World Poker Tour starts its season

The World Poker Tour started its sixth season on a new network. The first of 23 two-hour episodes aired March 24 on GSN. The series had previously run only on the Travel Channel. Also, NBC will air the fourth Heads-Up Poker Championship in April.

Seafood buffet back: The Rio's Village Seafood Buffet has reopened after a lengthy closing for remodeling. Las Vegas' most elaborate seafood buffet features oysters, clams, shrimp, scallops, crab legs and lobster, as well as one of the city's premier dessert assortments. It costs $38 per person.

Big spending: In the midst of lots of negative news on projects in progress, it has been announced that Encore, the $2.1 billion 2,034-suite sister casino to Wynn Las Vegas, will open in December, a few months earlier than the previously announced winter 2009 debut. Encore will feature five restaurants, seven bars and lounges, a nightclub, a retail promenade with 11 stores, a spa and a small events center.

The rooms will range between 700 and 6,000 square feet. Encore is the first Las Vegas resort with a price tag of more than $1 million per room.

Madness: The annual March Madness frenzy is on. While the opening rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament drew the biggest crowds, the weeks leading to the Final Four and final (into April) will also be big in the casinos, with sports books televising all the games and supporting them with promotions and specials on food and drink. Two casinos that hold big March Madness parties are the Las Vegas Hilton and the Orleans.

More Palms: First there was the Palms tower, then the Palms Fantasy tower. Now, Las Vegas' "headquarters of hip" has opened its latest addition, the 47-story, 599-suite Palms Place tower. The 600- to 1,200-square-foot Palms Place condos sold for $1,000 per square foot and all 599 have been reserved. If you don't live there, you can still visit – the restaurant-lounge is operated by celebrity chef Kerry Simon.

There's also a beauty salon, business center, concierge, room service, and a people mover that connects the condo and hotel towers. This residential component completes the Palms' $650 million expansion. Meanwhile, the 1,282-unit Trump International Hotel and Tower has also opened. The hotel units, which condo owners can lease to others, will be available beginning March 31.

Chowder chatter: The good clam chowder at the Palace Station Oyster Bar, formerly $5.49 a bowl, is now $6.99 a bowl and $3.99 a cup.

Phones in books: Nevada regulators are looking into abolishing the law against using cellphones in sports books. No timetable has been set, so you still can't use your phone in the sports-betting area without risking admonishment from security.

'Las Vegas' canceled: After five years and 106 episodes, NBC has pulled the plug on its weekly drama, Las Vegas. Over the years, the show provided an interesting mix of good and bad casino portrayals.

Question: Who has the best French onion soup in town?

Answer: That's a tough one, as tastes and prices come into play. But here are three you can count on: Ruth's Chris West, Mon Ami Gabi at Paris, and a sleeper, Austin's Steakhouse at Texas Station. All are in the $7 range.

News Added: 31 March, 2008

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