LVH: The FORMER Las Vegas Hilton

So this isn't anything new, but most, including myself, still refer to the LVH - Las Vegas Hotel - as the Las Vegas Hilton. I guess it's just easier because I know everyone knows what I'm talking about. In an effort to rebrand without changing its initials - I guess it works. Whether people say the right name or not, perhaps it doesn't matter. What I do know is that they have decided to continue the Locals Home Town Hot Spot specials which comes in handy if you are near the Strip and need some discounts.

It's, of course, free. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't even mention it. Sign up for the "new" player's card with the LVH name on it. When it was the Hilton, they would stick a Home Town Hot Spot sticker on your player's card. Even now, the website says that they have a sticker but in my most recent experiences, there was no sticker and you simply whipped out your card with your local ID and it was good.

What are the perks?

1. You receive 25% off room rates. NOW - be careful. I've booked both ways before. To book with the discount, you must call the hotel and they will transfer you to Casino Marketing to complete a reservation. Casino Marketing is open during certain hours as well. I will warn you though that many times, I've gotten a better rate simply booking on the LVH site booking calendar. When you ask Casino Marketing why that is, they say that 25% comes off of a non-special price and that sometimes even with the discount that you will still get a higher price through them. So make sure you check both places before booking. A discount doesn't always mean cheaper.

2. 25% off LVH restaurants including Benihana. The other restaurants, including the Sports Book Deli - it's all good. 25% off straight up. As with most discounts, you can't use it in conjunction with specials such as Happy Hours. For the buffet, the discount is applicable Sunday-Thursday - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. It is also valid for Sunday Brunch.

3. 20% off select Spa services. I have never used their Spa so I can't say specifically which services are eligible for the discount.

4. A discount off of LVH retail stores. The percentage off depends on your card level. It ranges from 5-15% off.

Ferraro's for Locals = 50% Off

Ferraro's sits across the street from the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel on Paradise and Harmon. While I have never dined at this restaurant personally, looking it up on Yelp, it has received very good reviews. While Ferraro's has $9.95 Lunch specials and two Happy Hours each day for additional discounts on food, their regular menu should be classified as Fine Dining with its prices. This is why the advertised locals discount is pretty substantial.

Individuals with a Nevada ID receive 50% off of their food. The promotion goes through September 30th. The dinner menu is offered daily from 4pm-11pm in the dining room and 11pm-2am in the lounge or patio.

Go here to check out what's on their menus.

Anyone who has gone to Ferraro's, drop me a note here on your experience!

New Summerlin Pkwy Ramp Opens

Over the past few months I've watched this awesome structure go up piece by piece as I travel from the Northwest part of the Las Vegas valley and into, what I call, "town". I didn't exactly bother to read up on what the monstrous ramp/bridge structure was for, I just kept myself guessing the entire time. I knew that it connected the US-95 Freeway to Summerlin Parkway, but was it for Northbound exiting to Summerlin or for Summerlin exiting Southbound US-95?

As you know, when something good comes along, privileges first get taken away and then you reap the rewards. For months during construction, drivers were constantly getting shifted around from one lane to another and finally it was always a merge from four lanes down to one. Then, when you were traveling Northbound late night, you would have heavy duty bright bright bright lights right in your face as you attempt to merge and navigate like real life Mario Kart.

Well, I'm happy to say now that it's over with...at least for the Summerlin Flyover as they call it. You see, an HOV lane was made to help reward carpoolers during peak hours but the problem was, when you had to exit Summerlin Parkway, it was a mad dash to cut right across multiple lanes to make the exit. AND - if there was bumper to bumper stalled traffic, you needed a succession of good samaritans to let you by which may require a few prayers. Everyone else isn't too happy that you were able to fly along in the HOV lane anyways, let alone be extra accommodating when you needed to get ALL THE WAY over to exit Summerlin Parkway.

So, the Nevada DOT thought, let's build a flyover bridge! This is what the whole chaos of construction has been about. It's finally done and it looks pretty darn cool. I haven't driven on it myself yet but I look forward to trying it out. Now, while traveling on the left HOV lane, you have a left handed exit onto Summerlin Parkway.

The rules of use are as follows: Monday-Friday, 6am to 10am and 2pm to 7pm - you must be carpooling. For those single travelers out there, give it a go any other time!

Cosmopolitan Gives Locals Freebies

I've talked about the perks of being local before and the major reason why I pretty much have a Players Card from every Vegas gaming establishment. It's for perks and why not get them if they are free? Yes, the casinos want to play Big Brother and track your every move, but hey, for a reasonable trade off, I guess it's OK.

