It's been an ugly saga between the two for the last few years. The owners of Rumjungle had a deal that specified they could be the only nightclub at Mandalay Bay. When the hotel opened the Eyecandy Sound Lounge in the center of the casino floor, the Rumjungle folks called foul but Mandalay Bay said it wasn't a formal nightclub so they weren't violating the letter of the agreement.

According to Mandalay Bay, Rumjungle fell behind on the rent and according to Rumjungle, the opening of Eyecandy hurt their business. The club filed for bankruptcy in March and Mandalay Bay has been fighting to get them evicted ever since.

The space will get converted into another nightclub/restaurant most likely although plans have not been formalized.

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Those days appear to be over. Recent studies have indicated that the more than 6,000 rooms that were added at CityCenter have had a negative effect on the city's bottom line, driving down overall occupancy rates and, more importantly, room rates. Costs have been cut across the board and the average daily room rate is down nearly $40 from where it was in 2007.

So what's going to happen when The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas adds another 2,000 rooms to the mix? The best guess, according to gaming industry analysts, is that it will continue the downward pressure on rates and could wind up hurting profits up and down The Strip.

Of course, all of this is actually great news for you. The more empty rooms on The Strip, the lower the rates you're going to have to pay for them on your next visit.

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Known for their awe-inspiring circus style acrobatics mixed with avant garde theater pieces and dramatic visuals, Cirque du Soleil is a must-see when visiting the city. Obviously you can't do them all... well, I suppose you could if you tried hard enough and felt like spending a small fortune, but realistically most people only have the time and budget for one or two on any given trip. So which of them should you spend your money on? And if you've seen a couple, which ones should you see next? Or see again?

Here's what I think.

If you've never seen a Cirque show before, either in Vegas or somewhere else, then you absolutely must start with the one that started it all in Sin City, "Mystère" at Treasure Island. Filled with the kind of evocative, emotional, and eye-popping set pieces that they are most famous for, "Mystere" gives you everything you need for an entry point. It's also the show you should go back to see if you've already done the others.

Once you've gotten that one under your belt, go to "KÀ" at MGM Grand. It takes everything that Cirque does well (dramatic stunts, stunning eye candy) and puts it against a story about twins (a prince and princess), separated by war, who take a dramatic journey to reunite and save their kingdom. The martial arts battles are amazing and the floating stage is a technological marvel that shouldn't be missed.

Third on the list should be "Viva Elvis" at Aria Las Vegas. This is the best example of Cirque's new breed of show, which has an increased emphasis on dance in addition to stunts and big spectacle. Set to the music of Mr. Presley (with both live covers and remastered/remixed originals), this is their most accessible and downright fun show.

"O" at Bellagio is often at the top of critics' lists and for good reason - it is, in a word, stunning. Performed in, around, and above a giant pool, it has all of the classic Cirque elements only with water. There are two reasons I don't put it higher on the list. First, the pool - while interesting - tends to limit the action (they swim, they dive, they do aerialist tricks above it). It just isn't as awe inducing as "Mystere" in my opinion. Also, "O" is much more aggressively "out there" in terms of its theater and set pieces, something that can turn off the uninitiated.

Before "Viva Elvis," Cirque first did the tribute angle with "Love" at The Mirage, featuring the music of The Beatles. It is very heavy on the dance and interpretations of the Fab Four's classics while lighter on the traditional Cirque elements. It's a good show - don't get me wrong - but you really don't need to be an Elvis fan to enjoy "Viva Elvis," while with "Love," if you don't know (and/or appreciate) The Beatles, it can leave you a bit cold.

Of course there's always the underappreciated "Zumanity" at New York-New York. This is Cirque's "adult" show, filled with all sorts of stunts, dancing, and comedy that celebrate all aspects of human sexuality. It strives to be titillating and sexy and sometimes gets there but more often than not it winds up being just kind of naughty (and occasionally downright vulgar). While this show is not my favorite, it's still an interesting derivation of the form.

Last, but not necessarily least, is "Believe" at Luxor. This co-venture between Cirque and illusionist Criss Angel has gotten panned soundly by, well, just about everyone. My problems with it were mostly that there wasn't enough Cirque for Cirque fans and there wasn't enough magic for Criss Angel fans, but the show has been getting a revamp over the last few months and word on the streets is that it is significantly improved. I'll be going back to check it out this fall after they've gotten their trick legs under them and will let you know what I think.

