venetian

AskMen's Top Cities for Men in the U.S.

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas, Spirits, Men's Style

Manhattan's skylight and city lights during the early evening.

AskMen, the men's lifestyle site, has published a list of the Top 29 Cities to Live In for men. The AskMen experts ranked cities based on various criteria, including the percentage of university-educated women and lifestyle factors (such as the cost of a luxury automobile). Professional life factors were also considered, such as the number of vacation days guaranteed by law in each city.

Luxist and the Luxist Awards has featured many establishments located in each of the top ranking U.S. cities that made the AskMen list. Indeed, these cities are home to some of the country's best brew pubs, spas, dessert spots and places to go for a dip and play blackjack at the same time.

New York City (#1 on AskMen's List of the Top 29 Cities to Live In).

According to AskMen, there's no place on earth that makes men happier to be men than New York City. "The Big Apple is always reinventing itself and never fails to surprise us with what comes next," according to AskMen. "Since the financial crisis, the high-gloss bottle service bars have been replaced by cozy speakeasies, and designer tapas bars have been replaced by burgers and suckling pig, which is definitely a step in the right direction."

A Luxist Favorite: Spuyten Duyvil

Tags: Ask Men, caesars palace, Caesars Palace Hotel Casino, Garden of The Gods, ice box cafe, sir spa, sprinkles, SprinklesCupcakes, spuyten duyvil, Tao Beach, Tao beach party, the Venetian, venetian

Continue reading “AskMen's Top Cities for Men in the U.S.”

Dinosaur for Sale (still)!

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Bonhams & Butterfields tried to unload a dinosaur skeleton Saturday, but the piece was one of 17 lots that didn't move at the Natural History auction at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The auction house had originally hoped to pull in estimated $6 million for the 66-million-year-old bones of a 40-foot Tyronnosaurus Rex. In all, it was shooting for around $8 million in sales. Only 60 percent of the lots coming under the gavel sold.

The T. rex skeleton that nobody wanted (at least not at that price), named Samson, is the third most complete ever pulled from the ground, according to Thomas Lindgren, Co-Director of Natural History at Bonhams & Butterfields.

"'Samson'" is one of four known T. rex specimens which display characteristics that set it apart from other examples of the species," Lindgren continues. "In the dynamic science of paleontology, variation from one specimen to the next may indicate varying developmental phases, normal variations within a species, or it may represent the discovery of an entirely new species. As it stands, experts identify 'Samson' as Tyrannosaurus rex."

Samson was the first T. rex to come on the scene since 1997, when Sotheby's auctioned Sue, a dinosaur of similar size. The Field Museum in Chicago picked her up for a record $8.36 million – a price that still has not been topped. Sue is considered to be the largest and most complete T. rex ever excavated.

Tags: bonhams, bonhams auction, bonhams butterfields, BonhamsAuction, bonhamsbutterfields, dinosaur, dinosaurs, las vegas, las vegas nevada, las vegas nv, LasVegas, LasVegasNevada, LasVegasNv, tyrannosaurusrex, venetian

Continue reading “Dinosaur for Sale (still)!”

Venetian Masks - Decadent Decor

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art

Venetian masks add a mysterious glamour to any room. Fortunately, you don't have to go to Venice to get them, there are a number of beautiful masks available from Horchow in the $200 - $400 range.

These masks are elegant and rich with history. Venetian masks, traditionally worn in Italy during Carnivale, draw on Commedia dell'arte characters for their designs.

Though you may never find an occasion to wear the dramatic masks, they make for splendidly decadent wall decor. We recommend them for conversation pieces in grand, well-accoutered rooms (and not so much for a child's bedroom, as those hollow eyes can be rather creepy in the dark).

The masks you see are on sale from Horchow for $183.90 and up.

