, having worked on cars for some of the biggest names in entertainment and sports. Alex Anderson and Bobby McCurdy provide the creative forces that inspire all that technical wizardry and mechanical know-how. Anderson and McCurdy both worked with Jesse James at West Coast Choppers. How’s that for a reference! Outlaw Motorsports creations have been featured on Discovery Channel’s “Monster Garage” and MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.” There’s virtually no limit to what they can do for your ride, provided you have the time and the cash! Full service can potentially run upwards of $150K and take an entire year to complete. No question, the results are well worth it! MS Las Vegas Real Estate is thinking about sending over a couple of our Avalons for an upgrade. What do you think?

The Nevada Ballet Theatre will celebrate it’s 35th birthday with a special outdoor evening performance aptly titled “Ballet Under the Stars”. The Summerlin homes community is the host of this special event. The celebration performance will be held on September 9th at 8pm at the Hills Park Amphitheatre. Nevada Ballet will be putting on a two hour program that will consist of a series of short pieces, including one depicting the early days of Las Vegas! Tickets are just $15 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger. The Nevada Ballet Theatre has been located in Summerlin since 1999 in the Donald W. Reynolds Cultural Center. As we consistently point out to our clients, Summerlin real estate is some of the most attractive in the entire Greater Las Vegas Valley. The quality of life is hard to duplicate and the Summerlin master-plan has been one of the most successful in the entire United States for over a decade! Allow MS Las Vegas Real Estate to take you on a tour of the Summerlin community and you’ll immediately see why.

The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas is about as famous as it gets, especially if you’re a hip, relatively young jet-setter with the cash and the brash to come to Vegas and take it all the way. For players on this level, the Palms has amenities that no one in Las Vegas can match. Case in point, The Studio at The Palms. Hell no dude, they don’t do hair and facials there and this isn’t their nightclub either! The Studio is nothing less than a full service multi-million dollar recording facility that works in conjunction with top artists and their labels to provide an experience that takes recording to a whole new level, Vegas style! How serious is this? Just ask Lil’ Jon or Kelly Rowland or Maroon 5. Home-town favorites The Killers have also laid down tracks at The Studio at The Palms. When it comes to the hotel/casino segment of the Las Vegas real estate market, The Palms is right at the top!

Did you know that there was such a thing as the Women’s Professional Football League? Would you believe that the league has 17 teams? At MS Las Vegas Real Estate, we admit that we didn’t have a clue! But now we know, because the Showgirlz are the newest addition to the WPFL and the team calls Las Vegas home! This is no joke. These girls play full-contact tackle football and the rules are the same as the NFL. The roster is a full-scale 45 players and the team plays in the West Division of the American Conference. The home field for the Showgirlz is Valley High School and over 400 fans came out for the season opener on July 29th. Quarterback and team leader Shawna Kennelly is a UNLV graduate with three years of professional experience. Dion Lee is the founder, co-owner and head coach of the team. Does your daughter play sports? Take her to a game! Tickets are just $8 for adults and $3 for kids. Spend an afternoon with the family and support this new professional team as they grow within the Las Vegas community!

It’s like we keep saying, if you love the energy and excitement of live sporting events, then buy a Las Vegas home and move to Southern Nevada! The Las Vegas Gladiators ( Western Division in the AFL’s American Conference) are one of the hottest arena football teams in the league! The Gladiators play their home games at Thomas and Mack Arena on the UNLV campus and the action is FAST. Arena football is truly off-the-wall in ways you could never appreciate unless you attend a game. The Vegas fans are roudy, the beer is ice cold and the team mascot is a maniac!

How serious is the football and how talented are the players? Las Vegas Gladiators fullback/linebacker Marlion Jackson and offensive/defensive lineman Tupe Peko were placed on the Gladiators exempt list just yesterday after agreeing to contracts with the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers respectively. This is REAL football, so you had better be ready! Speaking of ready, wait till you see the energy and enthusiasm of the Las Vegas Goddesses! On and off the field, these girls are stunning and talented dancers that exemplify the sexy, energetic, and exhilarating spirit of the Gladiators, the Arena Football League and Las Vegas itself. The 2007 season begins in mid-January and runs all the way up to mid-May. Come out and join MS Las Vegas Real Estate at the Thomas & Mack and cheer on the Gladiators!

