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Robbers convicted and sent to prison in 1990 for gunning down great showman with Top Ten hits

It’s been over 22 years since the cowardly robbers happened upon Cornell Gunter who founded The Coasters and was their lead singer killing him stealing his rings and wallet in Las Vegas.

Cornell Gunter’s Coasters kept his name because he was not only beloved by the world for his musical talent and performing but he was known for his charity work and founded the famous  musical group.

According to his niece Antoinette Mathieu, “He had just returned from Fresno where he was performing, to his home in Las Vegas and stopped at a gas station. That’s when robbers saw him and shot him to death thus stealing his rings and wallet. It happened on Feb. 26, 1990. I said Oh My God! and cried because he was my uncle and I love him along with his millions of fans throughout the world.

His older sister Shirley Gunter is living in Las Vegas with his niece.  She said, “He was in his early late 50s and that’s far too young to die. It was a senseless tragic act. He was a legend for his hit songs and showmanship. We were living in California when it happened and that’s where he was buried.”

Early Clover found out that he was Cornell’s cousin through Cornell’s niece in 1992 and ironically Early is currently the lead singer in Cornell Gunter’s Coasters who perform seven nights a week at 8:30 p.m. along with The Platters Revue and The Marvelettes in the 850-seat Crown Theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

Early said, “There were rumors that he was driving a friend’s car Downtown and there was a hit on the friend and that it was a case of mistaken identity but none of that was true.”

Antoinette said, “He was a giving person and everybody loved him. He worked with numerous charities and did the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon every year at the Sahara. Audiences loved him because he was a great performer and interacted with them. Hundreds of mourners attended his funeral and the crowd was overflowing.”

She continued, “His career at the time was doing fine and he traveled everywhere and the musical group was called Cornell Gunter and the Coasters.  We never kept track of the murderers but we  imagine they are still in prison.”

Cornell Gunter’s Coasters biggest hits were “Yakety Yak,” “Charlie Brown” and “Poison Ivy.” For show tickets to see these three legendary musical groups call the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino Box-Office at (702) 777-7776.

Related Links:

Click to book tickets now: Platters, Cornell Gunter Coasters, and Marvelettes

Book Now and Save: Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino

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There will be additional road closures at Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino for construction of The LINQ. Vehicle traffic will no longer be able to access Imperial Palace from the Las Vegas Boulevard entrances.

A detour route brings all consumer vehicle traffic through the east end of the property closer to valet and self parking, and consumer vehicle traffic may also use the Harrah’s Las Vegas entrance from Las Vegas Boulevard.

A temporary pedestrian entrance for customers will be open from Las Vegas Boulevard on the north side gated area of the property until construction of the new main pedestrian entrance at Harrah’s Carnaval Court is complete. Pedestrians may also use the bridge between Harrah’s Las Vegas and Imperial Palace located at the rear of the properties.

Related Links:

Map Of Traffic Detours For Imperial Palace Visitors

Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino

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The Plaza Hotel & Casino and Oscar’s steakhouse will be featured in an upcoming episode of the new Travel Channel series “Park Secrets” this Wednesday, May 2.

The episode is scheduled to air in Las Vegas at 8 p.m. PDT on Cox TV Channel 47 and at 5 p.m. on DirecTV Channel 277; viewers should check their local listings to confirm air time.

“Park Secrets” is a new Travel Channel national series which helps viewers make the most of their visits to America’s national parks. Viewers see popular park destinations from an expert’s point of view and then learn about great places to stay and eat in nearby locales.

The Plaza and Oscar’s will be featured in the “Wild West” episode of “Park Secrets,” which will highlight America’s frontier parks in Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona.

According to the Travel Channel, the episode will feature “hidden red rock canyons and juicy steaks in Nevada, secluded hot springs and green chile cheeseburgers in New Mexico, and an underground mine and wild west saloon in Arizona.”

Related Links:

Book Now and Save: Plaza Hotel & Casino

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“Long hauling is becoming truly epidemic,” said 14-year driver Stephen Lenett with Whittlesea Blue Cab/Henderson Taxi. “Originally, you saw it from the airport to the hotels, but now it’s just as prevalent going back to the airport. People are coming up with more creative ways to take people on longer rides.”

Driver Kellie Obong, for example, recalled being the second of two cabs ferrying a large group from the airport to Bellagio in December. She dutifully followed the first driver – to the Beltway, then south on I-15 to the Blue Diamond Road exit, before turning north on Las Vegas Boulevard, stretching a $15 fare without waiting time to $50. Read More…

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Mark Ruffalo and Chris Browning headed to downtown Las Vegas for a night at the Golden Gate – Las Vegas’ original casino – to film a scene for the upcoming movie “Now You See Me.”

Chris Browning films Now You See Me at Golden Gate Casino, Las Vegas

Mark Ruffalo poses with Golden Gate's Dancing Dealers, Las Vegas

The movie, scheduled to hit theaters in early 2013, pits a crack FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against a super-team of the world’s greatest illusionists, who pull off a series of daring bank heists during their performances, showering the profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.

