Steve Wynn and his new girlfriend

Steve Wynn is a Big Jew, whether he likes it or not.
In fact, he is one of the Top Three Big Jews of Las Vegas, along with Mayor Oscar Goodman and billionaire/casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Wynn helped remake the Las Vegas Strip and revitalize Las Vegas by building new hotel casino resorts. His Mirage opened in 1989, and Treasure Island opened next door four years later. He blew up The Dunes and built Bellagio, one of the world’s premier hotels, on the Dunes’ site. It opened in 1998. He merged his company with MGM and then sold his share. More recently he opened his eponymous resort in 2005 (?—I’m not looking it up) and its sister resort next door, Encore, last year.
So Wynn does pretty well. He recently filed for divorce from his wife, Elaine. That’s a little unusual considering his age. Since he’s 67, the Wynns have probably been married for 40 years or so. I just saw a photograph of Wynn with his new girlfriend. She appears to be under 40 and not Jewish. And this is where I have a problem.
Wynn’s life is not very private. Part of that is not his fault, but part of it is. He used his image to market his casinos. Someone who shies from the spotlight does not name a hotel after himself or plaster the logo, with surname therein, all over the property. Nor would he feature himself in tv ads for the hotel, standing on the 40-story hotel roof and joking about the helicopter circling overhead. He is frequently seen in public, either walking around or having lunch at his two properties or at charitable events in Las Vegas. He has a public persona. Las Vegas named a side street for him years before his Wynn and Encore hotels were built.
So he has an image to uphold, and that includes the image of a Big Jew. He doesn’t do that image any good by dating a non-Jew under 40. We sigh and say, “Yeah, another shikse for the rich guy.” It doesn’t need to be that way. For all his hundreds and likely thousands of business contacts, Wynn couldn’t find a beautiful, successful divorcée closer to his age who isn’t after his money? I find that hard to believe.

1968 helicopter ride above Las Vegas Strip

Watch out for the sign!

Las Vegas Helicopter footage c.1968

NYE in Lakeview

As a matter of principle, I don't pay for parking unless it's absolutely unavoidable. When I want to park in Lakeview, if I don't have a guaranteed space (HA!), then I park in Uptown or Andersonville and take a bus down. On New Year's Eve, I gingerly drove down Broadway and parked when I was far enough south that there was only one space available in an entire block. This was just south of Argyle - sort of an Uptown/Andersonville border.

The party I attended was very nice. Credit to the host, who left for Israel the day after the party! Very impressive because I'd be pulling a Pack-Up All Nighter. The kosher brie was outstanding. I do enjoy watching the Times Square Ball Drop on television. Unfortunately Dick Clark does not look good. Is he going to keep doing this until he goes on to olam haba (the next world)? Other than this annual gig, I think he has been off tv for about 20 years. The Chicago fireworks looked pretty, but nothing new. The midnight surprise was a motorcycle stunt at The Mirage in Las Vegas. It was nice of Fox to wait until 12:15am CST for the jump - after the Chicago fireworks were over! Robbie Knievel, Evil's son, was to ride his motorcycle over the famous volcano in front of The Mirage. In advance of the jump, the announcer showed several deadly scenarios should the stunt not go as planned. One of them was rider incineration if he falls into the erupting volcano. I read on Twitter that this was not possible as his jump was near, but not over, the volcano. It was still an impressive jump, but I feel a little cheated, and the announcer was lying to the viewers if Knievel did not really jump over the volcano.

Knievel was emulating his father's famous jump over the fountains in the driveway at Caesars Palace 41 years ago - New Year's 1968, I guess. The Mirage and Caesars are next-door neighbors.

Was it very cold Wednesday night in Chicago? Either my tolerance for cold weather is not what it once was, or it was colder than I thought. I believe it was 12 degrees when I left the party to catch a bus back to my vehicle. I was not dressed for that. I should have worn my Very Heavy Winter Coat. In the car on the way home, I think I counted 10 Chicago cop cars on the road, including one lying in wait near Pete and Sac. I've never seen a speed trap there despite having driven by that intersection at least 100 times.

