Kimo’s Vegas

Paris does the pool

WELCOME TO Kimo’s Vegas … The Player’s Edge!

WHAT DO YOU DO when the economy goes bad and the funding your neighbors were using to build their hotel dries up with it? If you’re Steve Wynn, you rip out the new $13 million entrance you built (because the view left from incomplete projects makes it look bad) and drop $69 million to build a secluded adult playground called Encore Beach Club and Surrender night club. Paris Hilton and Neyo kicked off the Memorial Day grand opening. In case you were wondering, Steve Wynn says the waitresses in the tiny orange bikinis “make north of $100 grand apiece, annually.”

WHEEL OF FORTUNE stops at the Venetian/Palazzo July 13-30 to shoot shows for its 28th season. Requests to hang with Pat and Vanna must be sent by June 25. Get the link for the form at www.KimosVegas.com. Because they get more requests than seats, tickets are awarded randomly starting June 28. https://www.wheeloffortune.co m/tickets/lasvegas2010/print/.

DIAMONDS ARE a girl’s best friend, especially when they come in a royal flush … Melissa Moniz, associate editor and senior writer here at MidWeek, won $2,353 on the quarter video poker machine at Main Street. She says, “I’m not much of a gambler, but I do occasionally visit the poker machines just for kicks.” So that’s the secret: Gotta kick da machine.

Lucky Melissa Moniz

THE CASINO CHIP & Gaming Tokens Collectors Club is having its annual get-together June 23-26 at South Point. After the first day, the show is open to the public for two red chips ($10), or become a member for $20. The dealers there are more than happy to look through the collection of chips you found at tutu’s, especially if you’ve got an old Hacienda nickel chip (yellow with three black inserts around the edge) – it’s worth about $15,000.

THE OFFICIAL Star Trek Convention lands in Vegas Aug. 5-8. It’ll be the first time the largest gathering of like-minded folks in the galaxy congregated at the Hilton since Star Trek the Experience went homeless. There’ll be plenty to keep a Trekies busy, including Leonard Nimoy’s “Secret Selves” project. He and William Shatner (I wonder if he gets a deal from Priceline?) have the highest-priced autographs at $79 before and $90 at the convention. Next comes Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) at $70 (all are plus the price of convention admission). On Saturday, organizers hope to “seek out new life” and break the Guinness World Record for “Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Star Trek Characters”… Note only those dressed in full costume will be counted.

IN APRIL, the unemployment rate in Las Vegas

hit an all-time high of 14.2 percent compared to last year’s 10.5 percent.

GET THE LATEST Vegas news: Text OCEANIC VEGAS to 32862, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, online at www.KimosVegas.com, www.AroundHawaii.com and every week here in MidWeek. E-mail Kimo@KimosVegas.com.