Welcome to the new VegasHappensHere.Com!

Wow!

I didn't even know we had put it online already, but the amazing Sparky of Las Vegas plugged the thing in and the lights are all on so here we are! What do you think? I know it may take some getting used to, but it was time to kick it up a notch around here and that Holly Madison photo couldn't be wasted! (Maybe I should take a page from the vermin Perez Hilton and rename myself Holy Madison or something...)

A word about the thought process behind the way VegasHappensHere.Com is now branded. My inspiration over the past several years has been Nikki Finke, the L.A. Weekly columnist who has turned herself into probably the most important journalist in the Hollywood business thanks to her blog, Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily. In fact, when I decided to change the name from The Strip Podcast Blog to Vegas Happens Here, I did so after considering renaming it Deadline Vegas as an homage to Finke before realizing just how derivative that would seem.

So the content of this site remains exactly the same. You'll find breaking news and incisive commentaries about the Vegas entertainment and business scene as well as photo journeys into places that others don't get access to. This site remains a portal for "The Strip" podcast and "The Strip Sense" columns in the Las Vegas Weekly and a space for musings about my personal and family endeavors, too.

Oh, and here's a tease: You're about to see a bit more of me on TV. When it comes to pass, you'll understand why this site needed an overhaul. Stay tuned!

Obviously, there will be more tweaks to come, some fun new graphical ideas and widgets and such. And we welcome your advice! Thanks again to Sparky! Did I give out his link? Oh, I did? Well, can't do so too often. And here's Sparky's claim to fame: