Boutique Resort RUMOR Debuts The Siegel Group has opened boutique resort RUMOR located near Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue. Formerly the St. Tropez Hotel, the two-story resort features 150 suites, an intimate lobby and bar, a new restaurant called Addiction, and an outdoor courtyard with pool area, which transforms into a nightlife venue with live DJs and musicians. RUMOR also welcomes pets, offering an outdoor dog run, customized in-suite bowls and plush dog beds. RUMOR is an 18 and over resort. For more information, please contact Marina Nicola, Wagner Junker Agency, marina@wjagency.com.

South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa Announces Expansion South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa has announced a two-phase expansion of its casino and restaurant offerings. The first phase includes a $20 million, 55,000-square-foot expansion of the casino, adding 600 slot machines, a new poker room, a new race and sports book and an entertainment area. The second phase includes the addition of a Steak 'n Shake restaurant brand and a future Japanese restaurant to open in the fall. For more information, please contact Courtney Fitzgerald, South Point Hotel & Casino, fitzgeraldc@southpointcasino.com.

Minus5 to Open Second Las Vegas Location at Monte Carlo Minus5, which opened America's first ice lounge at Mandalay Bay in September 2008, will debut their newest location - Minus5 Ice Bar - this August at Monte Carlo Resort and Casino. The new Minus5 Ice Bar will include a 1,200-square foot ice encased room where everything is made of 100% Canadian ice including the bar, tables, benches, and walls. Created in New Zealand, Minus5 is a unique ice-themed experience where guests enjoy vodka cocktails served in a glass made of pure ice, all within a -5° Celsius (23° Fahrenheit) ice environment. For more information, please contact Rosalind Terlitzky, Langdon Flynn Communications, rosalind@langdonflynn.com.

Bellagio Launches FlyteChannel featuring Live Airport Arrival and Departure Screens Adding to the amenities Bellagio offers, guests now have the convenience of viewing live airport arrival and departure screens without leaving their room. FlyteChannel, on channel 50 in guest rooms, shows cities, flight numbers, scheduled and actual arrival/departure times, airline logos, and gates. Flights are sorted by city names to allow guests to quickly check flights and identify alternative flights if necessary. FlyteChannel is currently available in all guest rooms. For more information, please contact Wendy Zamaripa, Kirvin Doak Communications, wzamaripa@kirvindoak.com.

Le Rêve Presents the Ultimate SCUBA Experience Wynn Las Vegas' show, Le Rêve, is giving certified SCUBA divers the opportunity of a lifetime with the Diver's Dream Package, allowing SCUBA diving during a live performance of Le Rêve. The Diver's Dream Package offers a weekend of excitement, including a two-night stay in a Resort Room at Wynn or Encore, VIP Indulgence tickets to Le Rêve, a private backstage tour, SDI Certified SCUBA training session with the Le Rêve diving team and the unparalleled opportunity to dive during the live show. Le Rêve is the only staged production in Las Vegas to offer this exclusive access to guests. For more information, please contact Lauren Bower, Wynn Las Vegas, lauren.bower@wynnlasvegas.com.

MGM Resorts International Offers New LGBT Event Hosted by MGM Resorts properties' ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor and Excalibur, "Fabulous Las Vegas" is a four-day celebration Aug. 12-15 catering to the LGBT community. Guests can choose from four hotel packages offering varying levels of VIP access to private parties and preferred entry into LGBT events. Select packages also include tickets to the sold-out Lady Gaga concert, tickets to Zumanity and private parties at ROK Vegas and Studio 54. The weekend will feature drink specials, meet-and-greets, pool parties, blackjack and slot tournaments, fashion events, docent tours and much more. For more information, please contact David Gonzalez, MGM Resorts International, dgonzalez@mgmresorts.com.

Rock & Rita's to Host Nations International Flair Bartending Challenge Rock & Rita's, the "Great American Party" restaurant and bar at Circus Circus, will host NATIONS, the international flair bartending competition, August 16-17. Selected for its specially designed flair bars, which were created to meet flair bartending competition requirements, Rock & Rita's will welcome more than 50 internationally ranked flair bartenders from nine countries across the globe as they compete for $25,000 in cash and prizes. Competitors will flip, fling, pour and roll crazy cocktail concoctions for the chance to win the first place title, $10,000 cash and the NIFC Grand Champion Trophy. For more information, please contact Leslie Thuet, Wicked Creative, leslie.thuet@wickedcreative.com.

