Elton John released “Rocket Man” forty years ago. The song is a favorite at the European Space Agency (ESA), astronaut André Kuipers had made a special point of playing “Rocket Man” over the airwaves of the International Space Station (ISS) on the song’s 40^th anniversary. This past April Elton played the song during his show, “The Million Dollar Piano,” at The Colosseum at CaesarsPalace in Las Vegas, and later sent a recording of that performance to the astronauts at the European Space Agency. The ESA has since created a video combining images from the space station with Elton’s live version of “Rocket Man,” and it can be viewed here on YouTube: video of ISS playing Rocket Man

Hearing about “Rocket Man” being played in space, Elton sent the following special message to ESA, Kuipers and the crew of the ISS:

“When I was a boy, ‘Dan Dare’ was a comic book hero, and space travel just a romantic idea, not a reality. I was 14 years old when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space; my song writing partner Bernie Taupin was just 11. Bernie and I did not meet until 1967, and two years after we met, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step onto the moon.

“Our generation was smitten with the glory and excitement of space travel. ‘Rocket Man’ – and indeed ‘Dan Dare’ on the Rock of the Westies album – came from those boyhood dreams of travelling beyond the stars and looking back on Earth.

“Not long after the ‘Rocket Man’ single was released, my band and I were invited to the NASA headquarters in Texas and shown around by Al Worden, Apollo 15 command module pilot. It was thrilling to find that real astronauts liked our song, ‘Rocket Man,’ which was about an imaginary astronaut.

“Now, 40 years later, it’s amazing to hear from the astronauts at the European Space Agency that they like the song and that it has been on the playlist on the International Space Station. I send my best wishes to ESA and all the crew, and my thanks for keeping those boyhood dreams alive.”

Caesars Palace Poker Room Presents the World Series of Poker Warm-Up Series

Caesars Palace Press Release:

The 2012 World Series of Poker Warm-Up Series set to begin Friday, May 4. Thirty-three events, with more than $365,000 in guaranteed prize pools, will be played across 17 days, culminating in a final Wild Card Weekend tournament with at least one $25,300 seat to the Big One for One Drop Mega Satellite event guaranteed. For every additional $25,300 in the prize pool, one extra seat will be awarded to the satellite held at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino on Saturday, June 30.

“It’s almost that time of the year again!” said Andy Rich director of poker operations at Caesars Palaceand Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.  “The WSOP Warm-Up Series hosted at Caesars Palace is the pre-season of the World Series of Poker. With at least $20,000 in guaranteed prize pool for each noon tournament, the stakes are high and it’s the perfect time for players to start tuning up their game for what will be another huge summer for poker.”

Toby Keith’s Bar and Grill Launches “Red Cup Solo” Ladies Night Every Thursday

Starting Thursday, May 3, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill will be hosting ladies night every Thursday from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. All ladies are invited to party country style at one ofLas Vegas’ most popular and recognizable bars. For $10, ladies will receive a “Red Solo Cup,” made famous by Toby Keith’s hit song “Red Solo Cup.” With the purchase, ladies receive free refills on well drinks, Coors Light and Miller Lite draughts until 2 a.m. Live music begins at 9 p.m.

Bizarre Foods Comes to Las Vegas

Andrew Zimmern from the Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods was in Las Vegas to film his special 100th episode. Robin Leach spent some time with Andrew while he was in Las Vegas and provides details of the visit in his column in the Vegas Sun. Including the following, to be expected, exchange:

I turned down Andrew’s kind offer of crispy, fried buttered worms when we met to talk poolside at the Bellagio! Robin Leach in Vegas Sun 2-17-12

Burning Man Coming To Vegas, Sort of

Not exactly Burning Man, but the Las Vegas Review Journal is reporting that a 20 foot tall wooden sculpture “Lucky Lady Lucy” will be set ablaze on March 2 at in a vacant lot in the Las Vegas Arts District downtown. The event is set to coincide with the First Friday music festival. Burning Man is the annual festival in Northern Nevada, Black Rock Desert, that attracts tens of thousands of participants, that do…read the above link to find out what people do at Burning Man.

