Kimo’s Vegas

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

BACK IN 1989, when $60 million was really worth $60 million, Steve Wynn built one of the most exclusive 18 holes on the planet. It wasn’t shrouded in secrecy, but you had to be a player, a real big player – a whale, in casino parlance – to touch the grassy greens known as Shadow Creek. Built on 350 acres of desert flatland, more than 3 million cubic yards of dirt was moved to form a berm that blocked the outside from looking in, and 21,000 trees were imported to populate the course that includes lakes, waterfalls, rolling hillsides – and no hole is visible from another. A couple of years ago the course’s designer, Tom Fazio, oversaw a $17 million renovation. Nowadays most guests at an MGM resort with $500 can get a tee time – not a lotta money, but still more than most of us would spend on a round. For the first time in the course’s history, it will be open to the average Joe and Josephine for as little as $25. The occasion is the first time the 10th annual Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational is being held in Las Vegas. Get the scoops on the March 31 through April 4 charity event and link(s) to buy tickets at KimosVegas.com. If you can afford it, spring for the VIP tickets and watch the final hole from the hospitality deck that has only seen the feet of 150 people in the last 20 years!

HOW LUCKY can one person be? … Didja hear about the woman who was on her way to her room at the Aria when the Megabucks machine caught her eye? Two spins later – that’s a whole six bucks into the machine – she won $12,769,933! When the symbols lined up, she thought the machine malfunctioned because the lights went out. But she was astute enough to know the first rule of playing a progressive slot machine – always bet max coins.

MAYBE SHE’LL CELEBRATE with one of chef Hubert Keller’s $5,000 burgers. The FleurBurger 5000 is a Kobe beef patty topped with foie gras, black truffles, the chef’s special sauce and served with a bottle of 1995 Chateau Petrus. I know what you’re thinking … 5 grand for a burger! Go figgah! They expect to sell about six of these babies a year. The recipe for the regular FleurBurger is available online at KimosVegas.com.

JUST BECAUSE you’re going to college doesn’t make you smart … Hubert Blackman says he was traumatized by the Las Vegas police when they threatened to arrest him after he called 911. The New York City resident is suing Las Vegas Exclusive Personals because he paid an entertainer $155 for a lap dance and $120 for a deed of the dark. The rub came the next morning when he called to complain that she left after a half hour, even though he was promised a full hour. He also claims he was drunk and therefore incapable of making an informed agreement. When they refused to give him a refund he called Metro, who informed him that prostitution is illegal in Vegas and he just incriminated himself. Well, that didn’t stop him from filing a $1.8 million lawsuit … Maybe his parents should sue his school for a refund.

GET THE LATEST Vegas news: Text OCEANIC VEGAS to 32862, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, online at KimosVegas.com, AroundHawaii.com and every week here in MidWeek. Send me your Vegas questions, mana’o, photos and reunions to Kimo@KimosVegas.com.