It was just a few years ago that poker rooms were closing at casinos across the city. MGM Grand, the Venetian, and Harrah's all closed theirs around 2000, citing a lack of interest in the game and a need to use the space for other, more lucrative gaming endeavors (read: more slots).

Now, with poker tournaments on just about every cable television channel, from ESPN to Bravo, the poker rooms are making a comeback, including a return to Harrah's. The hotel recently opened a new poker room featuring 10 tables offering seven card stud, Omaha and, of course, Texas hold 'em, all with various limits to appeal to all levels of gamblers.

This follows the addition of a poker room at the Golden Nugget in downtown Vegas. Don't be surprised if you see the trend continue at other casinos across the city.

For the record, the Strip casinos with poker rooms are Bellagio, Circus-Circus, Excalibur, Flamingo, Harrah's, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Mirage, Monte Carlo, Palms, Sahara and the Stardust. Several off-Strip and downtown hotels also have them.

The Las Vegas Monorail seems to be a big hit with the public.

An estimated 30,000 people rode the rails of the new system on its opening day, July 15, lower than the 40,000 people per day the system needs to break even financially and the 50,000 predicted by the company.

To be fair, they say that will be the number when it hits its peak later on.

Still, 30,000 people is a lot and the monorail has been operating well, with no major problems or glitches in its first week.

The only issues seem to be surrounding how to actually use the fully automated system. It's actually pretty easy. At each station, you'll find machines where you select the type of passage you want -- one-way, round-trip, or multi-trip -- put in your money, and it spits out a ticket.

That ticket is then inserted in the machine at the turnstile, which reads it and spits it back out for use again if you've purchased a round-trip or multi-ride package. Once your trips have been used up, the ticket is stamped "void." The turnstile opens and you follow directions to the appropriate platform -- northbound or southbound.

The trains run less than 10 minutes apart, so your wait time at the station should be short. The system is totally automated -- including driverless trains -- so once it arrives you just get on, sit down and watch the scenery until you get to your destination.

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Reaction has been decidedly less than positive to the announcement of the $9.4 billion buyout of Caesars Entertainment by Harrah's. Just about every analyst I've read has doubts about the deal, wondering if Harrah's will get enough out of it to make up for all the things it may have to give up or take on.

Pros for Harrah's are an increased presence on the Strip (going from one hotel to five) and a huge new pool of customers to market to, while cons seem to be mostly in the staggering multibillion-dollar debt load and regulatory hurdles the company will have to clear before it can make the deal official.

The whole thing has also set off a new wave of "what next?" type of rumors. There isn't one single hotel that hasn't been mentioned as a possible target for purchase, and just about every major player has been mentioned as a possible buyer of those targets. My prediction is this big game of Monopoly ("I'll trade you all my yellows for your greens!") will bring about many major changes in the next few months that will dramatically alter the Strip skyline by the end of 2005 (that means implosions).

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Do you want one of the condominiums in the upcoming Luna di Lusso complex on the shores of Lake Las Vegas? Too bad -- they have all been sold ... in one day!

The studios, 1- and 2-bedroom condos -- ranging in price from $300,000 to $1 million -- went up for sale last week and all 85 of them were sold by the end of the day. Adding to the "Wow" factor is the fact the complex hasn't even been built yet.

That's right, people spent $1 million on a theoretical condo hovering somewhere in the ether above a big chunk of dirt. Granted, it's a nice piece of dirt at the end of the Ritz-Carlton Pontevecchio Bridge, right on the banks of scenic Lake Las Vegas.

The Luna di Lusso complex will be built by Intrawest (the same company responsible for the MonteLago Village shopping, entertainment and condo complex on the other side of the lake) and should be ready for the new owners to move in starting late 2005.

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Apparently I need glasses. I've been talking a lot about the revamped Fremont Street Experience and its fantastic new, crystal-clear overhead light-and-sound show dubbed "Vegas Vision."

Problem is, that's not the actual name of the thing. The real name is "Viva Vision."

Whatever you want to call it, it's definitely worth your time and energy to go see it on your next trip to Viva-- I mean Vegas. The upgrade in quality is stunning and the shows are an entertaining (and completely free) diversion. You can watch some clips of the show online by visiting the Fremont Street Experience page on Vegas4Visitors.com

Or is it Viva4Visitors.com ...

The Full Story

More Casinos Ante Up With Poker Rooms
Why Was Ronstadt Kicked Off Stage?
Vegas Q&A: Should I Book Now For New Year's?

In Next Week's Column

Next week: The latest from Las Vegas.

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