Celine Dion Cancels Lots of Shows

Due to inflamed vocal cords Celine Dion has canceled all her show dates until June. Her next scheduled set of appearances is set for June 9 through August 19.

Las Vegas on Sale – Save up to 30% Plus get $10 off VIP Nightclub Tour! – Expires 1/30/12

Vegas Jobs with Benefits

How does does this job sound to you? Show up at a Nightclub and have a good time, alcohol and food gratis. This is a Job  so  you’ll be paid for you efforts, how does $100,000 sound. That’s $100,000 per appearance. The perks that go along with Job are pretty nice too, for starters transportation is by private Jet, G4 or comparable, no less, for your transportation from Los Anglels, plus limousine service to and from McCarran, of course! Lest you think the staff at VegasWhatsUp.com is making this up, this is an actual Job, which thanks to a lawsuit, are documented at Radar Online and in even more detail at Vegas Inc.

The lawsuit is between Paris Hilton and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The details of the perks are astonishing, down to makeup and hair styling! The research department at Vegas What’s Up.com has done an extensive background report on Ms. Hilton which can be found here: Ontology of Paris Hilton.

Why is VegasWhatsUp.com Interested In Rachel Uchitel?

Who is Rachel Uchitel anyways?  According to this wonderfully salacious article in New York Magazine:

The most famous of Woods’s alleged mistresses is Rachel Uchitel, who occupies a position of power in this strobe network of girls and money and celebrity. As VIP concierge and director of VIP hospitality at Tao in Vegas…Rachel Uchitel is long and skinny and buoyantly breasted. Her lips are a fat heart.    New York Magazine 4-4-10

Rachael gets paid well, $250,000 base plus an additional $250,000 guarantee from the tip pool, that’s a nice sized tip pool! So what does Rachael do to earn those $’s? More or less make sure the men with the largest wallets are placed near the most attractive women in the club. Rachael emphatically states in the article:  “It’s not our job to get anybody laid.”

The article also gives all the prurient details about the job of bottle service girl, who knew Vegas was on the worldwide circuit of bottle service, and May was its month.

  “They follow the money as the money follows the seasons along the worldwide circuit of bottle service. St. Barts in December, Miami in March, Las Vegas in May” New York Magazine 4-4-10 page 7

TMZ reports Rachael is now married again.

Consumer Electronics Show Hits Las Vegas

140,000 people are expected to attend the Consumer Electonics show, which runs January 10-13. While the attendance is huge, as an article in the New York Times points out, the show is losing some clout. Trend setting companies, such as Apple and Amazon have chosen smaller venues to introduce their latest products. Microsoft has stated that 2012 is the last year they will be exhibiting at CES.

Some surprising exhibitors will replace those lost, one is Schick, which will be introducing a new high-tech razor battery operated 5-speed blade razor. Serta will also be at CES, exhibiting an innovative memory foam mattress. Trojan will be there too, doing something with condemns and vibrators. Perhaps they’ll stay in Vegas for the Adult Entertainment Expo, which begins January 18 (30,000 attendees).

The folks over at TheDailyFiasco have slew of posts, complete with snarky comments, on all the celebrities or  near celebrities, if there is such a thing, that have been in attendance at CES dailyFiasco covers CES: such as: Lady Gaga; Tommy Lee; Joba Chamberlain; Kid Rock.

Adelson Helps A Friend In the Presidential Race

Sheldon Adelson, owner of Venetian/Palazzo has contributed $5 Million to  Winning Our Future, a “super PAC” that supports Newt Gingrich. The New York Times reports that Adelson’s friendship with Gingrich goes back roughly twenty years.

 Rolling Out 2012

Las Vegas is in full Holiday mode, as it approaches the night it seems the city was built for, New Years Eve. The team at VegasWhatsUp.com wishes all our readers the type of luck in 2012 that Patricai Damauro had at the Craps Tables at the Borgata back in 2009.  As Time Magazine reports:

What is the probability of rolling a pair of dice 154 times continuously at a craps table, without throwing a seven?

