Sunday, May 09, 2010

Around town

Spring is progressing nicely here in Las Vegas. Yesterday was a nice sunny 88f (32c), today a little cooler and really windy, but that’s about what we should be having in May. There is still some snow in the high mountains to the west, the ski and snowboard resort at Mt. Charleston closed this week, after the longest ski season in its 45+ year history. Mt. Charleston is only a 45 minute drive from the Strip, and provides a nice high break from the hot valley.

Mt. Charleston peak is almost 12,000 feet above sea level, the ski resort lifts are up at 9,300 feet (2,850 meters) and gets 120 inches (305cm) of snow a year, with 300+ days of sunshine. If you come to Vegas in the wintertime and get tired of all of the casinos and partying you can go up and have some colder fun.


Photo from the Review Journal: closing day at the resort.

Steve Wynn has become a fixture in Las Vegas. He is credited with causing the revival of Vegas, with his rebuilding of the Golden Nugget downtown and construction of the Mirage, Treasure Island and Bellagio resorts on the Strip, all of which he sold off. He now is a major stakeholder in the Wynn, a beautiful golden hotel tower coupled now with the Encore tower. He has quite an extensive (and expensive) art collection that was displayed at his resorts. Behind this resort is the last golf course located at the center of the Strip (several resorts had them, but the land became so expensive it was used for other things) on the site of the old Desert Inn. He has plans for more towers on the golf course, and lives in one of the villas on the course. He recently divorced his wife Elaine(originally married in 1963, divorced and remarried) who reportedly received the largest divorce settlement in the history of the world, though details are sealed in court documents. She does own 18% of the Wynn Corporation, with the resort here, and in Macau and other places.

I found a recent article on Steve in our local paper amusing. It includes a recent quote from him, where he talks about his new girlfriend (the one that caused his recent divorce): “When we were first going out she would make a comment about space, and she’d be dead right, and I’d think ‘Don’t tell me that. On top of everything else, besides having the greatest butt in the world, she also has the designer gene!’. It’s like God made a woman for me. The only thing that stops my world from being perfect is that Elaine is not happy.”

Two items in that quote: B also found amusing that one of the richest men in the world still can talk about his new girlfriend’s butt, and that his wife will not talk to the woman that caused their divorce. Imagine that.

5 comments:

SOL's view said...

*sigh* I find older men gushing about girlfriends like they were teenagers so .... shabby, tawdry and tacky.

Or is that just me?

Snow! Isn't that such a stark contrast to the desert? :)

The Blonde Duck said...

I wouldn't talk to her either!

About the pie shop: we did ask them what had changed, and it turned out it was the ownership.

Rob said...

Why would money make a nice butt less interesting?

And yes, desert, snow - where were Nevadans when God gave out averages?

JoeinVegas said...

We kind of fit the averages. Someone has to be at the extremes to make the middle look dull.
We lived in San Diego for fifteen years, there the average was probably the same as here, but varied by only three or four degrees rather than our big swings.

Juka Ribeiro said...

I'm looking forward in visiting Vegas, hope, I could also have fun in the place and take a look of the Mt. Charleston peak. Thanks for posting and More power.

fun weekend getaways