One of our contributors, Clifford Martin (a/k/a BigRedDogATL) posted a memo for Monte Carlo employees.

It doesn’t look terribly promising, but hopefully it is an absolute worst case scenario.

It makes it sound like the MC is going to be out of commission for quite some time.

Especially if they are going to give them a minimum of 30 days compensation. And addressing the fact they may try to place them in other properties, and are freezing hiring.

It doesn’t look like they will be up and running again anytime real soon.

The PR is probably going to put some tourists off as well. I can’t help but wonder where the room rates will be priced when the property is finally re-opened.

To their great credit, MGM/Mirage appears to be doing the right thing by taking care of their employees.

Statement from Anton Nikodemus to Monte Carlo Employees concerning pay and benefits
January 25th, 7:25 p.m.

First let me say how grateful I am that not a single Monte Carlo employee or guest was seriously injured in the January 25th fire. Your professionalism and dedication resulted in an efficient and orderly evacuation of all Monte Carlo employees and guests and for that, I can�??t thank you enough.

I am sure you have many questions concerning when the Monte Carlo will reopen and when you will be returning to work.

While we await word from Fire Department and Clark County officials about when we can re-open Monte Carlo, we want employees to know that if an extended closure is necessary, we will do all that we can to help minimize the impact of the Monte Carlo�??s closure on you and your families.

To that end, we have taken the following steps:

1) We have established a Monte Carlo Employee Hot Line for all questions at 693-7005. Please call it regularly to determine if you are able to return to work.

2) We have placed on hold the hiring of any new employees at MGM MIRAGE properties in Las Vegas. This action will ensure that, if it is needed, we can offer priority consideration for available jobs to current Monte Carlo employees who will retain seniority rights.

3) Starting today, Monte Carlo employees will receive pay, health and welfare benefits and toke and tip replacement for the lesser of 30 days or the re-opening of Monte Carlo. These payments will be offset if during that 30-day period a Monte Carlo employee accepts another position at another MGM MIRAGE property or company or accepts employment outside MGM MIRAGE. Also, if a Monte Carlo employee accepts a position with a non-MGM MIRAGE company and is subjected to a waiting period before receiving health benefits, then MGM MIRAGE will continue to provide the employee�??s health benefits for the lesser of 30 days or the re-opening of Monte Carlo.

Again, thank you for your patience. We will continue to keep you updated on the Monte Carlo�??s status as more information becomes available.

It smells like smoke outside, and the entire Strip is shut down between Flamingo and Tropicana.

The scanner is reporting broken glass is falling from the hotel and raining down on people below, so no vehicle or pedestrian at all is being allowed on The Strip between Flamingo and Tropicana.

3 alarm fire, cause as of yet unknown.

The smoke has greatly dissipated from it’s peak just minutes ago, so it looks like it is mostly under control at this point.

Listening Live:

11:57am: All medical units staged at Frank Sinatra Dr. and Monte Carlo. Large medical response is being requested. Traffic gridlock on the Monte Carlo road is being reported.

12:00pm: Air unit requested to pick up units at Tropicana and Arville fire training center to fly personnel to the site due to traffic.

12:05: Evacuating guests into MGM Grand Garden Arena

12:07: Gridlock on the Trop east of I-15 due to people stopping and getting out of their cars to look at the fire.

Will make live updates here:

http://www.vegasrex.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1804

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce has rolled our their new promotional video (above) designed to lure more tourists to Las Vegas.

It’s a slight change from the terribly inaccurate “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas” line , but just as good in my opinion.

I think it is very admirable that they hired local talent, rather than hire glamorous actors to play out the usual fictitious scenarios seen in the commercials.

The honesty of these new ads are a welcoming and refreshing change from the usual fluff piece Vegas ads that we have all become accustomed to.

Actually, the first video has been around for over a year, and I had completely forgotten about it until someone (”VHS”) posted it on the forums today.

I don’t know if it is sad, amusing, or frightening … or all of the above. I feel very badly for the people in the car, but it doesn’t look like anyone was injured. Except the PT Cruiser.

I’ve no idea how they explained that to the insurance company.

“We were just sitting at a stoplight minding our own business when this guy came at us with a baseball bat for no good reason and …”

Really, I wish I could have listened in on the conversation with the claims adjuster.

This occurred on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, diagonally from the Sahara Hotel and Casino, and two blocks south of the Stratosphere.

Ironically, as I am typing this post, I am listening to the scanner and Metro Police have just been dispatched to a popular McDonald’s on The Strip where an intoxicated male has been reported harassing customers. They are sending several units, because this particular male is also wanted for a “420″ (murder).