The answer is roughly 1 in 1.56 trillion, and on May 23, Patricia Demauro, a New Jersey grandmother, beat those odds at Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. Demauro’s 154-roll lucky streak, which lasted four hours and 18 minutes, broke the world records for the longest craps roll and the most successive dice rolls without “sevening out.”

Rooms on the Strip are still available, according to Vegaschatter, but it is going to cost big dollars. Figure $600+ for Aria while even the much more moderately priced Bill’s Gambling Hall is selling rooms for over $300. Another option would have been to bid on eBay for Vintner Grill at Nieman Marcus at Fashion Mall

Overlooking the heart of Las Vegas Strip with the paramount views of Wynn & Encore Resorts and the Palazzo Hotel.  Vintner Grill The Strip will bring together unique and inventive cuisine with our excellent service specially designed for your New Years Eve Affair.

Bidding started at $50,000 and advanced $0 as no one took the plunge by the deadline December 23, 2011. Perhaps they’ll reconsider the deadline, for the right bid.

Fremont Street is running the 4th Annual Tribute Palooza, including Midnight Countdown with the new Mayor, Carolyn Goodman. Tickets are $30.

4th Annual Tribute Palooza from 6pm – 2am featuring great music by Steel Panther and Rock Sugar, and 10 incredible and authentic tribute bands perform throughout the evening.

FireWorks Vegas Style

Eight casinos will be launching fireworks, roughly 56,000 in total: Tropicana Las Vegas, MGM Grand, Aria, Planet Hollywood, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island, the Venetian and the Stratosphere. The show will last roughly 10 minutes. Keep in mind the Strip is very crowded during the display and that most Strip Hotels close their doors to people that are not staying on the property during the display, so keep your room key handy. Off-strip locations such as the Rio and the Palms offer nice views, and are less crowded.

A Ruling By The Justice Department Makes Legal Online Poker More Likely

A Legal Opinion issued by the Justice Department, that was made public Friday December 24, clarified whether the Wire Act of 1961  which prohibits wagering over telecommunications systems that cross state or national borders, prevented those states from using the Internet to sell lottery tickets. While explicitly dealing with lottery tickets, most feel the opinion has more general ramifications.

“This will put additional pressure on Congress and others to allow online poker and other Internet gambling,” Mr. Grossman said. New York Times 12-24-11

Bellagio Has Skating Penguins

Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens Winter which includes a new feature which they describe in their Press Release as follows: (Display open until January 2, 2012)

New to the display this year, a group of five animated penguins ice skate on a patch of arctic terrain among a life-like family of 34 adult and baby penguins. Inside an igloo nearby, a curious animated penguin pops out its snow-covered head to greet guests.

Bellagio  Conservatory & Botanical Gardens Winter Display Fun Facts (or perhaps just facts, to some)

• A trio of topiary polar bears adorned with “fur” coats made of more than 35,000 hand-applied white carnations
• A brick-lined path is surrounded by pink and red poinsettias, inviting guests to stroll underneath eight streams of dancing water and two pergolas adorned with sparkling white lights. In the Giardini corner, a floral greeting card made of more than 3,000 carnations, bestows well wishes for the holiday season. 
• A stately 42-foot Shasta White Fir, is decorated with more than 1,700 gold and silver holiday ornaments and ablaze in more than 13,500 twinkling white lights. Overhead, 24 over-sized gold and silver bells hang gracefully from the Conservatory’s all-glass ceiling.
• Inquisitive guests strolling through the Conservatory are invited to visit with Bellagio horticulturists designated as “Mr. and Mrs. Green Thumb” from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. daily to receive holiday decorating tips along with additional information about the exhibit. 

An amateur video of the Skating Penguins, along with the rest of the display can be found here.

Still Winter at The Venetian

If the the Skating Penguins gets you in the mood, for skating that is, head over to the Venetian. The Venetian has a synthetic ice rink that allows for real skating. 30 minute sessions cost $14.95, $9.95 with gracie card. Skate rental included in price. Each session is limited to 60 skaters, From 11am to 10:45pm, through January 8.

