Video from 12/22/08 as Steve and Elaine Wynn declare Encore open to the public and allow betting to begin.

**THIS TICKTOCK GUIDE IS AVAILABLE AS A WORD DOC AT THESTRIPPODCAST.COM ALONG WITH A MAP OF THE PROPERTY TO FOLLOW ALONG. THIS TEXT IS ALSO IN THE LYRICS TAB FOR ITUNES USERS.**

 

Below is a tick-tock of Steve Wynn’s tour on Nov. 16 of Encore Las Vegas. Times are close to exact but may be slightly approximate. Some audio has been removed for irrelevancy or to save time. Find the map of Encore at TheStripPodcast.Com or VegasHappensHere.Com. If you appreciate our content, we urge you to click on the donate button at VegasHappensHere.Com or TheStripPodcast.Com. You can also just go to Paypal and send a donation to [email protected]. Any amount is appreciated. 0:00: Intro to this audio and beginning of Encore tour. Tour starts in front of the Wynn and Encore theaters past the box office. We turn south towards the first leg of the shopping hall for Wynn. Within 10 feet, he points left and discusses plans for TASTE OF WYNN store to open in January, replacing the original Le Reve store. Proceed down the hall. 5:20: Wynn bemoans a ladder outside In Step, a shoe store. 5:40: We’re in the new building, Steve. Discussion follows of the new Chanel, and we stand outside Chanel and XS looking down the hall. 6:50: As Wynn explains the colored-glass pinapple-shaped chandeliers at 5:07, he discussed chief designer Roger Thomas’ role and job. 8:20: Wynn explains why he believes most pedestrians will enter Encore via the Wynn, not from the north. A discussion of the Rolex shop follows. 10:55: We enter the nightclub XS, designed by Victor Drai and Roger Thomas, and stand at the top of steps, descending onto the dance floor and explains the process of creating the statues of naked women around XS. 11:50: We exit the XS doors along the dance floor to the topless pool. Wynn describes the pool, XS and nearby Botero steakhouse as part of an outdoor nightlife complex. (Wynn says we’ll walk through Botero later, but we never get around to that.) 14:40: Wynn walks me around to the other side of the bar at the center of the topless pool to show the gaming tables.  More explanation of the design concept. Mentions Fix at Bellagio for party-nightclub-restaurant feel, Palms Place-Kerry Simon-pool as reference points. 16:50: Wynn explains how profitable the pool retail is at Wynn, acknowledges that non-guests must be allowed to play at the pool at Encore and Wynn under Nevada gaming rules. Also quickly dismisses the idea of mobile gaming devices. “It’s not interesting to me.�     19:55: As we walk towards the main Encore pool, Wynn explains thoughts behind strollers in casinos and points to the two-story meeting hall building at the north end of the pool. We be inside that area later. “The one upstairs� he refers to is the Beethoven Meeting Room. Wynn also points to the stage that is roughly below the Beethoven Room windows. He also discusses the use of fake grass and its cost. 22:20: We leave pool area via a north door and proceed north out the front door of  the north porte-cochere. Wynn explains planting lots of trees along Desert Inn Road to block the view to the north of the Gold Key shops and other crap. Wynn explained where the trees comes from and discusses demolition of the Frontier Hotel sign. Wynn discusses the intriguing décor of the taxi tunnel.  Wynn also reveals that there’s a Desert Inn Superarterial access, left over from the old DI resort. 24:50: We walk back south and are facing the main entrance of Encore with a glass wall that looks out at the pool we had been walking around

This week, on the Strip: We never know quite what to do when Steve emerges from his office after an interview and says, ‘Well, that sucked.’ Usually, he’s wrong. And tonight, we’re going to find out. This fall, Steve chatted with Cheech Marin and Brian Wilson and, each time, he was initially dissatisfied with the outcome. But in reviewing them later, he decided, “why should I be the only one to suffer?� JUST KIDDING. He decided the conversations were Strip-worthy after all, perhaps because of their weirdness. So, tonight, we let ‘em rip. In Banter: Viva McDonalds is a McDonalds, Copperfield's still great, the gingerbread house display is pretty cool, R is for what?!?! and Wynn's doing it Sinatra's way. Web: TheStripPodcast.Com Email: [email protected] Voicemail: 206-424-4737 Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com

We know you’re sick of politics this time of year, but we’re serving it up this week with a distinctive female touch. First, a very rare interview with the first lady of Las Vegas, Elaine Wynn, as she explains her journey from lifelong Republican to Obamatic, much to the dismay of her industry and her husband. You might’ve heard of him. Then, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley returns to the program to explain what’s happening with that Internet gambling ban, but what Steve secretly really wanted to know is, has she had any more plastic surgery?