The latest email that I got from the Cosmopolitan Casino players club called Identity is about a free Zappos.com gift card. Now, I've gotten another email like this before and I simply missed the deadline to claim my gift card. Well, opportunity knocks again and I just got another email this past week about receiving, at the very minimum, a $15 Zappos.com gift card just for showing up on property. Even if you have zero players points, you still get the $15. Now, as Cosmo would have it, you have already amassed a lot of points and continue to, well, for that, Cosmo is rewarding you with a higher valued Zappos.com gift card. Fair enough.

What makes being a local Las Vegan convenient is that when these perks come up to lure us into the casinos, we can do it relatively easily. Sometimes, believe it or not, the casinos do take a risk and offer incentives that at the most basic level will give you something even if you don't play. Hey, if they got you to enter the building, they figure that they have some opportunity to get something out of you. From there on, it's up to you and how you want to control yourself.

Get to Know the Back Roads

As of lately, holy smokes, massive freeway construction that sometimes gets you stuck during the worst times. You need to get somewhere in a timely normal manner and you see signs and cones up ahead that are funneling three lanes into one! What do you do? There's just one word: EXIT!

But wait! Do you know where you're going??? If you exit the freeway can you effectively weave your way through the city and across town to your destination? Well, start to get familiar with alternate routes in Vegas. Sometimes you may have time to ride the break and to stick it out on the freeways at turtle pace but sometimes you just can't take the risk.

It's not only knowing one alternative route, sometimes you run into other uber-smart locals who have also decided on the alt route. Now what do you do? Plan C! Know a second alternative route. This becomes extra handy in the long run.

Traffic in itself, even without construction, has gotten pretty crazy over the last few years. In a city that also never sleeps, certain parts of the day are when many shifts let out and it causes some clogging of the highways. Yes, I can say that the freeway on ramp meters have helped but when it comes to lane sways and mergers, it hasn't cured that.

Sometimes getting lost is the best way to discover. Go on an adventure and experiment. Get off the freeway and see if you can find your way to your destination. Experience in this is key because it may one day save you a lot of grief.

StayCation in Vegas

While everyone else in the world has to drive or fly for hours to get to the fab Las Vegas, we, as locals, have a distinct advantage. We're right here! Now, I know there are many valley residents who avoid the Strip like the plague, but for me, I enjoy the freedom and the options of having great overnight stay in town and being a part of the group of tourists.

Just because I have practically every players card offered doesn't mean that I'm pouring bucks into gaming machines or tables, it means that I've decided to stay in close touch with the casinos to see what the next hot promo is. Opt-in? Absolutely! Why?! Well, I am totally responsible for recommending Rio's $21/night special to many of my friends and yes, they booked! When I verbally told them about it, they went on Rio's reservations booking system and couldn't find it. They only way we knew how to get there for that awesome rate was to go through the email they sent me. I forwarded the email to my friends and the link led them to a $23/night total for the room.

I did it. I had a StayCation and it was relaxing. I had dinner and didn't have to drive home, I walked to the elevators and it took me to my room. When you're a business owner, it's hard to get away. Being a local in Vegas has infinite perks. Use them!

It's in the Air

We are in the desert. We are in a valley. The valley has an abundance of construction. Construction kicks up dust and dirt and particulate matter into the air. The valley holds this dust. This is the reason that I like to run at off beat times, preferably before the day of construction starts but that doesn't always work out with my schedule.

I originally come from a city with some of the cleanest and freshest air - Seattle. Ahhh....just breathe it all in. I arrived in Las Vegas over a decade ago and invariably, like many of my friends, I have developed what's called "exercise induced asthma". It's like it sounds. When I exercise, I feel asthmatic. When I am not exercising and just going about my day, I am A-OK.

It's nothing to cry over, it's like, it's workable. It doesn't get you right away, it almost takes years to creep up on you and one day you wonder why a simple one mile easy jog makes your lungs feel like they are constricted. Thanks to my trusty breather - two puffs a half hour before my outdoor runs - I am so good to go! Three miles, four miles, five miles, bring it on! It's like my lungs are saying "ahhhhhh". Breathe in. Breathe out.

So I'm writing this as a fair warning and to not be surprised if over time you start to feel a little bit strange when running, as if your body is betraying you like never before. It's probably exercise induced asthma. It's alright and there's a simple solution.