It's been a quiet month in Lake Doughbegone, my hometown, out on the edge of the desert...

Cousin Elvie Advisor wrote me a letter with some of the recent happenings that I thought you might like to hear about.

The big Fashion Show Mall is goin' to get even bigger... 1.77 million square feet. Compare that to the little mall called Mall of America up near Lake Woebegone in Minnesota that has 2.5 million. Look for the big glass elevator that rises 14 feet to deliver fashion models to the 80 ft long runway where they show you the latest clothes from New York and Paris. All the anchor stores are open but Lord and Taylor. In February, there will be a 400 foot-long cloud canopy that will provide a screen for projected entertainment for the out of towners.

Work started on Steve Wynn's new Le Reve and is scheduled for completion in April 2005. Look for 18 restaurants, an 80 foot mountain, 3 acre lake, and all-suite rooms bigger than the Venetian's. Wynn plans to break ground for his new resort in Macau in January.

Speaking of the Venetian, work continues on the new 14 story tower. Would you believe, when complete the big V will have 1013 rooms and be the 3rd largest hotel in Las Vegas (after MGM and Luxor).

If you're looking for a moderately priced timeshare in Las Vegas, rumors have it that AMX, who bought Lady Luck downtown from Isle of Capri plans to make one wing of the hotel a fractional ownership operation.

The Cannery Casino in N. Las Vegas is scheduled for a January 3 opening.

National Airlines which called itself Las Vegas' "hometown airline" shut down about 3 weeks ago. Lots of scrambling by National passengers to find another way home!

Statewide gambling revenues in Nevada were up 6.1% from last years depressed figures. Things are still slower than expected in LV though; you can get even better hotel room rates this month than you could last year at this time. Elvie mentions rates from $14 a nite (Las Vegas Club, El Cortez, etc) to high end hotels like Caesars Palace at $85 a night.

For cheap eats in LV, Elvie says try the new Vegas Subs outlet in the Palms Hotel. It has the same quality as the outlet has at the Hilton, but sandwiches are an inch shorter and have an ounce less meat: That puts them in the $5 range and $1-2 cheaper than the Hilton's very good subs.

Want to eat late in Las Vegas? Lots of the best places are closed by midnight (or earlier). For all-night seafood, you can try Shucks with two locations on either side of the Strip. Also, Lighthouse on Spring Mountain has whole lobsters all day and night, and supposed to have killer New England clam chowder ($5.50 a bowl).

A traditional lounge act still plays at one of the oldest Strip lounges still in it's original location... Starlight at Stardust Casino. Checkout impersonator Bob Anderson and the 5 piece live band that brings back memories of the REAL golden era of music in town. Elvie sent me a 2 for 1 coupon that lets the two of you hear Bob Anderson for $24.95. One of the many great perks of being on Elvie's list of monthly updates from LV.

If you're looking at other ways to save money on the casino shows, stop by Coca-cola's Tickets2Nite, a half price outlet in the Showcase Mall next to MGM. Best deals are probably on weeknights rather than weekends.

If you'd like to get letters from Elvie too, send her a donation of $50 to keep the kids from goin' hungry for a year. She has a web site you can get current LV info on, and find more information on subscribing: www.lasvegasadvisor.com

That's the news from Lake Doughbegone... where all the chips are rare, all the dealers are good lookin', and everybody's luck is above average!