In Banter: Criss Angel's follies, is Mel B a superstar, Bye, Danny Gans' billboard, Steve's on (yikes!) Facebook,  and no, McCarran Airport is actually NOT the busiest in America on Thanksgiving.

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Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, the former street performer who redefined the human circus into a worldwide entertainment phenomenon, just helped open the company’s sixth show on the Las Vegas Strip, Criss Angel Believe. He gave Steve 10 minutes the day of the show’s opening which, of course, meant Steve took 15. In this conversation, Laliberte defends the show and his alliance with the controversial Mindfreak illusionist, discusses the recent purchase of a large chunk of his company by Dubai and tells why there won’t be a Cirque show at Mandalay Bay … YET. Just a note, this interview was conducted outside so Laliberte could smoke, so there is some background noise.

In banter: Terry Lanni goes bye-bye, LVS lays off 11,000, MGM Mirage's CityCenter condo sales suck, Vegas may be shrinking, Wynn joins the S&P 500, Bob Maheu's awesome house and Jubilee! goes, uh, topful.

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Comic Wanda Sykes comes out as gay at at the Las Vegas gay marriage rally on Nov. 14, 2008. Steve conducted a brief interview with her after her public comments. Steve covered the rally for The New York Times. Also on this file is a brief chat with an 18-year-old UNLV student on his reaction to the vote in California on Nov. 4 to re-ban gay marriage. Site: TheStripPodcast.Com Email: [email protected] Blog: VegasHappensHere.Com Phone: 206-424-4737

Comic Wanda Sykes comes out as gay at at the Las Vegas gay marriage rally on Nov. 14, 2008. Steve conducted a brief interview with her after her public comments. Steve covered the rally for The New York Times. Also on this file is a brief chat with an 18-year-old UNLV student on his reaction to the vote in California on Nov. 4 to re-ban gay marriage.

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Pete Rose bitch slapped him. Criss Angel threatened to blind him. And countless celebrities and notables alternately love and loathe him. Norm Clarke, this city’s premier gossip columnist, joins us in the studio this hour to talk about his adventures in the ever-fascinating world of Las Vegas fame and to discuss his new book, “Sinsational Celebrity Tales.� In the process, we learn more about Norm's famous eye patch, about his infamous DUI arrest and about what kinds of stories he doesn't touch.

Plus: Criss Angel's suckage, poker's big night, Aliante opens, Adelson's fortunes keep sinking and Stomp is being replaced.

Also, thanks to Amy from GritstoGlitz.com for filling in while Miles was ailing.

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If you thought Tony Curtis’ remarks on last week’s show were something, just wait till you hear the rest of it. The actor, out with a sex-soaked memoir of his career and life, offers some tough words this hour for a long list of Hollywood figures including Jerry Lewis, Angela Lansbury, Danny Kaye, Neil Simon and more. Then, later, he discusses his own mental health issues, his views of old and new Vegas and tries to explain why he’s so disappointed by his film career. In Banter: Is Criss No. 1, Paris is for shopping and what really ails Las Vegas Sands? Web: TheStripPodcast.com Phone: 206-424-4737 Email: [email protected] Twitter.com/TheStripPodcast Blog: VegasHappensHere.com

Fifty years ago, there were few Hollywood heartthrobs hotter than Tony Curtis. This month, the star of “Some Like It Hot� and “The Defiant Ones� published a memoir of those glory days in which he recounts in great detail his almost compulsive sex life, his troubled childhood, his celebrity feuds and his triumph over a late-career cocaine addiction. As gripping as the book was, the interview about the book was even better, more detailed, more telling. This week and next, you’ll hear Steve’s lengthy and revelatory conversation with Curtis, who now lives in Henderson.

In banter: Harrah's woes, smoke-free casinos and why didn't the Bellagio have a 10th birthday party.

 

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