Las Vegas podcast #305 includes:

• Road Trip opener
• Room offer madness continues; Sheldon wants me back
• Gordon Ramsey steakhouse planned for Paris
• British soldier is the best friend ever
• Venetian barhop package
• We love our sponsor: Viator’s Things to do in Las Vegas
• Listener calls about Cosmopolitan, hotel security, Fremont Street Flightlinez, Tropicana, Golden Gate dealers, Lion’s Share, Ellis Island, vpgenius.com and more.
• Live chat and streaming show here on July 3 at 7:30 p.m. CDT.
• Call us at (702) 866-9494

Direct download of the podcast: Five Hundy By Midnight 6/27/11 (44:55 min, 41.3 MB) or subscribe.

Can’t get enough outdated Las Vegas footage on The Travel Channel? Five Hundy by Midnight has you covered. It’s time to look back at Las Vegas circa 1997. It was a simpler time… a time when Danny Gans was doing his already outdated impressions at Rio; a time when when the city was thriving; a time when casino executive Glenn Schaeffer sounded like Mr. Howell; a time before Roy was mistaken for tiger food. I give you NBC’s Today Show from Las Vegas circa April 1997:

Las Vegas podcast #304 includes:

• Miss USA opener
• Crazy good room offer
• Maloofs lose control of Palms
• Neonopolis gets a Denny’s
• El Cortez renovates lounge bar
• Bellagio makes questionable design decisions
• We love our sponsor: Viator
• Listener calls about Cosmopolitan, Julian Serrano, Aria, Tropicana, Wicked Spoon, Ka, Secret Pizza Place, Hash House, Insert Coin(s), July 4th events, Viva Elvis, Stripsteak, Foursquare deals and more.
• Call us at (702) 866-9494

Direct download of the podcast: Five Hundy By Midnight 6/19/11 (58:28 min, 53.7 MB) or subscribe.

We like to surround ourselves with reminders of Las Vegas. Throughout our house, you’ll find numerous Las Vegas photos and casino collectibles. We have a neon martini glass, a miniature version of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, a glass insert from a Goldfish slot machine, tons of casino shot glasses, a small model of the Las Vegas Strip and all sorts of other Vegasy stuff.

Despite our tendency to accumulate gambling-related tchotchkes, we have our limits. I present to you whatever the hell this is:

Click the picture to see the ad.

If you know someone still mourning the closing of Hats!, I just saved you the trouble of searching for the perfect birthday gift. You’re welcome.

A few days ago on the Five Hundy by Midnight Facebook fan page and earlier today on the podcast, I announced a new website, Fremont Street Bars.

While preparing for our most recent Las Vegas trip, we found it moderately challenging to gather information on the Fremont East (and nearby) bars. So, I decided to do something about it.

I plan to add additional information and features in the coming weeks, and the site will be continually updated with Fremont Street bar news. If you’re looking for information about the bars of Fremont Street, give it a look. If you’re so inclined, please leave a bar review or two as well. I hope you dig it.

Las Vegas podcast #303 includes:

• How I Met Your Mother opener
• Caesars signs Shania Twain
• Excalibur announces Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ and Bar
• Concert venue and billiard bar planned for Fremont East
• Firely isn’t returning to Plaza
• Introducing our new site, FremontStreetBars.com
• We love our sponsor: Viator
• Reviews and observations about: Tropicana; Cafe Nikki; Bally’s Steakhouse Bar; Riviera; Stripburger; Peppermill’s Fireside Lounge; Billboard Music Awards; and random other stuff from our May trip
• Listener calls about Golden Nugget’s Rush Tower, Golden Gate blackjack, Cosmopolitan, Mandalay Bay cabanas, Aria, Wicked Spoon, RM Seafood, Mandarin Bar, Encore, pornslapper avoidance, brunch, Bally’s Tequila Bar, weather boogers, casino smells, Tunica casinos, Rio, Lion’s Share and more.
• Call us at (702) 866-9494

Direct download of the podcast: Five Hundy By Midnight 6/12/11 (105:13 min, 96.5 MB) or subscribe.

See what you’re missing by skipping downtown Las Vegas:

As we speculated on the podcast a few weeks ago, tasty tapas restaurant Firefly will not return when Plaza reopens later this year. In a Las Vegas Weekly article today, Steve Friess spills all of the dirt. It turns out the downtown crowd was just looking for a cheap view of Fremont Street.

The other two Firefly locations are still alive and well, and a third location is on the way. They’re a bit of a pain for us tourist shmucks who like to stick close to the Strip and Fremont Street. However, if you didn’t make it to the Plaza location during its short 18-month life, you may want to grab a cab and check one of them out.

Rumored for several months, Shania Twain announced this afternoon that she will be joining Celine Dion, Elton John and Rod Stewart as a resident performer at Caesars Palace. Her two-year residency will begin on Dec. 1, 2012, with 60 shows per year.

Although I’ve never been a huge country music fan, Shania has a slew of moderately tolerable, poppy hits—some of which are only a couple guitar solos, a mullet and a one-armed drummer from being Def Leppard songs (thanks to the work of ex-husband and DL producer Mutt Lange).

This show seems like a good fit for the Caesars Palace Colosseum. Shania has a decent-sized fanbase and caters to a broad audience. I just like her because we have similar fashion sensibilities.

During our most recent Las Vegas trip, crews at Planet Hollywood were putting the finishing touches on the casino’s renovated entrance. Gone is the generic Casino Entrance sign, in favor of a new Planet Hollywood sign and a metallic overhang.

In September 2010, Planet Hollywood proposed several changes to the entrance, including:

• Installing balconies above both Las Vegas Strip casino entrances, one of which would add outdoor seating for Japanese restaurant Koi.
• Replacing the Casino Entrance signs.
• Adding moving spotlights that would shine three lights into the sky. (How very Hollywood.)
• Modifying the entrance ramp to lead visitors closer to the casino entrance rather than PF Chang’s.

No word on whether the outdoor seating thing is going to happen, but it didn’t appear any railings were being installed yet on the overhang/potential balcony.