Going to a wedding in Vegas and going to Vegas for Halloween should be equally sacred items on everyone’s bucket list. This Halloween, look for lots of parties and a pleasant mix of tourists and locals at many casinos on the Strip.

Halloween in Las Vegas is pretty festive. For a city of only two million, we put on a pretty big party. I mean, it rivals the West Hollywood Parade, the Mission District Parade in San Francisco and the Christopher Street parade in Manhattan. This year it’s even on a Saturday night, so many of the tourists that are coming will be coming with costumes and really planning to party like rock stars.

And so are many Vegas locals.

A quick run-down of a few of the parties:

“Vampires and Vixens” inside the Pub at Monte Carlo. When The Pub still brewed its own beer (back when its official name was the Brew Pub) this place had a great ambiance. Some of that hip beer joint vibe has been homogenized under the new banner and I suspect the success of this Halloween party might serve as a critical barometer for management to decide whether more change is necessary. Now that some of the parking and construction hurdles caused by City Center have gone away, this should be an interesting, but not completely mobbed party and costume contest. The Pub still has a great sound system and stage. It’s $20 at the door, there’s a $75 unlimited drinks special and Zowie Bowie is scheduled to perform.

The Kiss Army descends on the Hard Rock Cafe inside the new Hard Rock Cafe on Saturday night. Combined with their annual “Fetish & Fantasy Halloween Ball” inside The Joint ($75) the Hard Rock is going to be rocking hard this week-end. Expect this to be one of the biggest, boldest Halloween party/photo-opp zones on the Strip. As someone who was just at the Hard Rock last Saturday night for a friend’s wedding reception after-party, let me just say adding costumes to that cash rich, young and beautiful raging throng is going to be like, well, a Kiss show with fetish ball on Halloween at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas! On a side note, from what I heard last week-end from some blackjack players, this is not a bad place to get some good double-deck action too. If you prefer roulette and cheering twenty year-olds in short skirts, then the Hard Rock is definitely the place for you.

The Palms resort will host the “Night of the Killer Costumes III” parties with $100,000 in cash and prizes divided between separate events at the Playboy Club, Moon, Ghostbar and Rain. Expect a lot of local dancers and models to compete for prizes and (your) camera time.

The pics from last year’s Halloween parties at the Palms give you an idea why VIP and all-access passes are already sold out. Only individual venue tickets ($25-$30/each) are still available at this point.

Of course, just roaming the Strip on Saturday night will fill up your camera’s memory card just as easily as standing in line to drink expensive club drinks. As All Saint’s Eve revelers scurry from hot spot to hot spot, there is never a shortage of craziness to participate in or simply witness on the Las Vegas Strip.

For those with families, the “2009 Haunted Harvest” at the Springs Preserve is probably one of the most attractive Halloween festivities around town. Located just a little north and west of downtown, it’s convenient for locals and tourists. It runs from 5pm-9pm and there will be ghost story hayrides, “safe-street” trick or treating, balloon artists and a few surprise performances. Tickets are only $8 for adults and $4 for children. Half price for Springs Preserve members.

Yesterday the 2009/10 NBA season kicked off with an excellent game between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. I doubt we’ll see many more Boston with points opportunities this season. Cleveland looks stronger but still seems to have problems scoring. Bookies seem to be giving extra points to the favorites early in the season. Look for the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors as underdogs, especially in a few of these early games. For the time being I’m going to stick with weekly NFL picks, although neither of my upsets came through for me last week-end. (I didn’t expect the Cowboys coaching to suddenly get better enough to beat the Falcons. Unfortunately the Cowboys ruined what would have been a very nice 7-team parlay for me last week-end!) I still like the Falcons to win several more games this season, but only after they lose again this week to the Saints 😉

WEEK #8 NFL picks:

Broncos + 3 1/2 in Baltimore
Texans – 3 1/2 in Buffalo
Colts -11 1/2 at home against the banged up 49’rs
Dolphins +3 1/2 in New York
Giants +2 in Philadelphia

Last week: 2-2-1
Season-to-date: 11-11-2

Remember to cover your parlays with a straight-up bet or two!