I learned long ago not to spend too long trying to figure out why Las Vegas hotel operators make the decisions they do or my brain may explode. The latest interesting strategy comes from The Venetian, where customers are no longer able to book rooms in the Venezia Tower online or by calling the reservation line. When Five Hundy listener tpet tipped me off to this development, my first thought was that the tower was temporarily shut down until the economy improves and there’s more demand. Not so.

A friendly Venetian reservations rep told me Venezia rooms are still available but only from The Venetian’s casino marketing department or Expedia. She had no idea why management made this decision or how long the new policy will be in effect. Sure enough, a quick check of Expedia’s Web site yielded Venezia Tower suites for at least the next several months.

Way to serve your customers, Venetian!

Las Vegas podcast #218 includes:

• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon opener
• Life After People
• Carrot Top and Lance Burton get extensions
• Excalibur drops electronic poker
• Station casinos drop seafood buffets
• Treasure Island drops Social House
• Mandalay Bay offers shark diving, post-dive snack
• Matt Goss gets a second shot
• Listener calls about Planet Hollywood, Trump, Mandalay Bay, Ka, dinner discounts, Stripsteak, Michele’s Wynn restaurant spreadsheet and more
• Call us at (702) 866-9494

Direct download of the podcast: Five Hundy By Midnight 6/28/09 (41:18 min, 37.9 MB) or subscribe.

Las Vegas podcast #217 includes:

• Big Bang Theory opener
• Dateline NBC was a yawner
• Fontainebleau gets visitors
• Treasure Island gets piratey, less douchey
• ND’s Club Fuego and Monte Carlo’s Brew Pub close
• Sammy Hagar opens an airport bar
• Susan Boyle rumors seem unlikely
• Rick Thomas moves to Sahara
• Palms gets a new headliner
• Listener calls about the future of Trader Vic’s, Striphouse, Peepshow, summer tasting menus at MGM Grand, Wynn and Encore, July 4 in Las Vegas, karaoke, one more reason to hate Wynn’s Web site, Mandalay Bay, Lion’s Share, Crown and Anchor, Mirage, Treasure Island, Hard Rock Cafe, downtown Las Vegas and more
• Call us at (702) 866-9494

Direct download of the podcast: Five Hundy By Midnight 6/21/09 (56:03 min, 51.5 MB) or subscribe.

Las Vegas podcast #216 includes:

• Iron Sheik opener
• Wynn’s Web site sucks
• Fontainebleau files for bankruptcy
• Cause of Danny Gans’ death revealed
• Garth Brooks rumors heat up
• Mel B leaves Peepshow
• Planet Hollywood announces Pink’s
• Cheap Trick announces Las Vegas Hilton show
• Dateline NBC takes on Las Vegas
• Listener calls about The Rat Pack is Back, Mon Ami Gabi breakfast, Star Trek Experience, booking cabanas, gambling in Tunica, Mirage volcano, Gold Spike and more
• Call us at (702) 866-9494

Direct download of the podcast: Five Hundy By Midnight 6/14/09 (49:46 min, 45.7 MB) or subscribe.

Las Vegas podcast #215 includes:

• Bad Girls Club opener
• Review of The Hangover
• Treasure Island brings back Gilley’s
• Trader Vic’s closes
• Tropicana’s new owners spend $100 million
• Riviera hires Charo
• Palms opens Barbie Suite
• O’Shea’s gets Mental
• Cirque du Soleil tickets from BestofVegas.com
• Listener calls about Las Vegas burgers, confusion at Hooters, Lion’s Share at MGM Grand, celebrity sighting at Sapphire’s and more
• Hungover for Vegas by Joe Sedita
• Non-Vegas podcasting fun from Tim and Michele at Dyslexic Heart
• Call us at (702) 866-9494

Direct download of the podcast: Five Hundy By Midnight 6/6/09 (45:57 min, 42.2 MB) or subscribe.

One of the few things I miss about the TV series “Las Vegas” is seeing where The Montecito would appear on The Strip each week. From season to season, episode to episode and sometimes even scene to scene, the hotel’s location varied. Although many of the exterior shots placed The Montecito on the south end of Las Vegas Blvd., shots from Big Ed’s office placed the resort across the street from The Venetian and Harrah’s.

Well, the magic of The Montecito is returning in the form of PH Towers. This new hotel/timeshare sister resort of Planet Hollywood is scheduled to open in November. While I’m anxious to check out the suites, the Celebrity Buffet and the pool area, the most impressive feature is PH Towers’ defiance of the laws of both space and time.

For almost three years, construction of PH Towers has taken place on land behind Planet Ho. On the resort’s Web site, both a map and a room photo showing Bellagio and Caesars across the street confirm this location.

Additional photos on the site, however, indicate some of the resort’s rooms are located just north and south of The Venetian. These rooms include not only fantastic views of The Strip, but apparently views from at least three years ago. Do you miss Stardust (RIP 2006) and New Frontier (RIP 2007)? Thanks to PH Towers, they’re back.

Few details about the Anywhere/Anytime Strip Suites have emerged, so I’m not sure what other views are available. Michele is hoping for a room overlooking the rotating shoe at The Silver Slipper, while I’d just like to see the “Future Home of Countryland U.S.A.” marquee one more time.