The Tarkanian Basketball Academy is yet another fabulous feature to enjoy as part of the Southern Nevada residential experience! Providing great coaching and recreation for everyone from the age of 3 to 93, The Tarkanain Basketball Academy is one of the leading lights of the Las Vegas community. As a non-profit organization dedicated to helping young people achieve their goals in sports and life, the Academy provides myriad opportunities to develop leadership skills, a strong work ethic, commitment to task and integrity through structured and disciplined sports. Heavy emphasis is placed on the value of positive role models and the Tarkanian Academy has courageously put itself on the front lines in the war against drugs and alcohol that pervades American youth.

Jerry Tarkanian coached basketball at the University of Nevada Las Vegas for 19 years, winning 82.9% of his games. His last ten teams at UNLV averaged 31 wins per season. He won more collegiate games than any other coach (990), and finished his career with the sixth most career wins and the sixth highest winning percentage (79.6%) in NCAA Division I history. How’s that for credentials! Jerry is joined at the Academy by his two accomplished sons, Danny and George Tarkanian.

The Academy runs basketball leagues that begin at kindergarten and run all the way up to 35+ adult leagues. Programs for both boys and girls are broken down by age. In addition, participants can receive both individual and group training lessons from the coaching staff. Summer Camps and Track Break Programs are provided to keep kids positively engaged and after-school programs are offered as well. The TBA Learning Center project has been built around the expertise of childcare specialists, summer program coordinators, certified social skills trainers, athletic coaches, and certified teachers.

At MS Las Vegas Real Estate we keep using this blog to trumpet the news that Las Vegas is a real city! This is a fabulous place to buy a Las Vegas home, to raise a family, to enjoy a diverse and rewarding lifestyle. Believe it or not, you can have no clue how to play blackjack or poker (which I don’t) and have plenty of great ways to spend your time!

The Caesars Palace Colosseum is most notably associated with Celine Dion and her breathtaking show, A New Day. But when Celine is off stage, the Colosseum rocks to the best piano music ever written! Elton John puts on a true Vegas extravaganza with his amazing show, “The Red Piano”. The next series of performances for Elton begins on October 10th and we suggest that you go on-line and get your tickets now. The MS Las Vegas Real Estate team is wild about Elton John and his music. It’s not unusual to hear his melodies running through our office on any given day. Who could ever get tired of Rocket Man or Tiny Dancer?

Here’s another treat for Las Vegas/Elton John fans. How about the Elton John store! It’s not in the Forum Shops, so don’t look for it there. The Elton John store is located inside the Caesars Palace casino next to PURE nightclub and the Pussycat Dolls Lounge. How appropriate is that? The store itself is every bit as colorful as the man himself, and you can find items that represent every phase of his 35 years in the music biz. No less than 12 plasma screens are constantly running with Elton concert footage. Shoppers can browse through everything from t-shirts to EJ-style sunglasses to “Bitch is Back” purses to ruby studded cuff-links ($2900). Of course, a wide selection of CD’s and DVD’s are available as well.

Does Elton John own a piece of Las Vegas real estate or does he just stay in a suite at Caesars when he’s here performing? To be honest, we’re really not sure. If you happen to know, post back and tell us about it!

Did you ever imagine buying a Las Vegas home in the desert southwest and having the opportunity to cheer for a home-team that skates on ice? The Las Vegas Wranglers, a semi-professional hockey team in the National Conference West Division, play right here in Las Vegas in the Orleans Arena. Originally operated as an ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) expansion team, the Wranglers ended up moving to Las Vegas for the 2003 season. Their NHL affiliation is with the Calgary Flames.

