A library with dark, wood-paneled walls and a bookcase filled with leather-bound books sits adjacent to a regal living room at Caesars Palace’s Octavius Tower. You’d almost forget you were in Las Vegas if not for the tanning pool patrons outside the window. 
The antique-looking books in the library are seldom used, but they add to the villa’s residential illusion. So does the formal dining room that seats 12 and the media room with movie theater-style seating.
The centerpiece of each villa is the patio overlooking the pool area. The villas opened last fall, but the new Garden of the Gods pool just began to welcome summer visitors.
The three massive villas are the newest suites at Caesars Palace. With nearly 10,000 square feet of space, they’re some of the most opulent and largest suites on the Las Vegas Strip. The villas are on the second floor of Caesars’ unfinished Octavius Tower and are part of the resort’s long line of over-the-top suites.
From the private elevator to the 24-hour butler service, everything about the Octavius villas feels exclusive, including the price tag. The cost for a night is $40,000. The price isn’t recession-friendly, but their patrons aren’t exactly struggling in today’s economy.
The Octavius villas feel more like miniature mansions than hotel suites. Caesars spent about $15 million on each villa – a total of $45 million – to accomplish that goal. The villas are a collection of eclectic furnishings and faux artifacts, giving the feel of a collector’s well-kept home.
Wilson & Associates designed each suite with an individual identity — an opulent Grecian palace, an Old World Spanish home and a Parisian luxury apartment.
The design firm is responsible for other suites at Caesars, as well as the fantasy suites at the Palms and the rooms and lobby at The Venetian.
At 9,930 square feet, the Greek-style villa, which Caesars Palace dubs “Constantine,” is the largest of the three. The four-bedroom villa is far from subtle, but it’s subtly Greek with its fake marble columns and terracotta painted vases.
After stepping off the private elevator into the marble foyer of the Greek villa, guests will find a formal sitting room, a grand Steinway piano and working fireplace. On the other side of the hall are rooms with a pool table, a restaurant-sized bar and a theater.
Down a long hallway there are four bedrooms, each the size of a large hotel room, with walk-in closets and their own bathrooms. With custom marble and mosaics, no two bathrooms in the three villas have the same stonework.
Inside the Greek villa, the master suite’s bathroom is almost as large as the bedroom itself. The bathroom is covered in green and beige marble and features his and her toilets, sinks and vanities. It also has a steam shower, towel-warming racks and flat-screen TVs, among other amenities. A marble-topped tub with gold-plated fixtures is the centerpiece of the lavish master bath.
As trivial as they seem, the toilets are often the talk of the suites. They’re controlled by remotes, function as bidets, have heated seats and the lid opens as guests approach. There’s never a reason to touch the toilet seat.
The villas are filled with quirks galore: mirrors that turn into TVs, pianos that play themselves and chairs that massage to the beat of an iPod’s song. A networked system allows the butler to control every device in the villa.
Though the three villas have different design schemes, they have similar amenities. The French villa is light and airy. The Spanish villa is designed with distressed wood throughout the main rooms.
Off each living room is the patio that overlooks the pools. Each patio includes a fire pit, dining table and a private Jacuzzi.
The view of Flamingo Road is less impressive. Those views are reserved for penthouses and other suites higher than the pool level. The resort’s two 10,000-square-foot penthouses in the Forum Tower are still the largest suites at the resort. Caesars Palace now has 11 villas, 11 penthouses and about 200 suites.
As part of a $125-million renovation, the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is undergoing a complete rebranding campaign, starting with a logo change announced on August 6. The company is working to build buzz about the brand and spread the message of the rebrand to influencers, tourists, and feeder markets in Southern California, Arizona, Texas, and New York.
four boys were still in high school in Sydney, has now turned into a top chart-smashing Motown group that is wowing sold-out crowds at the Imperial Palace with feel-good music. Long in talent, they also have the distinction of having the longest show name in Las Vegas: “Smokey Robinson Presents Australia’s Human Nature – the Ultimate Celebration of Motown.” 
the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens which has unveiled its summer tribute featuring sunflowers, a lemonade stand, a 42-foot-high Ferris wheel and an aviary completed with exotic birds.
Las Vegas is not going back to their heyday of charging $500 per night room rates. With ever increasing competition and the growing room inventory, those days are probably gone forever. 
show has recently converted its format and is largely topless.
the second season of America’s Got Talent, Fator has stopped wondering whether he’s in the right profession. 
you what those bull dozers and earth excavators were doing – it wasn’t a proper rock quarry or even a real sand pit – but we would race around the bend, following those machines around that acre-wide hole in the ground, super impressed with the big loads, loud noise and heavy hauling. Those drivers were our rock stars. 
Abdul and Meaghan Martin. And now she has created a weeks worth of looks for Georgina Vaughan including a fashion forward evening gown that is expected to help set the Las Vegas local apart from the other 50 Miss USA contestants. 
2011 completion, will provide the home for 80 to 110 helipads. 
as they co-headline a nationwide Rock ‘N Roll Double-Header Tour. Teaming up for the first time, two of the most popular rock acts to ever take the stage are slated to perform at 26 minor league baseball stadiums around the country, starting on June 1 when they travel to Portland, Oregon, home of the Beavers.