Lincoln Avenue between Peterson Avenue and McCormick Boulevard is like a war zone. Good luck keeping your vehicle in one piece as you navigate the numerous potholes that broke out last week on the already-horrible pavement.

NYE drinking perk: Chicago offers free cta rides, but Las Vegas has a drive you-and-your-car service--free!

O.J. Simpson sentenced Friday

Two interesting points from Richard Abowitz’ blog entry that I thought were worth noting: the first is how closely the Nevada criminal justice system pays attention when a crime includes “gun” and “casino.” The second is how differently the Nevada criminal justice system treats crimes committed in a “tourist corridor,” as Abowitz put it, from the rest of the state. The Palace Station Hotel & Casino isn’t on the Strip. It’s on West Sahara Avenue, a mile away. It is still a tourist hotel with a devoted following. Abowitz used his own personal example of vehicle vandalism near his former apartment, which received no police attention; and vehicle vandalism when he was parked at a casino, which received an immediate response.

http://vegasblog.latimes.com/vegas/2008/12/o-j-simpson-how.html

Oscar de la Hoya pounded at MGM Grand Saturday night

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3751751&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=3751226


I saw the final two rounds, the seventh and eighth, which were unusually brutal. But from the two articles I linked above, it sounds like poor Oscar, age 35, was never in the fight to begin with. This prompts the question: what the hell was he doing in the ring? He is a multimillionaire. He has a family and a successful promoting company, Golden Boy Productions. Does he need to risk his health, his reputation, his record, and his good looks for more fame and fortune?

No, he doesn’t. But imagine, if you will, how then-Sen. Barack Obama felt when he walked to the podium at Invesco Field in Denver Aug. 28 to the cheers of 80,000 people. Imagine how he felt as he walked to the podium in Grant Park Nov. 4 to the cheers of more than a million people. Imagine how Oscar felt when he walked or jogged to the ring in the Grand Garden Arena to the cheers of 15,000 people. Intoxicating, I’m sure. Better than….? I don’t know. But I’m sure it makes the prospect of retirement all the more difficult.

Congratulations to Manny Pacquaio, the new best pound-for-pound fighter in the world! I look forward to watching him beat Briton Ricky Hatton in April or May, in Las Vegas, I hope.

O.J. Simpson

Simpson’s sentencing hearing is today, Dec. 5, in Las Vegas. I think the judge is going to give him at least 10 years. I read this morning that the minimum sentence for this crime in Nevada is six years.
For those of us who remember the media circus surrounding the USC and Buffalo Bills’ former football star’s murder trial in Los Angeles that ran from July, 1994 through September, 1995, this is an unbelievably stunning development and final chapter. The jury in that trial delivered its “not guilty” verdicts Oct. 3, 1995, which was Erev Yom Kippur. If the verdicts had been delayed another day, they would have been delivered Oct. 5 because two of Simpson’s attorneys, in addition to the family of one of the murder victims, would not have been able to attend court on Yom Kippur. My entire workplace gathered in the conference room to watch the live broadcast of the jury’s decision.
Thirteen years later, to the day, a jury in Las Vegas convicted Simpson of armed robbery at a Palace Station hotel room. Simpson’s fate rests with the judge, who delivers her sentence today.
I don’t believe there’s any question of Simpson’s guilt in either case. He probably deserved life in prison for the 1994 double murder, and the thinking here (me) is he will leave Las Vegas an old man by the time he serves his sentence there. Justice works in mysterious ways. To the Brown and Goldman families, it comes 13 years late. Nevertheless, he deserves to be behind bars.

Heat up winter nights at Mandalay Bay

The tag line made me laugh: “It’s not too late to get on the naughty list.”
https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?host=promo&pid=MBH&code=PWINT08

High-roller suites in Las Vegas

I'll probably never stay in one of these, but it sure is fun to gawk:

http://travel.msn.com//Guides/MSNTravelSlideShow.aspx?cp-documentid=548237&imageindex=1

Didn't even mention the Real World suite at the Palms!