Now ready for their fourth year in Vegas, the Wranglers will skate their season opener on October 20, 2006 against the Fresno Falcons. Here’s more good news for this year, The Las Vegas Wranglers announced in July that the team has agreed to terms with goaltender Marc Magliarditi for the 2006-07 season. How good is this guy? Magliarditi finished second in the league MVP voting for the 2005-06 season. Magliarditi also earned All-ECHL Second Team honors in 2005-06 after finishing second in the league in wins and fifth in goals-against average.

The Las Vegas Wranglers have been absolutely great for the Las Vegas community as well. The Wranglers announced last May that the team helped raise over $50,000 for local and national charities during the 2005-2006 season, as well as donating numerous non-perishable items. Tickets are reasonable and begin at $12.50 for adults and $7.50 for kids! MS Las Vegas Real Estate invites you to enjoy a night-on-the-ice with the Wranglers. The action is fast paced, the fans are enthusiastic and the team is exciting to watch. The Orleans Arena is a great sports venue, one of many in the Las Vegas Valley!

Centennial Hills real estate can be found in the northwestern section of the Las Vegas valley. It’s an expansive and inviting community with great recreation and lots of continuing growth. As you might expect however, not all of this growth is purely residential.

The Centennial Hills community was recently chosen as the location for the new “Great Mall of Las Vegas” that is just now beginning development. At 1.6 million square feet, this is going to be one of the largest and most elaborate malls in the entire country. How typical is that for Las Vegas? The design is slated to be a combination of indoor and outdoor features that you can easily incorporate considering the weather we enjoy all year. The indoor section will be three stories high with major department stores providing the bulk of the floor space. The outdoor component of the Great Mall of Las Vegas is a very interesting mix of restaurant, retail, office and Las Vegas real estate. Intentionally designed in a similar fashion to The District at Green Valley Ranch, this portion of the development will actually include two mid-rise Las Vegas condo towers and 900 loft-style Centennial Hills homes. The project is being developed by Triple Five Nevada, the builder of Boca Park at Charleston and Rampart boulevards and the developer of Peccole Ranch.

Stay tuned to the MS Las Vegas Real Estate Blog for continuing updates as this exciting project continues to move forward.

One of the very best executive golf courses in Las Vegas is about to get even better. Eagle Crest can be found right in the heart of the Sun City Summerlin homes community in the northwest section of the Las Vegas Valley. Designed by Billy Casper and Greg Nash, you couldn’t ask for a better place to get in a quick 18 holes and still be appropriately challenged.

Consisting of six par 4’s and twelve par 3’s, Eagle Crest demands that you place the ball where it needs to be and that you read the greens with skill and care. The view of the entire Las Vegas Valley from the tee box on the eighteenth hole is truly breathtaking and your second shot to the green on 18 will surprise you as well.

What did we mean by saying that Eagle Crest is about to get even better? The course was closed on June 18th (2006) for major reconditioning and will re-open this September. All 18 greens are being completely re-done with Bermuda dwarf grass and every bunker is being re-designed and rebuilt as well. The course is now 12 years old and the improvements came at just the right time. At completion, you can expect Eagle Crest to be the premier executive-style golf course in Las Vegas.

If you have an interest in Las Vegas golf homes within the context of an age-restricted community, Sun City Summerlin real estate has plenty of inviting choices to offer.

Transportation in Las Vegas is big business. Just look at all of the Limousines and Taxis running up and down the strip 24 hours a day. There are probably thousands of Limousines and cabs on the strip at any given moment, considerably more on a weekend night.

Someone has got to be making a ton of money off of this wouldn’t you think? Of course they are! But probably not who you think! The people making the SERIOUS money (pure profit with ZERO expenses) are the REAL transportation power brokers in Las Vegas: The Doormen. You know, the loud guys standing next to the cab line in front of the hotel dressed in the funny looking uniforms, big hats, and white gloves which are always outstretched in your direction looking for money.

First off, don’t confuse the bellmen with the doormen, the bellman are the ones who carry your baggage to and from your room. Most doormen wouldn’t be caught dead doing this, they have much more important business to take care of outside the hotel, making money!