And of course, if none of these sound good, you can always wait until 2012 when there will be an EIGHTH Cirque show featuring the music of Michael Jackson.

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Before looking forward, let's take a look back, shall we?

The 1980s were relatively slow in terms of new development. Circus Circus, Sahara, Riviera, Imperial Palace, The Dunes, The Four Queens, The Sundance (now Fitzgerald's), The Holiday Casino (now Harrah's), El Cortez, and Lady Luck all opened new towers but the only significant all-new hotel-casinos to open were the Bourbon Street and The Gold Coast.

Then the 1989 opening of The Mirage kicked off a boom unlike any the city had ever seen. In addition to expansions at existing properties, here is a list of hotels that opened during the 1990s: Santa Fe Station, Rio Suites, Excalibur, Treasure Island, MGM Grand, Luxor, Fiesta Rancho, Boomtown (now Silverton), Texas Station, Hard Rock Hotel, Boulder Station, Stratosphere, The Reserve (now Fiesta Henderson), Orleans, Monte Carlo, Sunset Station, Paris Las Vegas, New York-New York, Bellagio, The Venetian, and Mandalay Bay.

While the 2000's were not as busy in terms of new stuff, it still brought about hotels such as Terrible's, Suncoast, Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood), The Palms, Green Valley Ranch, the late-great Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas, the Hyatt Lake Las Vegas (now Loew's), Wynn Las Vegas, Encore Las Vegas, South Coast (now South Point), Red Rock Resort, The Cannery, The Eastside Cannery, Palazzo Las Vegas, and CityCenter plus major expansions at Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, and The Venetian among others.

So the 2010s... The Cosmopolitan, set to open December of this year and then... [insert sound of crickets chirping here].

At this point, there are absolutely no additional major hotel-casinos with official openings planned in the city for the rest of the decade.

Yes, there are some things in the works. On The Strip, only the Fontainebleau is in a position to open its doors sometime in the next few years. The 3,000 room resort on the north end of The Strip near The Riviera is about half finished according to most reports but is mothballed by the owner, billionaire Carl Icahn, who rescued it out of bankruptcy. He plans on keeping it that way until the economy improves, which could be years. Even when he decides to move forward, it will be at least a year of additional construction before the hotel can open its doors so my best guess is no earlier than 2012 and perhaps as late as 2014.

The two other big projects on The Strip will be even later, if they ever happen at all. Echelon, the replacement for The Stardust, is a dusty field of partially built buildings that will most likely need to get scrapped and redone once the parent company in charge of the project decides to move forward. If something actually gets built there, I would be surprised if it opens anytime in the next five or ex years. Ditto for The Plaza, the proposed replacement for The Frontier, which didn't even get to the building portion before the plan was put into limbo. The big empty lot will most likely remain that way for the bulk of this decade.

As for all the other hotel-casinos you may have heard about over the years such as the CityCenter-like project that was to be built on the empty lot across from The Sahara? Yeah, you can pretty much forget about seeing those anytime soon, if ever.

There are some expansions that will happen during this decade. The Harmon Hotel at CityCenter is partially complete (it's the sort of roundish one at the northeast corner of the property next to Cosmopolitan). They plan to keep it that way until demand for room inventory increases so that means 2011 at the earliest; maybe 2012.

Up the street, Caesars Palace has an expansion partially constructed with the 1,000 room Octavius Tower on the Flamingo side of the property. The billion dollar building is mostly just a shell right now but could be finished off and opened within a year once they decide to do it. Figure 2012 at the earliest on that one also.

And Steve Wynn is always someone worth watching when it comes to new Vegas development. He has room and rumored plans to build a third resort next to Wynn and Encore and it is public knowledge that he is annoyed by the big dusty lot across the street that was to be The Plaza. But even if he were to announce something tomorrow, it would be 2015 or later before any doors could open.

If you're looking for something new from the major casino players you're going to have to travel a bit further than Las Vegas. Most of the companies major profits are coming from casinos in Asia, with Venetian, MGM Grand, Sands, and Wynn hotels already open and more planned in Macau, China.

So for the most part, the new in Vegas for the foreseeable future is going to be limited to the stuff they don't have bring in cranes for - shows, restaurants, nightclubs, and attractions. There's always that Michael Jackson Cirque show in 2012.

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