Las Vegas to Host 2010 Miss Universe Pageant NBC, Donald J. Trump and Paula M. Shugart, President of the Miss Universe Organization, have announced the 2010 Miss Universe^® Pageant will air live on NBC and Telemundo, Monday, August 23 (9 p.m. EST) from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Miss Universe 2009, Stefania Fernandez, will crown her successor at the conclusion of the two-hour telecast.  Each contestant, representing over 80 countries around the world, will compete in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown and interview.  Worldwide distribution of the competition has topped over 190 countries in past years. For more information about the pageant, please contact Lark-Marie Anton, Miss Universe Organization, lanton@missuniverse.com.

Las Vegas Restaurant Week Returns Lauded as one of the best culinary cities in America, fine dining perennially tempts travelers to the "Entertainment Capital of the World." On August 30, gourmands will have yet another reason to visit when the 4^th Annual Las Vegas Restaurant Week begins. More than 80 participating restaurants will offer sensationally priced seasonal menus. Portions of the proceeds will benefit local food bank, Three Square. For more information, please contact Emily Wofford, R&R Partners, Emily.Wofford@rrpartners.com.

The Forum Shops at Caesars and FunJet Vacations Partner for 10/10/10 On Oct. 10, 2010 at 10:10 a.m, 10 couples will meet in front of the Trevi Fountain in front of The Forum Shops at Caesars and propose simultaneously to their significant others. It's all part of a contest created by FunJet Vacations and The Forum Shops at Caesars in celebration of the auspicious date. Ten couples were selected through an essay and photo/video contest at www.101010at1010am.com. The couples will receive an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas provided by FunJet Vacations, a two-night stay at Caesars Palace and much more. For more information, please contact Marina Nicola, Wagner Junker Agency, marina@wjagency.com.

ALEX Receives 2010 Grand Award from Wine Spectator Magazine ALEX, the namesake restaurant of Chef Alessandro Stratta at Wynn Las Vegas, has received the coveted 2010 Grand Award from Wine Spectator magazine. ALEX joins an elite group of 75 dining establishments around the world to receive the Grand Award, the magazine's highest honor. Wine Spectator magazine began its recognition of the world's best wine programs 30 years ago, and will continue the tradition of profiling the year's victors in the August 31 issue of the magazine. Restaurants are selected based on their superior wine lists in addition to outstanding food, service and ambience. For more information, please contact Casey Leblang, Becca PR, casey@beccapr.com.

LVCVA and R&R Partners Receive Global Advertising Honors The American Advertising Federation honored the LVCVA and R&R Partners with two Gold ADDY Awards and two Silver ADDY Awards for the popular "What Happens Here, Stays Here" campaign as well as the "What's Your Excuse?" campaign.  These awards represent the best work in the domestic advertising industry. The 57^th Annual Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival, the world's largest, most prestigious celebration of creativity in communications, awarded the LVCVA and R&R Partners with a Bronze Cannes Lion for the "What's Your Excuse?" campaign featuring the "ChinChilli Day" spot.  Las Vegas was the only destination in this year's event to win a Cannes Lion trophy. For more information, please contact Betsy Ward, R&R Partners, betsy.ward@rrpartners.com.

Nu Sanctuary Brings Dining, Nightlife to Las Vegas Nu Sanctuary, an imaginative new restaurant and lounge, has opened at Town Square, Las Vegas. Symbolizing a new beginning, and inspired by the works of Salvador Dali, the restaurant features a sprawling tree, world-class art, religious representations, and an outdoor patio. The menu is a modern global fusion created by Brian Howard. The restaurant also offers an innovative hookah menu, which is the first in Las Vegas to use fresh fruit in form and presentation. Each night the restaurant transforms into a nightclub featuring house music. Nu Sanctuary is open for lunch, dinner and late-night. For more information, please contact Stephanie Wilson, Wicked Creative, stephanie.wilson@wickedcreative.com.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Unveils HRH Beach Club As part of the resort's $750 million expansion, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has announced the opening of HRH Beach Club, doubling the existing pool vicinity to encompass five acres. The beach club features a pool, sandy beach, 17 daybeds and 24 luxury cabanas. Additional elements include a Bar & Grill, eight Spa Villas, swim-up blackjack and a gaming lounge. For more information, please contact Jessie Pound, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, jpound@hrhvegas.com.

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We will provide an ever-changing selection of articles that advance the cause, and help stop the extinction of some of the world's most beautiful creatures such as the big cats (lions, tigers, snow leopards, and others).