To understand how how and why doormen make so much money off of transportation in Las Vegas, you first have to understand the dynamics which go on in front of practically every hotel/casino in Las Vegas. The doormen control everything that occurs outside the front door of the hotel. EVERYTHING. A doorman personally opens EVERY cab and limousine door the hotels guests get into. This goes well beyond just giving good service to the guests leaving the property. By personally escorting EVERY guest into a cab or limousine, the doormen essentially control what form of transportation guests use to leave the hotel.

Doormen do NOT want guests leaving the hotel in taxi cabs. If a guest leaves in a taxi, the doormen aren’t making any money. Even though you might give the doorman a dollar or two for opening the cab door, he still is not happy. He might have received 100 dollar bills during his shift from people just like you, just for opening up the cab door. That $100 is pocket change for him. The doormen make the REAL money from working the cab line, talking to the guests waiting to get into cabs. The longer the doormen can make people wait in the cab line, and the longer the cab line becomes, the more money the doormen are about to make. Doormen are notorious for putting people into taxi cabs real slowly, to keep the line long.

The two or three doormen working out front do this together, working as a team. They do this so the doormen not loading the guests into cabs can work the cab line talking to everyone in it. They appear to be real friendly people, asking how you are doing, how you are enjoying your stay, and most importantly where you are headed this evening. All the while they are sizing you up. Do you appear to have money? Are you with your wife or girlfriend? Are you part of a large group all going to the same place? Are you part of a bachelor or bachelorette party? Are you going to a strip club (a doorman’s dream!)? Once they have this information they will always then try and sell you on the idea of travelling to your destination in either a limousine or a “super stretch luxury SUV or hummer”. They even promise to get you a “super good price, just a little bit more expensive then riding in a cab”. More often then not, they will even tell you the price right there on the spot. If you are heading to a strip club, they often will tell you that you can ride in that big beautiful H2 Hummer parked at the curb FOR FREE, as long as it drops you off at the strip club of your choice!

This is how the doormen make the vast majority of their money (some people have overheard doormen at major strip hotels brag about making $5000 PER WEEK IN CASH!). Every time they load you into a regular or SUV limousine they are given 20% of the total price you paid for the ride by the limo driver. So if the doorman quoted you a price of $50, the limo driver gives the doorman $10 for setting up the ride. If the doorman is REALLY lucky and you and your 20 friends are going to a strip club, he might still try and sell you the super stretch Hummer H2 limo ride for $100. If you balk and tell him you will just take cabs, he will ALWAYS give you the limo ride for free. Here’s why: Strip clubs in Las Vegas pay taxi and limo drivers $20 per head, YES TWENTY DOLLARS PER HEAD, for each and every customer they deliver to the front door of the strip club in their vehicle. Twenty guys getting out of a Hummer H2 limousine, multiplied by $20 per head, is $400. The limo driver has to give HALF of this money to the doorman. That’s $200 each!

Limo drivers HATE having to give this money to the doormen. But if they don’t, the doormen will NEVER load that limo driver with passengers again. He will never get another ride from that hotel again. For all intents and purposes limo drivers are held hostage by the doormen, they can’t make a living without them. Either pay the extortion or don’t make any money, that’s the limo drivers dilemma. Cab drivers (some of the hardest working and honest people in Las Vegas) also hate this practice. Whenever a doormen diverts customers going to a strip club from a cab (cab drivers do not kick back money for rides or strip clubs to doormen) to a limousine the cab driver loses money. Cab drivers and doormen are usually at each others throats over this issue. Cab drivers feel that doormen are stealing money from them by engaging in the practice of diverting customers from cabs to limousines.

So, the next time you are in line in front of your favorites casino with 20 of your closest friends heading out for a night of strip club hopping, and the doorman asks you where you are going, tell him the truth. Tell him exactly where you are going. When he starts drooling, you know you have him hooked. Tell him you want a free ride, AND you want half his strip club kickback. Tell him to hand you $100 in cash right there on the spot and you’ll LET HIM load you and your friends into a big stretch SUV limo. The funny part is he’ll do it. Funnier yet is watching him cry as he is handing you the money!