As much as we Consumerists hate when our work crosses over into our personal lives and we end up on hold with our cable TV provider for hours or feel the sting of the grocery shrink ray, that’s nothing compared to what happened to a reporter in Las Vegas who, while investigating the rampant foreclosure fraud in his region, discovered he too had fallen victim to the very problem he was reporting on. [More]
las vegas
How A Professional Financial Planner Lost His House
By 11.9.11
I’ve always been fascinated by the old expression, “The Cobbler’s children have no shoes.” It refers to a person who is so concentrated on using their specific skill set to take care of others’ needs that they ignore their own. Carl Richards is a professional financial planner, a guy who people paid to manage their money. He shares how while in the middle of telling people what to do with their cash, he ended up buying way more house than he could afford and ended it up losing it all. It may be a long time before he and his wife can be homeowners again. [More]
Vegas Dismisses $896 Ticket They Gave Car Parked In New York
By 10.26.11
Sometimes it just takes a little followup. That’s what got a $896 ticket vaporized that the city of Las Vegas had erroneously slapped on Charlotte’s car while it was 2,000 miles away in New York state. [More]
Car Racks Up $896.80 Vegas Parking Ticket While Sitting In New York
By 10.25.11
Charlotte is bewildered as to how her Camry somehow got a for $896.80 ticket for parking in a handicapped spot in Las Vegas while it was sitting happily in New York State. Had her car been secretly running out of town to go galavant around Sin City behind her back? [More]
Pay $400 To Play With Bulldozers In Las Vegas
By 6.20.11
If you’re looking for something different to do on vacation this summer, how about playing in a giant sandbox driving bulldozers and earth movers? That’s the idea behind “Dig This,” a “construction theme park” opening in Las Vegas this summer. [More]
Woman Sues For $63K In Wedding Expenses After Fiance Has Fling With Floozy In Vegas
By 3.18.11
The cost of one man’s Las Vegas bachelor party could end up being a lot higher than airfare, hotel and gambling expenses if a Chicago woman gets her way. Claiming breach of promise, she’s suing her former fiance for at least $62,814 in wedding expenses after he got caught sowing his wild oats in Sin City. [More]
Casino Offers A St. Patrick's Discount But Won't Let Me Book A Room For St. Patrick's Day
By 3.7.11
Hey everyone! Let’s go to New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas for St. Patrick’s Day since they’re offering a Paddy’s discount! But guess what — you can’t actually book a room for that holiday because they’re busy with a convention. [More]
MGM Grand No Longer Charging $20/Night To Get A Non-Smoking Room
By 2.17.11
A couple weeks ago, we told you about how the MGM Grand Las Vegas had begun charging $20 per night to guarantee non-smoking rooms to guests. That didn’t go over well with the general public and now the resort tells Consumerist that it’s rescinded the policy. [More]
Would You Pay $20/Night To Guarantee A Non-Smoking Room?
By 2.9.11
You can almost imagine the moment when some executive at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was walking by the check-in counter and heard an employee ask a guest, “Will that be smoking or non-smoking?” And in that moment, yet another idea for a tack-on fee was born. [More]
Vegas ATM Dispenses Gold Instead Of Cash
By 1.13.11
If you’re sick of just getting plain-old cash out of the ATM, head over to the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, where you can withdraw funds from your account in the form of gold. [More]
Walmart Manager Opens Up His Own Business… With $250K Worth Of Allegedly Stolen Items
By 12.17.10
As avaricious as Walmart is, we’re sure that the company would be at least mildly amused at the idea of one of its store managers taking the initiative to begin his own business selling similar products. But we’re guessing that Big W isn’t exactly thrilled if said manager uses $250,000 worth of stolen Walmart property as his inventory. [More]
So What Does A $777 Burger Actually Taste Like?
By 11.24.10
For some reason we can’t fathom, our siblings at Consumer Reports didn’t include the $777 burger at the Paris Casino in Las Vegas in its survey of the country’s best and worst burgers. So it was left up to the folks at NPR to try out the high-priced hamburger for those of us who either can’t afford or would never, ever in a million years spend that much on a food product. [More]
Ever Wonder What Happened To The Real Wendy's Wendy?
By 11.8.10
She’s been the (illustrated) face of the Wendy’s fast food empire for over 40 years, but Wendy Thomas — daughter of the chain’s founder Dave Thomas — has preferred to let that pigtailed drawing of her do the talking in the years since. [More]
Solar Death Ray Broils Las Vegas Hotel Guests
By 9.28.10
Guests at the Vdara hotel in Las Vegas are complaining about getting cooked to a crisp. The hotel is a glass skyscraper, and the way it reflects the sun magnifies the rays, raising temps on areas it hits by as much as 20 to 30 degrees. The result can cause plastic cups and plastic newspaper bags to melt, and it’s definitely not comfortable to have it on you sizzling you up. The hotel is aware of the problem and is trying to deal with it, namely by putting out more umbrellas. Definitely a good reason to check out the online reviews before booking a hotel. [More]
Public Menace? Las Vegas Wants To Ban Gigantic Hula Hoops
By 8.9.10
We’ve never been to Las Vegas, but apparently there is a serious problem with giant hula hoops going on. According to AOL, the Las Vegas City Council is considering banning hula hooping on a five-block pedestrian mall called “The Fremont Street Experience.” (Warning: link is annoying.) [More]
Zappos Turns Office Tour Into Vegas Tourist Attraction
By 7.29.10
A Vegas tourist attraction that doesn’t involve hookers, blackjack, or magic? It’s possible! Famed retailer of shoes and joy Zappos opens its office doors to hundreds of people every month, welcoming everyone, not just business executives and crazed fans. [More]
Does Your Neighborhood Need An Adults-Only Swimming Pool?
By 6.14.10
In most neighborhoods the local pool or swim club is filled with youngsters during the summer, splashing around and making a very distinctive white noise. But in Las Vegas, it’s a very different tale. [More]
Watch Out For Undisclosed Resort Fees When Using Sites Like Priceline
By 12.28.09
Travel consumer advocate Christopher Elliott has a new post about an undisclosed $15/day “resort fee” that Trump International Hotel Las Vegas plans to tack onto a customer’s bill. The surprise is that the customer reserved the room through Priceline, and thought when he made the reservation that Priceline was telling him the final room rate. [More]
