Phil Ruffin

Casinos use trial and error to try to maximize revenue. About a year after Wynn Las Vegas opened in 2005, executives took square footage from a bar in order to expand a nearby baccarat pit.

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and the World Series of Poker announced plans Thursday for a special 2012 tournament that would require a record $1 million entry fee.

1. With 2 giant Ferris wheels planned for the Strip, here are 6 others. Will an amusement park, a new shopping and food district, and a pair of Ferris wheels bring a needed tourism boost to the Strip?

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Treasure Island owner strives to keep his property affordable ? and laid-back ? for 40-something demographic he covets. Since Phil Ruffin purchased Treasure Island from MGM Resorts International in 2009, he has spent about $20 million on renovations to the property.

It's been two years since Phil Ruffin moved into his new digs, but the casino owner isn't quite settled into his home on the Strip.

In its prime, the north end of the Strip - the home to casinos such as the Thunderbird, Silver Slipper and Stardust - defined Vegas glitz. This stretch of the Strip was the stamping grounds for the likes of the Rat Pack, Elizabeth Taylor and Liberace.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York businessman and possible Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called U.S. political leadership "stupid" and used the "F" word several times in remarks in Las Vegas on Thursday.

Donald Trump says that if elected president he would levy a 25 percent tariff on all Chinese goods, occupy Iraq so America can keep its oil and charge South Korea for keeping US forces there.

Las Vegas can't rest on its laurels, so now is the time to look at what can be done to Revamp city Las Vegas must reinvent the wheel to emerge from recession, appeal to changing audience. It's easy to fret that the glory days are over for the Strip - the wellspring of our economy and icon of our global identity. After all, so much is going wrong. The slow, semistagnant recovery from the recession. Intense competition in the U.S. and abroad for gambling dollars. Aging Baby Boomers spending less. People seeking gaming venues closer to home. And, if only symbolically, the likelihood no casinos will be built for years. Still, there are the optimists who believe the Strip's irrepressible entrepreneurship and ability to dazzle and draw will surmount all obstacles and challenges. In these dismal days, there is much introspection - backed by the beginnings of action - to guarantee the Strip does far more in the future than merely survive.

The final entry in my official Las Vegas Events 2010 calendar is "America's Party: Las Vegas New Year December 31." I wasn't at the fireworks show this New Year's Eve, though. I was turning the calendar with a Las Vegas headliner, and the name of this person might surprise you.But that is not for now.

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas casino opens with promise, big expectations given $3.9B cost. The last major Las Vegas resort approved before the Great Recession will have to lure thousands of gamblers from established neighbors to survive after it opens Wednesday.

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas casino opens with promise, big expectations given $3.9B cost. The last major Las Vegas resort approved before the Great Recession will have to lure thousands of gamblers from established neighbors to survive after it opens Wednesday.

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas casino opens with promise, big expectations given $3.9B cost. The last major Las Vegas resort approved before the Great Recession will have to lure thousands of gamblers from established neighbors to survive after it opens Wednesday.

When billionaire Phil Ruffin bought Treasure Island last year, speculation swirled about other Las Vegas hotels that could be sold by cash-strapped casino giants.

Key financial supporters dumped incumbent governor, diverted dollars to Sandoval, Reid. CARSON CITY ? Gov. Jim GibbonsÕ transformation from establishment favorite four years ago to maverick with only the faintest political support is official. Threatened with becoming the only Nevada incumbent governor to lose a primary election, Gibbons raised a fraction of the Democratic and Republican front-runnersÕ haul, according to campaign finance reports released last week.

Catch-and-pitch time from the Field of Notes:¥¥¥ÒDisneyÕs The Lion KingÓ celebrated its one-year anniversary Saturday. Clearly, it was the time to ponder the late Michael Jackson.

Arab-American from Michigan crowned Miss USA after near-stumble in gown competition. Lebanese immigrant Rima Fakih says it was a certain look from Donald Trump that tipped her off that she had won the 2010 Miss USA title.

Miss USA hopefuls take stage in Vegas to crown pageant winner, country's pick to Miss Universe. A group of 51 beauty queens had their eyes set on the 2010 Miss USA title Sunday, but just 15 remained in the competition after the pageant's opening number in Las Vegas.

Treasure IslandÕs Phil Ruffin is out to capture new plunder: That of budget-minded tourists with blue-collar tastes. Just steps away from the pirate ship where sexy sirens make a splash nightly, Phil Ruffin is harboring a country-western haven. GilleyÕs saloon, a brand popularized in the 1980 movie ÒUrban Cowboy,Ó was the featured attraction at RuffinÕs previous resort, the New Frontier, until that building was imploded in November 2007. But as owner of Treasure Island, Ruffin is spending about$10 million to return GilleyÕs to the Strip ? mechanical bull and all.