Tags: commedia dellarte, CommediaDellarte, horchow, mask, masks, smallsplurge, smallsplurges, venetian, venice

Las Vegas Sands In Trouble

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

More economic trouble has come to the Las Vegas Strip. Las Vegas Sands, the casino empire run by billionaire Sheldon Adelson which includes The Venetian and The Palazzo, is facing a tough decision. The company must either immediately raise new capital, cut development or perhaps both in order to satisfy loan agreements. Stock shares fell by a dramatic one third on the news that the company may break its loan agreements.

The stock's prices have plummeted over the past year dropping Adelson's personal wealth dramatically. Once his shares were worth around $30 billion but with the latest drop his stocks are worth less than $2 billion. It is estimated that the long-term debt at the Sands is $8.8 billion. The Sands currently has projects in Las Vegas, Pennsylvania, Macau and Singapore. Casino revenues that might have continued to fuel these projects in better times are also dropping quickly. Even the convention business, the bread and butter of Las Vegas has also dropped off as companies cut off all unnecessary expenses.

It's a tough break for Adelson, who worked as a financial adviser and real estate investor and created the technology trade show Comdex before getting into the hotel business in 1989 when the bought the Sands. The 4,027-room Venetian and the 3,066-suite Palazzo are two of the most popular places to stay on the Strip. As the AP reports Adelson controls 70 percent of Las Vegas Sands personally and through family trusts and so his fate is inextricably linked with the fate of the Las Vegas Sands but at this point it is not known if he will use his personal wealth to bail out the company.

UPDATE: The Las Vegas Sands has suspended their building projects on the Cotai Strip in Macau, laying off a potential 11,000 workers.

Source

Tags: las vegas sands, las vegas strip, LasVegasSands, LasVegasStrip, palazzo, venetian

Luxury Venetian Jewelled Vanity Wastes

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

This just goes to show that anything in your house can be upgraded and used as an opportunity to express your personal style, even the drains in your sink and shower. These Luxury Venetian Jewelled Vanity Wastes can either be the perfect accent of color to an otherwise plain and simple sink or shower, or they can add even more spice to an already bold design. They're available in so many designs and colors from Murano House you're sure to find something you like -- from bright rainbow colors to simple classic Italian time pieces. Who wouldn't want a beautiful drain that also tells you the time while you're taking a shower in the morning?

Gallery: Luxury Venetian Jewelled Vanity Wastes

Source

Tags: bathroom, bathrooms, drain, drains, murano house, MuranoHouse, restroom, restrooms, shower, showers, sink, sinks, vanity, venetian, vessel, vessels, wastes, water

The Venetian Upgrades

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

A few weeks ago we took a look at the renovations for the Flamingo in Las Vegas, now let's see what the Venetian is up to. The Venetian is renovating more than 3,000 of their all-suite rooms. The $100-million renovation began in early 2007 and is expected to be completed by fall 2007. No retro chic here, the new design by KNA Interior Design of Los Angeles is a modern European design with contemporary touches. The renovations include new carpets, furniture and design features as well as plenty of LCD and plasma televisions, wireless dual-line phones and wireless internet connection, The rooms feature Anichini Egyptian cotton bed linens and white goose down duvets topped by an angora wool throw. The bathrooms have fresh cut flowers, the minibars have been upgraded and the Vegas standard, upholstered walls behind the headboard are in place.

Source

Tags: hotels, las vegas, suites, travel, vacation, venetian

The Venetian Offers Bags To Go Service

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Services

The Venetian in Las Vegas has an interesting new amenity, they are the first on the Las Vegas strip to give guests a faster way to deal with the airport. The Venetian has partnered with McCarran Airport to introduce Airport SpeedCheck Advance, a service that lets guests check their luggage and receive their boarding passes while at the hotel. The service lets you check out without having to worry about your luggage and cuts airport wait time. The service costs $20 and the luggage must be dropped off three hours prior to departure. Currently SouthWest Airlines is the only carrier in Las Vegas participating in the Bags To Go service so it's not a big deal yet but since many hotels are adopting in-room check-in I think we will probably see more of this type of service in the future.

Source

Tags: amenties, hotel, las vegas, travel, venetian