Here's a great story about CAT HAVEN - aremarkable place near Fresno, CA...

How often do you get to stare a Bengal tiger in the face from three feet away?

Not very often, probably. But this extraordinary opportunity is less than an hour and a half away from Fresno, California at the Project Survival Cat Haven on the fringe of Kings Canyon National Park.

The 95-acre cat sanctuary in the Dunlap foothills boasts an array of exotic cats,including tigers, cheetahs, leopards and jaguars. All are housed in a natural setting that offers visitors up-close-and-personal interaction with felines from all over the world.

(Here's Tizzi, a snow leopard living at Cat Haven).

A quarter-mile walking trail takes visitors to the enclosures of cats with personalities ranging from wildly affectionate to flat-out nasty. If you don't get a warm reception, that just goes to show how human these cats can be.

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"Do you like everyone that you meet?" asks Cat Haven founder and director Dale Anderson.

The cats, all born and raised in captivity, are familiar with humans. Most embrace contact with trusted keepers, slinking up to lick their hands and rub against their legs.

Visitors don't touch the cats, but they're almost close enough to do so.

"It gives people an up-close-and-personal look that they can't get any other place — safely," Anderson said. "I think it gives people a good understanding of the cats and what diversity there is."

While there's entertainment value in a visit to the Cat Haven, its larger mission involves sustaining wild cat populations around the world, Anderson said.

"If all it is just cats in a cage, it's not interesting to me," he said. "[But if people couldn't] see the cats, they wouldn't be inspired to take it the next step further to do something to save the cats."

To what extent cats need to be saved is open to interpretation, Anderson said.

Some cats, such as the Amur leopards from eastern Russia, are highly endangered. The wild Amur leopard population numbers around 40.

But leopards as a species are doing fine, with about 400,000 in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

The cheetah population also is dwindling. Between 10,000 and 12,000 are left in the wild, Anderson said.

He hopes to change that.

On Wednesday, after almost a year of paperwork and government hoop-jumping, Anderson and the Cat Haven crew happily welcomed two adolescent cheetahs into their refuge. They'll be available for public view and community outreach work.

"They are very sweet boys," said Liesl Smith, the trainer who raised the cheetahs from birth in South Africa. "We try to build a trusting relationship where you can use these animals as a conservation tool."

The haven is not a zoo, Anderson said.

"Zoos have the public bamboozled," Anderson said. "They have turned it into entertainment."

Since it was founded in 1997, Project Survival, the philanthropic branch of the operation, has donated more than $60,000 to conservation projects across the globe. Two of its largest endowments were dedicated to jaguar research in Brazil and snow-leopard-conservation efforts in the Himalayas.

"Ever since I started working in the industry, I found out no one was really doing anything productive to help cats," Anderson said. "There are lots of zoos around, but they don't really do anything to save animals."

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Cheetahs Victor, left, and Tango rest with volunteer Julie Langenheim, right, at Project Survival's Cat Haven. The cats arrived recently from a breeding facility in South Africa. Founder and Director Dale Anderson is at top left. Ron Holman/Staff photographer

About Cat Haven: Project Survival's Cat Haven is an innovative park dedicated to the preservation of wild cats. It specializes in education and is engaged in both captive and range country conservation. It is this link to the conservation of cats in their native habitat which makes the work of the Cat Haven especially meaningful. The facility is not a rescue organization. The wild cats which come here are chosen carefully for their contributions to education and conservation.

Project Survival's Cat Haven is set in 100 scenic acres on the edge of the Sequoia National Forest, 15 miles west of King's Canyon National Park, California. The facility offers guided tours five days a week from 10am - 3pm closed Tue. & Wed. Oct. 1st - April 30th (six day a week from 10am - 4pm from May 1st - Sept.30 closed Tue.). Sunday the Cat Haven will open at 12 noon. Visitors enjoy an hour long educational walk along a ¼ mile wooded trail in the company of a trained tour guide. It is an opportunity to visit, photograph and learn about some of the rarest and most beautiful animals in the world. School groups are particularly welcome (advance reservation please!)

How to get there from Visalia:

Take Highway 63 north to Highway 180 and go east. Pass through Squaw Valley and continue to Clingan's Junction. Stay on Highway 180 for another 2.5 miles. Cat Haven will be on the left. Look for the sign. General admission: $8.50

For hours and schedules, visit the Web site, www.cathaven.com, send e-mail to info@cathaven .com or call (559) 338-3216.