Nothing says “Your Vegas is Showing” like killing someone, getting high, then celebrating with a Big Mac.

Either that, or you can just beat the shit out of a random car at a stoplight.

And don’t worry about the consequences. What happens here, stays here.

At least that’s what they’ve been telling me for years.

The Las Vegas Convention Center is already lining up buses on the ruins of the notorious Blue Harbor Apartments, and have started erecting a parking structure on a vacant lot that used to be one of the best places in Vegas to find toothless hookers.

Now, I don’t really know if all of this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Extra parking is always nice, but hookers without teeth vastly lowers the risk for nasty phallic scrapes.

It also forces people a few blocks further east to score crack and meth.

This is great for the cab companies, but it kind of sucks for the tourist who has to shell out an extra $5 to score a bunch of rocks for the big Superbowl party.

Sure, it sounds like I am being sarcastic, but I have had many a driver regale me with tales of driving people down Sierra Vista so that their fares could score from a rolled down window from the back seat, or told me how they lost track of the number of times they waited outside as their fares disappeared into Blue Harbor for two minutes.

I’m sure they charged more for the service. I don’t think the fares were in a position to complain to the Taxicab Authority. “Hey, Cab #1657 overcharged me when he took me to score crack!”

Looking on the bright side, there is now more parking.

It’s good to see that we are encouraging more people to take to the streets and drive here in Vegas.

I’ve been saying for years that there just isn’t enough traffic here in town, and we need to get more people into personal vehicles.

Thank goodness someone finally listened.

Why?

They aren’t even being sold at a discount.

The Las Vegas Monorail Company, in an effort to increase ridership, has taken the bold step of:

1) Making it go places people actually want to go

2) Lowering fares to a reasonable level

3) Selling tickets where nobody in their right mind would buy them

If you answered number 3, then you are obviously familiar with the Las Vegas Monorail.

Apparently, the fact that there is a ticket booth in each station, and several in-station automated vending machines which dispense tickets … is causing ridership problems by presenting the rider with too few ticketing choices.

Naturally, people want to buy Monorail tickets through Travelocity and kiosks located nowhere near the Monorail.

It makes sense. When I lived in New York, I used to take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty to buy subway tokens. Sure there were token booths in the stations themselves … but it would be just plain stupid to buy them there.

The fact is, it is stupid to buy Monorail passes in advance. I stocked up when fares were still reasonable, and my passes expired within a year.

That’s right, unlike most major transit systems, your individual public transit rides actually expire. And in a major tourist destination, that is just nasty. They aren’t comps, you actually paid for the tickets.

If you over-buy for your one trip, and don’t use it all … then come back one year and one day later … you’re screwed. The ticket booth people will have no sympathy for you (at least they didn’t for me).

Because of this, it really only makes sense to buy when you absolutely know that you are going to ride.

But still, The Monorail and certain travel sites think selling off-site for full price is a brilliant idea.

Since the travel sites will certainly take a cut of the sales, maybe the Monorail could just cut the damn fare price from $5 each way (making a cab cheaper for parties of 2-4 people) instead of farming out the insane ticket prices to yet more brokers.

I still say that for $5 for a five minute ride, they should put strippers on the poles, but the Monorail has yet to entertain any of my suggestions.

I’m just waiting it out until the thing goes bankrupt so that I can buy the whole system at auction for $25.

Trust me, if I had control of the thing, people would ride it.

The asinine press release follows:

The Las Vegas Monorail Company announced today an official distribution agreement with Travelocity^®, a world leader in travel commerce. Travelers can now purchase Monorail tickets through the Travelocity call center and on the following Web sites: travelocity.com, travelocityonlocation.com and showtickets.com.

�??Working with Travelocity allows the Las Vegas Monorail Company to offer a greater number of visitors the convenience of planning their entire Las Vegas vacation including transportation on the Monorail,�?��??We�??re excited about Travelocity�??s distribution channel and look forward to providing travelers with another convenient way to purchase Monorail tickets.�?� said Ingrid Reisman, vice president of corporate communication for the Las Vegas Monorail Company.

Fares will be sold through Travelocity�??s Web sites, available as stand-alone purchases or as add-ons for customers booking customized vacation packages to Las Vegas. Prices range from $5 to $40 and ticket types offered are single-ride, two-ride, ten-ride, unlimited one-day pass and unlimited three-day pass.

�??By offering Monorail tickets through our site, we are giving our travelers one more way to make their vacation planning easier,�?� said Glen Harvell, vice president and general manager for Travelocity on Location. �??In addition to the convenience of online shopping, our customers can also purchase Monorail tickets at any of our 14 Travelocity on Location booths up and down the Strip.�?