Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.
Over the past nine months I must have driven past the 7-Eleven on Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street dozens of times before finally noticing what should have been obvious: The place has been shuttered.
The one-stop shop for all varieties of refreshments (especially, we hear, coke), in a tatty locale just off the Fremont Street Experience, has been dark for months.
I mention the closing - which took place at midnight New Year's Eve - because the 7-Eleven at that locale was among the more famous among the franchise's 5,352 stores (153 of which are in Clark County) for its dazzling neon signage. It was also a reputed center for low-scale drug deals and similar nefarious activity, but a 7-Eleven spokeswoman said the reason the company pulled out was not because of the dicey location - 7-Elevens thrive in tough neighborhoods - but because of a rise in the cost of leasing the property.
And when the company's lease expired on Jan. 1, it was gone like last night's Slurpee.
The Fremont Street/LV Boulevard location was actually considered quite safe, the company says, because of a nearby Metro Police station. The store had frequent visits from Las Vegas' Finest, who were treated to free coffee (fairly common among 7-Eleven stores) for stopping by.
NoteMart
Jeopardy time: The answer, "Taking a vacation." The question: "Where in the heck have I been all month?" And as Ace Frehley once said, "I'm back - back in the New York groove" ...
To illuminate some rabid chitchat (which is my favorite type of chitchat) centering on "Spamalot" at Wynn Las Vegas, for months it has been rumored that Steve Wynn has changed his mind about bringing the show to Vegas. But official word is the production is prepping for a spring 2007 opening, and that work on the former Avenue Q Theatre - to be renamed the Grail Theatre - continues. Also, Monty Python principal Eric Idle has been talking up the Vegas production in London, where "Spamalot" is due to open at the Palace Theatre on Oct. 17 ...
Meanwhile, officials at Krave Nightclub (the only gay-themed club on the Strip) say there is no truth to the rumor that it is closing. They blame a competing establishment for starting these rumors ...
One of the city's best free acts, Yellow Brick Road, has departed Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort (where it was playing to standing-room-only crowds each Wednesday) and begins a new weekly gig at the Suncoast on Tuesday. At Red Rock, according to YBR frontman Brody Dolyniuk and an official statement from Stations Casinos, the band was too loud for management's liking (and YBR is the loudest lounge act I've heard in Las Vegas) and was told to cut down on the noise. Instead, the band found another venue in Summerlin to churn out its classic covers. It still maintains affiliation with Stations with its Friday- and Saturday-night shows at the Railhead at Boulder Station ...
Flip, flop and fly: Mirage Resorts Chief Executive Officer Bobby Baldwin has sold his 6,600-square-foot manse on Innisbrook Avenue in Spanish Trail. The buyer is listed as renowned real estate "flipper" Marco Kozlowski of Orlando, Fla., who purchased the home for $2.3 million ...
Monday's news that the Transportation Security Administration is allowing airline passengers to pack small amounts of liquids and gels in carry-on baggage is a move in the right direction for airlines' baggage handlers. Southwest employees are talking of a 60 percent increase in checked baggage since the TSA banned liquids from carry-on bags on Aug. 10. Since then, it hasn't been uncommon for handlers to pull 12-hour shifts...
The entertainment for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's second annual fundraiser, set for Dec. 2 at Mandalay Bay, will include Dennis Quaid and his band, the Sharks, and Flamingo Las Vegas headliner George Wallace. The event is headed by local developer Michael Bellon ...
The ascent of the Killers continues this weekend as the Las Vegas band is the featured entertainment for the 32nd season-opener of "Saturday Night Live" (hosted by excitable stand-up Dane Cook). That's good news for not only the band, which releases "Sam's Town" next week, but for the hotel Sam's Town, which has lucked its way into millions of dollars worth of free publicity ...
On Monday, Beasley Broadcast Group announced its plans for the new KDWN 720-AM; Beasley describes the new format as "detailed local news coverage." The station with the 50,000-watt signal will be headed by an eight-person local news team, anchored by John Shaffer and Dick Shannon for the morning drive. Twenty-two year radio vet Charlotte Burke, who most recently was vice president/general manager of Sirius Satellite's Martha Stewart Living Radio, is KDWN's new program director. Syndicated hosts include Neal Boortz, Jerry Doyle and Michael Savage ...
At 1 p.m. Wednesday, Circus Circus' Fright Dome is holding auditions for its annual haunted attraction, which opens Oct. 6 and runs through Halloween. Fright Dome creator and owner Jason Egan is looking for "unique individuals 18 years or older to audition and arrive dressed to scare." The dome is filling 200 positions, including strolling entertainers, scary haunted-house actors and haunted house guides. Says here that, "Halloween theme park and acting experience is a plus," which I seem to have read once in a personal ad ...
Vanity plate on a silver Saturn Ion in the Treasure Island parking garage (where I recently spent some "quiet time") read GO4 ST8. Minnesotan, methinks.
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