The cast and crew worked into the early morning hours filming a dramatic chase scene through Golden Gate’s hip, vintage casino floor darting through slot machines and winding around the blackjack and poker tables eventually spilling out onto Fremont Street, where a massive crowd of onlookers enjoyed the show.

Mark Ruffalo films Now You See Me at Golden Gate Casino, Las Vegas

Ruffalo and Browning made their work fun by posing with employees, including Golden Gate’s signature dancing dealers who will be seen in the movie and even recruited Golden Gate co-owner Derek Stevens as an extra.

Mark Ruffalo and Golden Gate Co-owner Derek Stevens in front of Golden Gate Casino, Las Vegas

Related Links:

Book Now and Save: Golden Gate Hotel & Casino

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On Friday, April 6, The Gazillionaire and cast of Absinthe attended First Friday arts celebration to donate Bar Vendome to the monthly event. At the unveiling at Beauty Bar, Gaz presented zappos.com founder Tony Hsieh with the first pair of gold shoes ever to be bestowed to another person thus making him the very first member of “The Gazillionaire’s Gold Shoe Club.” Photo credit: Freeman White

The Gazillionaire said “Tony is the first member of the Gazillionaire’s Gold Shoe Club. The club is a very exclusive and comprises of Las Vegas richest and most powerful people. The shoes are customized for each member and a photo of them will appear on a plaque inside the Spiegeltent- in my soon to be trophy room. Tony embodies all that is great about being wealthy an influential in Vegas. Basically using that money to do cool s#%*!”

Related Links:

Absinthe Tickets

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Rick Harrison, of HISTORY’s “Pawn Stars,” planned early for “The Old Man’s” birthday this year. For a man who has nearly everything, Harrison had to get creative when coming up with a special present to commemorate his Dad’s 71st birthday. Being the savvy collector that Harrison is, he and the Gold & Silver Pawn staff came up with the idea of creating a silver medallion embossed with “The Old Man’s” face, now available for purchase exclusively at the pawn shop.

This special piece was presented to “The Old Man” Friday, March 2, in a special celebration at the pawn shop. Family, staff and fans were all in attendance as Harrison presented the handcrafted coin to his Dad. Afterwards, everyone was able to enjoy a marble cake with buttercream frosting endorsed with a picture of “The Old Man.”

Also in attendance was country superstar Randy Travis and his entourage, who surprised everyone with a special appearance for “The Old Man.” Travis gave the crooner a special edition guitar that he signed for him while at the shop signing, “Great to meet you. God Bless.”

The medallion was commissioned with Sunshine Minting, Inc. based in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and struck at their operation in Henderson, Nevada. Sunshine Minting is the world’s largest manufacturer of silver and gold for bullion and their products can be found at the Pawn Shop. The first mintage of this medallion will be strictly limited to 1,000 pieces and will only be sold at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, priced at $60 each.

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Alison Victoria, host of DIY Network’s hit show “Kitchen Crashers” is putting her toolkit to good use for the remodeling of a Las Vegas kitchen. Production for the show and the remodeling began in the early morning Monday, March 5, and will continue into Wednesday, March 7, and Thursday, March 8.

The remodel is taking place at 4530 Paseo El Rio Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89121. All the ground work was set up on the first day of production with the kitchen being completely emptied and rewired with the focus of day two to be on the installation of cabinets and the backsplash. Day three will consist of a few final touches and the big reveal to the owners.

Production for March 7 will run 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and March 8 will run 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) announced today that the destination attracted 38.9 million visitors in 2011, the second highest visitor total in history.

Las Vegas attracted 4.3 percent more visitors than in 2010 and maintained a city-wide occupancy rate of nearly 84 percent for the year even with an inventory of more than 150,000 hotel rooms.  Recovery in the convention industry contributed to the increase, with the destination hosting 8.8 percent more business travelers and 5.7 percent more events in 2011 than the previous year.  McCarran International Airport reported a 4.3 percent increase in passengers for the year as well.

“Las Vegas tourism is in a steady recovery and we believe the trend will continue in 2012,” said Ralenkotter.  “We project 40 million visitors this year which would establish a new record.”  Las Vegas hosted 39.2 million visitors in 2007.

The destination has experienced 22 consecutive months of year-over-year growth in visitation and average daily room rates through December.  The average room rate for 2011 was $105.  Las Vegas hosted more than 19,000 meetings and conventions and remains the No. 1 trade show destination in North America, according to the Tradeshow News Network.

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Why did the 9/11 hijackers repeatedly visit Las Vegas during the summer of 2001? It’s a question law enforcement has been asking for nearly 10 years, and they still don’t have a solid answer.

Local police had no homeland security teams back in 2001, but Las Vegas was able to mobilize quickly because of planning done for the Y2K scare and for the annual New Year’s Eve bash.

Read More…

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