Did I say bad news? I meant terrible news.

With the loss of the Ritz and the casino, that only leaves some stores and restaurants in MonteLago Village and the Loews hotel on the other side of the lake. Even two of the three golf courses have closed. The affect these closures will have on them could be severe, especially for the shops and eateries.

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The dusty lot at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and McWilliams Avenue (just north of Fremont Street) has been home to the signs for the last few years but now they live in a parking lot of the Cashman Center next door. The lot is being turned into a park and a visitors' center is being built. The park portion should be done by early 2011.

Note that tours of the signs are not happening until everything is completed and the signs are moved back to their permanent home.

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The rumor that is currently making rounds (first on Debtwire.com and later in Norm Clarke's column in the Las Vegas Review Journal) is that Harrah's is buying up the debt of the parent company of The Palms, the independent hotel located across the street from their Rio Suites.

Nobody at Harrah's or The Palms is talking but there seems to be a lot of buzz around this particular rumor so I'm giving it some credence, especially since the debt acquisition strategy is exactly how they wound up taking over Planet Hollywood.

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The I Want to Be Big Award of the Week goes to FAO Shwarz, the famed toy store whose branch at Caesars Palace closed a couple of weeks ago.

The HMMMM Award of the Week goes to the Cirque du Soleil/Criss Angel production Believe at Luxor. Why? Because Cirque has let all of the dancers in the show go effective in July. Word is that there will be major changes to the struggling show.

The Go East Young Man Award of the Week goes to Steve Wynn of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, whose company will managing a casino in Philadelphia. The casino, which will be a partnership with the same Indian tribe that operates the Foxwoods in Connecticut, will be located on the waterfront and will include slots and table games. No opening date has been set.

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