Good news for Vegas real estate development: the Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino will avoid foreclosure. When finished, the hotel and convention facilities will be run by Hyatt. The complex will include roughly 3000 hotel rooms in addition to a number of luxury, high-rise condominiums.

A couple items on that quintessential Vegas export, weddings! First we have the Vegas Wedding FAQ. Not up for a Vegas wedding? Join some other couples in a much more sedate (but equally quick) Henderson wedding.

Confused about the various mortgage options and qualifications out there? Thanks to Inman News for pointing out Mortgage Grader. Warning: inline sound and video.

And a foreclosure prevention currently under debate would allow bankruptcy judges to modify or “cram down” new terms on some mortgages of owner-occupied homes with “subprime or non-traditional” mortgages. A bunch of stipulations apply, of course, and terms are still under negotiation in Congress. Needless to say, lenders hate this idea, and say it will increase lending costs to consumers. Notable economic minds like Larry Summers advocate some sort of bankruptcy reform needs to be a part of the foreclosure solution.

Looking forward to seeing some of you this Friday, February 29, 2008, at the Desert Shores Dojo!

I will be at the United Studios of Self Defense Desert Shores Dojo on Friday, February 29, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM to meet you and answer any questions you may have about buying or selling property, local market conditions, the economy, and real estate in general.  I will also gladly set up appointments to list your property for sale, or help you find a great property to buy.  They are located at 8410 W. Cheyenne, Suite #104 (in front of Albertsons and CVS, for a map click here).  You will also be able to meet with representatives from other local businesses.

Yesterday, Sensei Brian told me there are a number of RSVPs, so to get your business represented or get a list of businesses that will be there, call him or Miss Teri today.  Their phone number is (702) 396-9944.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

Thanks to the Movable Buffet for pointing out the Las Vegas Sun’s new database of flight delays. This should prove to be a great tool whether you are coming to Vegas, or trying to get out of town!

I am proud to announce that I will be on hand at the United Studios of Self-Defense Desert Shores Dojo for a networking open house on Friday, February 29 from 6-8 PM. The dojo is at 8410 W. Cheyenne, Suite #104, near the intersection of Rampart/Durango and Cheyenne in the Albertsons parking lot.

I will be on hand to answer your questions about the Las Vegas real estate market, real estate in general, local neighborhoods, and of course I will be glad to discuss helping you buy or sell a home. If you have specific issues you want to discuss with me, don’t wait: call me at 702-727-7842 today! If you would like to search listings first, click here!

Other businesses will be on hand to discuss their products and services as well. For more information, a list of businesses that will be there, or to reserve room for your business, be sure to call 702-396-9944 and talk to Miss Teri or Sensei Bryan today!

Scientists have now said that whether or not Lake Mead exists in 15 years is a coin toss:

Based on models constructed from the analysis of historical records from the Federal Bureau of Land Reclamation, the researchers, Tim Barnett and David Pierce, say there is a ten percent chance the reservoir will be dry in 2014, and a 50 percent chance no water will be left by 2021.

Lake Mead was created by the Hoover Dam’s blockage of the Colorado River. The river is fed by snow pack from Rockies, which has been decreasing. The dam, of course, was one of the prototypical megaengineering efforts of the 20th century and a symbol of how human ingenuity could conquer any obstacle, including supplying water to a city the size of Las Vegas in the middle of the desert.

But the sheer amount of water that natural and manmade climate changes and human usage is drawing out of the Colorado River system is staggering. The researchers estimate that 1 million acre-feet, or 326 billion gallons, of water are being leached out of the system each year. They say that’s enough to supply 8 million people.

While this sort of story is sensational, I think it’s more than a little alarmist.  For one thing,  it ignores the springs that initially brought settlers to the Las Vegas Valley — by the way, while you are in Vegas you can check this out for yourself at the Springs Preserve.  For another, they specifically say that the current quantity of water taken out of the system would supply a city the size of New York City when Las Vegas only has a population of half a million people — the entire valley has a population of maybe 2 million. Even if all our roughly 125,000 hotel rooms were occupied, and all 42,000 additional rooms scheduled to be available by 2012 were occupied, and all the people who will be employed as a result of those rooms were counted, there would still be far fewer than 8 million people in the valley.

Los Angeles, on the other hand, may want to think about desalination.

Last week, there was a fire at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino.  Needless to say, everyone is thankful there were no deaths, unlike 1980’s MGM fire.  Check out this impressive picture from the Review-Journal.  Truly, we have a great fire department here in the Valley, and I would like to thank them for a job well done.

The Monte Carlo loses $12.68 every second it is closed.  Clean-up and repairs are underway, and employees will be getting their full wages while the facility is closed. Apparently, there are some code issues at play as well, so it may take a while.

Meanwhile, workers at the Tropicana have apparently been told not to cash their paychecks.

To wrap things up, here’s Interesting Las Vegas Facts to Surprise Your Friends.

Not that I like rush hour traffic, but I kind of like driving across the Las Vegas Valley around sunset. The fading light reflects off the mountains in a quite lovely way, leaving interesting patterns of shade behind. And so much the better if there are some clouds that turn orange and pink and lavender as the sun dips behind the mountains at the West edge of town. This of course makes lovely contrast with the sea of bright lights as one passes by the Strip and Downtown.

Of course, there are other ways to spend time in Vegas than watching the setting sun. Here’s 15 Ways to have a Blast Without Gambling.

Now, if the sun is setting, it might be time to consider some dinner…. or maybe some other meal, depending on your native time zone. On that note, here’s some CES foodblogging from Down the Avenue’s (and Blodgett Communications’s) Renee Blodgett, and some fine dining tips from LasVegasUSA.org.

Yes, it’s an obligatory CES post. That’s the Consumer Electronics Show, if you didn’t know. Everyone is here.  Bill Gates is here.  Various manufacturers and other vendors are announcing cool stuff — too much for me to talk about and have you still care.  What a shame this may be one of the last ones here in Vegas.

Here’s a view of Vegas from one of the attendees,  and some tips offered by a local attendee for surviving CES — a lot of it applies to almost any Vegas event you might attend.

Happy New Year, folks!  Here’s some little tidbits for you:

First we have the story of how a bank became the victim of a huge mortgage fraud scam (which may also have artificially inflated California real estate prices).

Details are surfacing that some sub-prime lenders were actively working to circumvent state-level regulations that would have protected consumers from risky and inappropriate loans.

Next up, a premiere peek at the Palazzo, Las Vegas’s newest casino-resort.   There are 3000 rooms, and the facility itself will employ 4000 workers in 420 job categories.  This of course says nothing of the jobs that will be generated providing goods and services to the 4000 workers and the occupants of those 3000 rooms.

If you are planning on selling a home in the near future, here’s some recommended reading on remodeling and repairs.

And last but not least,  popular Vegas productions for 2008.

The Springs Preserve wants to help residents of the Las Vegas Valley recycle their Christmas trees.  There are 15 locations set up throughout the valley, and they will be accepting trees through January 15.