Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

John Katsilometes on chance for Monopoly fans to show Las Vegas’ best side on world’s most famous board game

If voting trends continue, in a few months you'll be able to buy a hotel on the Strip and not be Steve Wynn.

The Hasbro company, the game-maker that markets the world's all-time top-selling board game, Monopoly, sent word this week of its plans for a new version of the game to be called Monopoly Here & Now. The game will be available in stores in August.

The idea is for the new Monopoly board to represent America's 22 greatest destination cities. Monopoly fans are asked to choose from among three landmarks from each of the 22 cities - including Las Vegas - and vote online at www.monopo ly.com.

But there is a problem - none of the Las Vegas landmarks are actually located in Las Vegas. We have a choice of the Strip, Hoover Dam and Tropicana Avenue, none of which are part of the incorporated city of Las Vegas. At least Hoover Dam and the Strip are familiar landmarks, but that is not the case with Tropicana, which would seem doomed to occupy one of the board's dark-purple Baltic/Mediterranean avenue slots.

A better call would be the Fremont Street Experience, which is both a landmark and a parcel of property located in Las Vegas.

On Thursday a spokesman for the famous board game, which has sold 200 million units worldwide since its introduction in 1934, said Hasbro officials assembled a committee to draft lists for all 22 cities. But response was not uniformly great and a few problems (not just the leaving-Las Vegas list) have since surfaced. For example, Denver is represented by "Red Rock Amphitheater," which is actually called Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which might cause confusion because of our own identification with Red Rock (the national park and resort).

Also, a photo of Red Rocks Amphitheatre is posted on www.monopoly.com - but it's not exactly Red Rocks. It's some other mountainous locale in Colorado, possibly Aspen.

But no matter. Voting will continue through May 12 and we have learned that the Strip is the far-and-away leader among the Vegas entries. The top vote-getter nationwide will occupy the coveted Boardwalk slot, and if we get beat by Texas Stadium (home of the Cowboys and one of three landmarks listed for Dallas) we should demand an inquiry.

NoteMart

Better Holmes: On Wednesday the seemingly tireless Clint Holmes made an appearance at the Ermenegildo Zegna store at the Forum Shops at Caesars. The event was a benefit for the Nevada Cancer Institute, and up for bid in a silent auction was a trip for two to the Portofino Regatta in Portofino, Italy.

Bids opened at $8,000 and were up to $10,000 by the end of the evening. The bidding will remain open until the end of May; the Regatta is scheduled for May 2007. Also, the store is donating 10 percent of its sales in May to the NCI to anyone who mentions the institute.

Holmes said he is busy "writing, writing, writing" the show "Jam" with music director Bill Fayne and Broadway performer-director-acting coach Larry Moss. Holmes plans to take the semi-autobiographical musical to Broadway in the fall of 2007. "It's crunch time," Holmes said ...

The take: Sunday's 16th annual AIDS Walk in downtown Las Vegas raised more than $306,000, an all-time high. More than 5,000 walkers took part, including Democratic congressional candidate Anna Nevenic, who did some serious grass-roots campaigning near the start-finish line. Nevenic, a registered nurse, formally announced her candidacy in Nevada's 3rd Congressional District on Wednesday; she faces Tessa Hafen in the Democratic primary ...

Taking it in stride: More on the walking beat, the March of Dimes' WalkAmerica is set for Saturday in downtown Las Vegas. Registration for the 2.5-mile walk begins at 8 a.m.; the walk itself starts at 9. More than 2,000 participants have registered. For information, call 732-9255, ext. 227, or go to www.marchofdimes.com/nevada ...

The shoeshine boy says: Both Barry Manilow and Celine Dion are being courted to appear in the upcoming "Ocean's 13" movie, which will be filmed from late-July through October. Some of the film will be shot in Las Vegas. Al Pacino is joining the "Ocean's" fray as a bad guy/casino owner ...

Paint the town: ESPN2 now is carrying games from National Professional Paintball League, which begs the question, "Can I bet on this?" So I fired an e-mail to Wynn Las Vegas sports book director Johnny Avello and asked if he would ever post odds on professional paintball games, or matches, or whatever they are called. He didn't rule it out, saying, "I would consider posting it if I knew a little more about it." ...

He knows his way around a proportion wheel: Our own Rick Velotta has been honored with an Outstanding Teaching by Part-Time Faculty Award at UNLV. The Sun business writer, also a journalism instructor at UNLV, was joined by Karyn Kenny (criminal justice), Lisa Menegatos (communication studies), Megan Merchant (English) and Jamie Langille (mathematical sciences). And weekly Sun columnist Hal Rothman was named the school's Distinguished Professor ...

Flyin' high again: Add Stockton, Calif., to the commemorative spoon collection of wayward PR rep Tyri Sqyures. Her company, Allegiant Air, has announced nonstop round trips between Stockton and Las Vegas beginning June 16. Allegiant also announced it recently discontinued service to and from Toledo, Ohio ...

A real gas: Plate on a Honda Insight hybrid, parked Sunday outside Agave restaurant in Summerlin: 64MPG.

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