The famous shell-shaped lobby of the La Concha motel on the Strip has been saved from the wrecking ball due to a generous contribution from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

The building, located next door to the Riviera, was slated for demolition along with the rest of the motel, which was torn down earlier this year to make way for the upcoming Conrad Majestic hotel and residential development.

But officials with the city and the Neon Museum wanted to rescue the distinctive lobby to use as the main entrance for a proposed permanent home for the museum's collection of neon signs from Vegas' past. The developers of the new project were willing to donate the building to the Neon Museum but needed someone else to pay for moving the structure to its proposed downtown location.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority agreed to pony up $300,000 to finance the move, provided the museum can raise another $300,000 to restore and rebuild the structure.

It is all part of a major campaign to give the Neon Museum a permanent home with a visitors' center, an outdoor park with restored neon signs, and public access to the famed neon graveyard that is now only accessible through special arrangement. The museum is still in the midst of its capital fund-raising campaign but hopes to have the new facility open sometime in 2007.

For more information and to find out how you can help, visit the Neon Museum website.

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The Las Vegas City Council has agreed to give up an entire street for the premiere downtown hotel/casino, the Golden Nugget. A block of Carson Avenue will be closed so the hotel's new owners can expand with a new hotel tower, a second casino and additional entertainment or restaurant offerings.

Carson Avenue runs parallel to Fremont Street one block away and is the street that runs between the Golden Nugget's parking structure and the block with the Golden Gate hotel and casino.

Formal plans for the expansion and a timetable have not been set, but the new owner, Landry Restaurants, is already starting some substantial changes, including the closure of several restaurants, a remodeling and expansion of the main casino, and more.

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In case you haven't been paying attention to my raves about the place, it's worth noting that the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas was once again awarded the coveted Five Diamond Award from AAA, a distinction it has held since it opened in 2003.

The honor goes only to the best of the best in the hotel industry, with only about one-quarter of one percent of the 57,000 hotels the group reviews getting the top marks. The Ritz-Carlton is one of only three hotels in the entire state of Nevada to carry the rating, the other two being the Bellagio and the Four Seasons on the Strip.

If you're looking for a luxurious vacation that will get you more bang for your buck (you can get more for the same amount of money at the Ritz than you can at similar hotels on the Strip) I can't recommend this place highly enough.

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Harrah's Entertainment has announced ambitious plans to partner with two other large hotel chains to build a $1.6 billion Caesars Palace branded resort in the Bahamas.

The 1,000-acre development will be built in the Nassau Cable Beach area and will feature six hotels with more than 3,500 rooms (including residential units) operating under various brands in partner Starwood's portfolio, including Wyndham, Westin, St. Regis, Sheraton, and W, in addition to the Caesars hotel itself. It will also include a 95,000-square-foot casino, a massive spa and beachfront pool area, retail, entertainment and dining offerings. Construction is expected to begin in 2007, with completion set for sometime in 2010.

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Just weeks ago I mentioned the rumors surrounding a possible shakeup of the entertainment offerings at various hotels in Vegas. There is already movement.

After more than 700 performances, R&B diva Gladys Knight's show at the Flamingo closed suddenly on Nov. 12. That came a week after the announcement that the Queen musical "We Will Rock You" will close at the end of the November.

All of this is rumored to be paving the way for some big-budget, Broadway-style entertainment ("The Producers" is just one possibility) or big-name headliner shows. One of the names mentioned most often is Bette Midler who, according to Las Vegas Review Journal columnist Norm Clarke, is inches away from signing an exclusive deal to appear at Wynn Las Vegas. What that means to their existing shows "Le Reve" and "Avenue Q" is anyone's guess.

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A reminder that you can pre-order my new travel guidebook, Moon Handbooks Las Vegas. The book is expected to ship in the beginning of December and should be in stores, and in your hot little hands, before the end of the year.

For those of you who have asked, yes, I will be happy to autograph a copy for you. I am working on the details on how to make it happen and will be announcing them in an upcoming column.

To get more information about the book and to pre-order your copy, click here.

The Full Story

• Reasons To Be Thankful For Vegas
• Historic Motel Shell Saved For Museum
• Vegas Q&A What's The Best Time To Leave?

In Next Week's Column

Next week: The latest from Las Vegas.

Plus, don't forget to send your questions about Las Vegas. I've got room for more, so send them in today!

Click here to go to the main page of Vegas4Visitors.com and see all of the fantastic resources Vegas4Visitors has to offer you when planning your next trip to Las Vegas.