It starts with a Travel Planning area, with information culled from years of advice I’ve given readers like you in this column, newly updated and collected in one central place. Deciding When to Go gives you an overview of the best and worst times of the year to hit Sin City; Choosing the Best Hotel and What to See & Do provide hints and tips for designing a vacation that is suited to your taste and budget; Managing Your Money will hopefully help you not blow all of Junior’s college fund on your next trip; and the Tipping Guide is filled with Vegas-specific information from buffet servers to dealers at the blackjack table.

The next part, Transportation, is all about getting to Vegas and then getting around once you are there. Las Vegas Travel Tips provides an overview of your transportation options and is followed by information about Airlines, the Airport, Rental Cars, the Las Vegas Monorail, Shortcuts between hotels, and Taxis, Shuttles, and Buses.

The Health & Safety area contains vital details about how to keep yourself safe from crime, disaster, and illness while you’re visiting. There is an overview of the safe and not-so-safe Neighborhoods; a piece about Protecting Your Valuables; some practical advice on how to Protect Yourself from becoming a victim of crime while in Vegas; some bullet points about local Laws on things like alcohol (can you carry an open container on The Strip?) and prostitution (can you carry an open hooker on The Strip?); an extended piece about Fire & Disaster Safety for both while you’re in your room an out in public; some pointers about staying well with Health Tips; and contact information for nearby Hospitals and Urgent Care.

The Weather area will show you how hot it is in Vegas, both in real time and in general while the Wedding Information area will give you an overview of what you need to walk down the aisle in Vegas.

And finally, there’s another new section of Resources specifically for people who have Special Needs while traveling. Vegas for Families will point you toward the right hotels, attractions, and shows if you are bringing the wee ones; Vegas for Seniors provides some information about where to find discounts for those who qualify; Vegas for Persons with Disabilities talks about lodging and getting around if mobility is an issue; Vegas for Gays & Lesbians deals with neighborhoods, clubs, resorts, and safety issues for the community; and Vegas for People with Pets will let you know what your options are if you can’t leave Fluffy and Fido at home.

Much of the new Resources area was written because of questions from readers like you over the years. Take some time to go through it and if you see something missing – something that will help you and others make your trip even better – please let me know by sending an e-mail to rick@vegas4visitors.com. Please be sure to put Vegas4Visitors in the subject line of the e-mail as I get a LOT of spam and it is easy to miss things if all you put is “Hi” in the header.

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The 25-story Rush Tower is a $150 million addition to the property that will feature nearly 500 rooms in a new building just to the north of the existing facility. It was built on what used to be Carson Avenue between Main and 1st streets.

A new main entrance is being added on 1st Street with a porte corchere and valet parking. The main front desk will move into the new tower and be backed by a 50,000 gallon aquarium that is part of The Chart House restaurant, one of Golden Nugget owner Landry’s signature restaurants.

The casino will also be expanded into the new area to offer more slots and table games.

The rooms in the Rush Tower will all be bigger than the existing Golden Nugget accommodations and each will feature pillow-top mattresses, feather down comforters, 42-inch plasma TVs, and more.

The expansion connects to the existing building near what was the North Tower Lobby, adjacent to the pool area. In fact, The Rush Tower will have its own dedicated pool on a 5th floor deck that merges with the upper levels of the current Tank Pool area.

The Rush Tower is scheduled to open on November 20th, 2009 and reservations are now being accepted.

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