There is also an hourly light show, a video of the light show can be found here.

Porn Stars Are Coming

Porn Stars are coming to Vegas that is. The 29th annual AVN  will be held at Joint at the Hard Rock on January 22, this heads-up should give all VegasWhatsUp readers enough lead time to plan accordingly. Robin Leach has all the details over at his column at the Las Vegas Sun. 

The Final Tasty Morsel, is a Bomb!

The folks over at the dailyfiasco.com have a funny story about:

A possible terror plot was averted this week at McCarran International Airport as a Boston-bound passenger was stopped before she could bring potentially dangerous cupcakes onto her flight. read the full story: dailyfiasco.com

December in Las Vegas,  like in the rest of the country brings in ever cooler weather. Average high temperature for Las Vegas in November 58 F,  average low temperature 34F, cold, but still above freezing.

It’s Rodeo time in Las Vegas, National Finals Rodeo, That is!

For the 27th time Las Vegas is hosting the National Finals Rideo (NFR). The actual Rodeo takes place at the Thomas & Mack Center, from December 1- 10.

Events include:

• Bareback Riding
• Steer Wrestling
• Team Roping ( Divided into “Headers” and “Heelers” which as you might expect is defined as follows:
  • Headers – Cowboys who rope the steer’s head
  • Heelers – Cowboys who rope the steer’s hind feet)
• Saddle Bronc Riding
• Tie-down roping
• Barrel Racing (Women Only)
• Bull Riding (Men Only, as are all the other events, with one exception)

This might be considered a niche sporting event, but that doesn’t mean the event is not popular. The events are largely “sold-out” and ticket prices are not cheap. Someone has to pay for that “special dirt” that is used during the event. There really is a special type of dirt used during NFR, that is stored somewhere on the UNLV campus.

The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is sanctioned by The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The  PRCA claims 4 million Loyal Rodeo Fans that evidently  prefer soft drinks to beer.

 In surveys, 81 percent report that they have had a soft drink in the previous 30 days, 50 percent have had a beer in the previous 30 days and 95 percent have eaten at a fast food restaurant in the previous 30 days. ProRodeo fans come from all walks of life, but as a group, they are demographically similar to NASCAR fans, and are likely to also enjoy hunting, fishing and camping. ProRodeo.com. From PRCA web site.

There is free shuttle service to the event along 14 routes covering 24 hotels.

Cowboy Christmas in Las Vegas

Coinciding with NFR is the Cowboy Christmas Gift show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, through December 10, 10am-5pm daily, free admission. Over 400 exhibitors will fill roughly 300,000 square feet of space. Some of the exhibitors include:

• The Best Hat Store
• Allens Boots
• Art From The Farm
• Awesome Rods
• Boot Barn
• Continental Divide Knives
• Cowboy Free Range Meat
• Cowgirl Glitter
• Loveless Custom Boots and Shoes
• Wrangler, of course.

Country on The Fremont Experience

November 30 kicked-off 12 days of country on Fremont Street. There will be a whole slew of Country Performers during NFR. A list of performers can be found here.

National Finals Rodeo Autograph Sessions

Several Hotels are hosting free autograph sessions with the Rodeo Performers.

• Dec 3 Aria:  Saddle Bronc Riders 12pm-2pm
• Dec 5 Golden Nugget: Team Ropers 12pm-2pm
• Dec 6 TI (Treasure Island) Bull Riders 12pm-2pm
• Dec 7 Palms: Steer Wrestlers 12pm-2pm
• Dec 8 Monte Carlo: Bareback Riders 12pm-2pm
• Dec 9 Mirage: Tie Down Ropers 12pm-2pm

Caesars Entertainment Lowers Poker Room Comps

Vegas Chatter posted on December 1 that all Caesars Entertainment, Harrahs, poker rooms have lowered their comp rates. Details, such as they are, can be found here.

Experience the NEW Tropicana Las Vegas with our 72-Hour Sale!