Cosmopolitan Las Vegas - Revisited

COSMOPOLITAN PHOTO-GUIDE / DECEMBER 13, 2010


Blog Correction: Last week I incorrectly labeled the Cosmopolitan Hotel as being The Harmon and vice versa. I did that on four photos. It wasn't a simple typo. It was a TOTAL error on my part. For over a year now I incorrectly thought that the hotel named The Cosmopolitan was just one building (hence the singular name) and that is was the building with the Elvis sign on its front. The oval looking structure.

A day after I mis-labeled the Harmon Hotel as being the Cosmopolitan I noticed that three other blogs had stories showing the actual Cosmopolitan. I took a look and realized my stupid mistake of mis-labeling the photos and also checked Wikipedia to verify for accuracy.

It seems that the two towers are referred to as simply being called 'Cosmopolitan'. Well, as strange as that name sounds to me, that's the name it has and I stand (and sit) corrected. I don't want to be known as the guy who incorrectly labels billion dollar hotels with the wrong names! But, with eight new high-rises being added to the new Las Vegas skyline - the odds were pretty high that I'd name something incorrectly.

Anyway. I'm posting these new photos to acknowledge and correct my mistake and the photos are labeled correctly. The two towers that are called 'Cosmopolitan' can be seen in the photo above and the photos below. They are the rectangular looking buildings. I'm 96% sure.

This is the back tower of Cosmopolitan. It's right next to The Bellagio (or just call it 'Bellagio' if you prefer pro-nounish names). I'm now a bit hesitant to even label the place quite actually. Don't worry though - you don't need a degree in English to find the place or have a good time there.

This is the Bellagio fountain (these are the Bellagio fountains?). Cosmopolitan is seen in the background as the two, big, tall, squarish looking buildings.

Cosmopolitan is seen on the right, just behind the sign for the O Show. Harmon Hotel is in the picture as well (sort of on the right and sort of light-bluer than the Cosmop).

The edge of The Ballys, Aria, Cosmopolitan 1, Cosmopolitan 2 and The Vdara or Vdara.

Photo-Guide to Cosmopolitan Hotel

Hugh Hefner Weekend

Last night was Hefner's 84th Birthday Party, held again at the Palms. This post is a look back at the life and times of the publisher and nightclub innovator.

Hugh Hefner and Holly Madison signing copies of Playboy, at the Palms in 2006.

The Playboy Store opened at the Palms in 2006. The Palms Fantasy Tower is now the home for the Playboy Club and Playboy Hotel Suites.

In 2003, the Palms Hotel honored Hefner with a 50th Anniversary Party to commemorate his Playboy Magazines five decades of publication. At that time the road just east of the hotel was officially named Hugh Hefner Drive - and Hef was there to cut the ribbon. An exhibit was held showing Hefner's Playboy memorabilia, including his circular bed.

In 2006 Johnny Brendon (right) and George Maloof (left) honored Hef with a special plaque.

The Girls Next Door, Kendra Wilkenson, Bridgette Marquardt and Holly Madison.

One of the Girls of the Playboy Mansion - Bridgette Marquardt.

Kendra Wilkinson - 2006.

The Girls with Johnny Brenden - owner of the Brenden Theaters, grandson of Ted Mann (owner of the Mann Theater chain and Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood) and grandson of movie actress Rhonda Fleming (known as the Queen of Tecnicolor in the 1950s).

2006 Playboy Playmate of the Year.

The Playboy Bunny Logo is now attached to the eastside of the Palms Fantasy Tower where Hugh Hefner's Playboy Club and Playboy Fantasy Suites are located.

Hugh Hefner Drive is here on the eastside of the Palms property.

Photo of a mural of Hugh Hefner holding the first issue of his 1953 Playboy magazine, with Marilyn Monroe on the cover. This mural was part of the Palms Hotels 2003, 50th anniversary exhibit on Playboy magazine.

A rare piece of Playboy memorabilia. Hugh Hefner's personal address book and his Playboy Club gold key card, with #1 as the serial number.

Apocalypse Now - Playmates in Vietnam

Video from Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 'Apocalypse Now'.

'PLAYBOY'S PENTHOUSE TV PARTY'

ran from 1959 - 1960

and

'PLAYBOY AFTER DARK'

ran from 1968-1970

1. Sharon Tate 1968, 2. Lenny Bruce 1959, 3. Cy Coleman 1959, 4. 'Playboy After Dark Intro' 1968, 5. Al Neiwman 1969, 6. Grateful Dead 1968, 7. Sammy Davis Jr. 1969, 8. James Brown 1969, 9. Byrds 1968, 10. Ike & Tina Turner 1968, . George Carlin 50s & 60s, 12. Lenny Bruce Part 2, 13 Lenny Bruce Part 3.

Video History of Hugh Hefner - Then

1. What's My Line, 2. William Buckley Interview, 3. 1950s Playboy Covers, 4. Playboy Magazine, 5. Bunny Years, 6. Playboy Club, 7. Bunnies, 8. Dean Martin's Celebrity Roast, 9. World of Hefner documentary, 10, Buckley interview part 2, 11. Pink Lady & Jeff, 12. Bunny footage.

HUGH HEFNER - NOW

1. Jimmy Kimmel & Rob Schneider roast, 2. Sarah Silverman roasts, 3. Jeff Ross roasts, 4. Drew Carey roasts, 5. On David Letterman 1998, 6. Playboy Club Grand Opening at the Palms 2006, 7. Hefner's 83rd Birthday Party at the Palms 2009, 8. Hefner and the Girls Next Door on the Today Show, 9. Time Magazine's video interview, 10. Documentary interview, 11. Poolside at the Palms, 12. Paris Hilton sings Happy Birthday.

CITY CENTER - Sunrise

City Center, looking north up the Las Vegas Strip. 6:45 am - April 8, 2010.

Mandarin Oriental, Aria, Veer Towers, Crystals Mall and a Cosmopolitan tower.

Aria, Veer Towers and Cosmoplitan Tower 2.

Veer Tower 1, Crystals, the Harmon Towers, the Cosmopolitan and Bellagio's sign.

Front Strip entrance into Crystals is to the right of Tom Ford's and YSL.

Mandarin Oriental and Veer.

New York NY, CVS pharmacy, Mandarin, City Center driveway entrance and Crystals.

Crystal's Mall, ther Harmon Hotel and Cosmopolitan Towers 1 and 2,

Westward view of the Harmon Intersection and Las Vegas Boulevard, taken from the Harley-Davidson parking garage. Harmon Avenue continues beyond the Strip and leads to Aria, Vdara, the Panorama Towers and Dean Martin Drive, the Rio and all points west. This can be a good road to use to by-pass Strip traffic on busy nights.

Planet Hollywood and Caesars are to the right. NYNY and MGM are to the left.

The Harmon, Vdara and Aria Hotels.

Aria (right) with the leaning Veer Towers (left).

Part of Aria Hotel with Vdara to the right.

Veer Towers, with Aria behind and Mandarin Hotel, to the left.

The City Center Neighborhood

Planet Hollywood's Westgate Tower is across from City Center on Harmon Avenue.

Planet Hollywood and the Paris Hotel are north of City Center, across the street.

This is the mini-mall that's currently across the street from City Center. The Hawaiian Market Place and the Polo Towers are just south of the cars. The Polo Tower has an excellent view of the entire City Center property. I'm not yet sure if photos can be taken from the top of the the Polo Tower, but I hope to soon find out.

The view looking south from the City Center area of the Strip, showing Monte Carlo, NYNY, Excalibur, Mandalay Bay and the MGM Grand's main roadsign on the boulevard.

Complete Photo-Guide to City Center

Two Pages are posted with 8 more to come soon.

Aria's Slot Machines and Sports Book

Aria's casino floor is stocked with 2,000 new and modern slot machines.

The slot area extends from the lobby to the far south wall.

Map of Aria's Casino Floor

Aria's slot machines are part of a new, sbX computerized server system that allows the casino to provide players with better service as well as info on hotel amenities and events. Two new, very popular slot games are out on the casino's floor; 'Sex and the City' and 'American Idol', along with lots of other fun, themed slots as well as the more traditional slot games.

Aria's new sbX machines allow the player to access a variety of information about the casino's amenities simply by tapping the option tabs at the lower right of each slot machine.

Aria also has their 'Spin' high-lounge where you can bet big.

SkyBox To Go

The Skybox-To-Go quick-food stand is located near the south wall.

Aria's Skybox Grill

The Skybox Sports Bar and Grill is a casual coffee shop that's located near the casino floor and just in front of the Race and Sports Book.

Skybox Grill is comfortable, has good service and lots of TV screens.

Menu for Skybox Grill. Larger Menu Photo.

Yelp Reviews for Skybox Grill

Yelp provides true-life, customer opinions on restaurants, hotels and nearly everything you can think of. I consider them to be "the best reviews that money can't buy".

Visitors to Aria can read previous customer opinions and experiences thru the link below. Yelp currently has over 193 reviews on people's visits to Aria. You'll find a wide rage of opinions on a variety of topics that can help you make your stay at Aria work best for you.

Yelp Reviews of the Aria Hotel

Aria's Race and Sports Book

The Race and Sports Book is located on the southside of the casino just 20 yards beyond the Sports Grill. It's has about 10,000 square feet of space and is slightly smaller than most Las Vegas Sportsbooks, but is designed to be more comfortable, interactive and lounge-like than most others you've seen.

The Sportsbook has two 24 hour self-betting kiosks, 10 betting windows, and 85 large screens which receive over 350 live feeds of various worldwide sports events.

Aria's Sportsbook allows wagering on baseball, Indy racing, the rodeo, boxing, tennis, soccer, golf, horse and dog racing, football and basketball.

History of the Las Vegas Sports Book

Las Vegas Jackpots and New Slot Machines

1. Las Vegas Slot Jackpots, 2. Wynn's Megabucks Machine at Encore, 3. Rex sees $8,000 win at Ballys, 4. $50,000 hit on Vegas vacation, 5. Jackpots on the Mirage Dollar machines, 6. Dad wins big at Harrahs, 7. Wizard of Oz Flying Monkey Bonus, 8. Star Trek's Tribble Bonus, 9. Sex and the City jackpot won at Aria, 10. Sex and the City slot machine's World Premiere launch.