Summerlin to the festivities. The local 20-year-old blonde beauty plans to wear a bikini from Jessica Simpson’s swimsuit line for that part of the competition and promises that she’s also going to take a risk with her evening gown competition as well.
Thompson, has just signed a two-year deal through 2010 to do 36 shows a year in the newly refurbished The Joint, which opens on April 17. Their Supernatural tour starts on May 27 and continues through June 14; they’re scheduled to return in September. 
celebrities in Las Vegas on March 26. 
New Orleans. Now 26 and known as Lil Wayne, he’s preparing to perform the major hits from his 13 year career at the Pearl Theatre at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. 
sportsbooks. However this winter’s celebration of the professional athlete is finding a fierce challenger in the March playoff celebration of collegiate basketball. 
Conservation System bill has plenty to do with protecting our collective natural heritage for future generations to experience. 
Performing Arts could break ground in as little as two months, thanks to the City of Las Vegas for being in the midst of finalizing a financing package that supports the construction and takes into account the impact of the economic downturn. 
Italy, and Japan. The latest transformation lasts until mid-May. Dominating the setting: daffodils, jonquils, butterflies, an armillary sphere once used by French astronomers to chart the night sky, a villa re-creation with travertine terrace and ancient stone sculpture and a Japanese Zen display. The good news: It’s all FREE.
controversial, people recently commented in Newsweek on the possibility of Las Vegas reinventing itself amid the intense current economic pressures: 
Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. The announcement coincided with word that U2 had scored its seventh No. 1 album on the U.S. pop album chart. 
Las Vegas feels less is best. While the singer was recently fitting her costumes she felt they weren’t suggestive enough and began immediately taking parts of her costumes off and hiking up the hemlines to make them ultra skimpier. 
magazine voted Sin City the top place honor for having the best pubs to get sloshed…er, sorry, no it was officially for having the “largest-volume of independent nightclubs, bars, and lounges in the United States,” reeling in almost 25 percent of the Top 100 spots. 
proceeds going to Positively Kids. Positively Kids offers services and programs to assist medically fragile children in the Las Vegas valley and is the charity benefiting from this year Sons of Erin St. Patrick Day celebration.
would spend hours checking out the exhibits and reviewing the video timelines before embarking on a time-traveling shuttle ride. But with declining attendance and increasing costs, the decision was made by the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company to decommission the Experience on September 1, 2008. 
Rock Hotel and Casino on Saturday, March 7th and she is inviting 50 of her closest Hollywood friends. The social maven is always controversial. Earlier in February she received THREE losing awards at the Razzies, a spoof on the Oscars. However, Parlux Fragrances just named Hilton as their celebrity of the year, where she will be honored on May 27 in New York.
Detective” on Sunday at Noon (line forms at 10 a.m.) at the Springs Preserve at 333 S. Valley View Blvd. in Las Vegas. 
It’s been three decades since the legendary jazzman Louis Prima passed on, but his music still lives on through his daughter, Lena. 
Lena Prima, 45, will be performing a tribute concert to her late father at the Cannery in Las Vegas at 8 p.m. this Friday and Saturday. 
annual Las Vegas event during the Final Night Banquet and Award Ceremony on April 2 at Bally’s and Paris in Las Vegas. 
Las Vegas.
landscape with a variety of rock formations including natural arches. But for real special treat on March 27 through 29 The World Atlatl Association is having a atlatl contest there where you can watch serious competitors and amateurs try their hand and muscle with the ancient weapon- a simple stick cleverly designed to hurl a spear with great force – from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the Atlatl Rock Picnic Area in the Valley of Fire. 
the first Elton John Red Piano performance at Caesars Palace on February 14, 2004, it became clear that this wasn’t going to be just a normal Vegas revue gig. And it wasn’t the David LaChappelle photography, the inflatable banana’s and cherries or the actual red piano center piece that made his Las Vegas performances stand out. It was the music, performed by Sir Elton John and his band that routinely drew his fans to his sold out show. 
“Chippendales: The Show” will be “Men of X” which opens at Hooters on March 13. The six-man revue is produced by Angela and Matt Stabile, who also operate “X Burlesque” at the Flamingo. The revue replaces comedian Bobby Slayton.
Gallery
Tomorrow, February 21, the third longest-running show in Las Vegas, behind only “Follies Bergere” (closing this March) and “Jubilee!” gives its last performance in its longtime home at the Imperial Palace on The Strip. It reopens on Monday, February 23 at Harrah’s Las Vegas, sharing the main showroom with comedian Rita Rudner (prior Las Vegas Backstage Access blog article).
The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas recently topped off its 15-story, 374-room hotel tower, part of their $750 million expansion project. The tower is expected to open this December and feature eight spa villas on the main level with direct access via walkway to the Hard Rock Hotel’s Beach Club swimming pool. The tower will also boast seven penthouses, each with a different theme.
Nureyev and producing classic works such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. Now, two of the country’s most famous companies, the Bolshoi and Kirov, are touring the United States and are coming to the UNLV Performing Arts Center, Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall, on Wednesday, February 11, at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $45 to $90. Info: 702-895-2787
Vegas Backstage Access (VBA) 