We are planning our yearly trip to Vegas and have decided to try a new hotel. I reviewed the hotel ratings posted on your Web site and am somewhat confused. The previous hotel we stayed only received a 3-1/2 star rating, yet had real good comments, while the new hotel we are looking at although rated at 4-1/2 stars, without near the same amount of good comments. In fact, most were negative comments. Can you please explain your hotel rating method for this Web site. There must be more to it than just customer comments. Thanks.

Every time a casino is about to open, I hear about a "soft" opening. What is the difference between a soft opening and a grand opening?

I'll be coming to town December 4-8, staying at the Mirage. Will I see a volcano operating? Thanks!

In your answer for QoD 11/12/08 you used the term 86'd. What does that mean and were did it originate?

When I was out in January of this year, I heard that there might be a new casino going in just outside of Vegas, just before the [Paiute] Indian reservation on the way to Indian Springs. Is this true?

What ever happened to Michelle VanRee and Deogee, the hypnotic dog? They were last seen at the Stardust, just before the implosion... Can you review the hypnosis shows still playing in Las Vegas? No need to publish--just think about the answers and I'll receive them.

On my last trip to Vegas, I lost my driver's license on the first day. I soon learned that it's extremely difficult to survive in Vegas without picture ID. I needed it to check into the hotel, to do any transaction at the player's club, to use my credit card anywhere, etc. Luckily, I had a scan of it on my computer and I printed it out. For the most part, it was accepted by people once I explained that I lost my driver's license. But I was cautioned more than once that if I hit a jackpot, the casino would only accept a real ID as proof. So if this ever happens to me again, what are my alternatives? By the way, on my last night, someone turned in my driver's license to casino security and I got it back. It would have been nicer to get it back a few days earlier, but at least I got it back.

We just returned from a stay at the Palazzo. I remember watching it being built from our room at the Wynn and the lot looked pretty small. Can you tell me what used to occupy that space? And how does the size of Palazzo’s space compare to other hotels on the Strip?

In the Today's News section on 9/19 you referenced the NGC's Black Book. The new entry to the book was for #36. If this book is for slot cheats it seems that there should be way more names than 36. What is this Black Book and how do you get into it? (Not that I want to get in it!) Thanks.

The only complete sentence my husband of two years ever utters is, "If it costs money, the answer is no." He’s so cheap that he sounds like a hundred hungry baby birds. We’re flying in to L.A. (on his parents’ dime) to attend his sister’s wedding and I’m dying to visit Las Vegas. We can borrow his brother’s car (with a full tank of gas that’ll almost get us there and back) and I’m willing to basically starve when we’re there. The problem is somewhere to stay. Can you tell me what’s the absolute most inexpensive (free?) rock-bottom way to spend, say, two nights?