| 1. PALMS CASINO HOPES TO RECLAIM GLORY DAYS WITH $690 MILLION REVAMP: The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas is hoping to reclaim its early 2000s glory days when it reveals its $690 million property overhaul. The 1,365-room resort will have its grand opening weekend April 4-7 featuring headliners Cardi B, Alicia Keys, and Travis Scott. Ahead of the opening, the property has unveiled a new campaign, billing itself as the “New Vegas.” CNN: “Popularity spiked in 2002, when one of the suites also served as the backdrop for the twelfth season of MTV's breakout reality show, The Real World. Recent renovations have taken many of these one-of-a-kind accommodations to new levels. The boldest suite of them all: It's the two-story, 9,000-square-foot Empathy Suite, designed by British artist Damien Hirst in collaboration with Bentel & Bentel. This spectacular space includes two bedrooms, a private massage room, a fitness area, ample living space, heaps of original artwork, and one of those cantilevered tubs. The price tag to stay there: $200,000 per weekend. … No resort in modern-day Vegas is complete without a standout party scene, and Kaos, the new dayclub/nightclub at Palms, is unique for a variety of reasons. For starters, the two-level, 73,000-square-foot dayclub has plenty of places to swim and splash—two main pools (including one with a giant sculpture from Hirst) and 16 private cabana pools. There's also a seasonal dome that allows the pools to be open year-round, and a retractable glass wall that separates the dayclub from the rest of the venue.” 2. WHY WEDDING EXPOS ARE STILL THRIVING: With wedding registry, planning, and retail websites like Zola and Etsy, one might think that wedding expos are no longer necessary. But the industry events are still popular, as they offer guests exclusive prizes and discounts, gift bags, and personal contacts. The New York Times: “‘You’re meeting experts face to face but also are seeing their work, which can be overwhelming on the internet or misleading on someone’s website,’ said Tatiana Byron Marx, who founded Wedding Salon 15 years ago. ‘Brides want to work with people they like. You’re hiring 15 to 40 vendors, each with their own contract. Meeting everyone at their studio is time-consuming.’ Like most expos, Wedding Salon offers photographers, videographers, cake makers, florists, DJs, wedding gown designers, and specialists for hair and makeup, among others. Tony Drago, who has run the Long Island Bridal Expo for 28 years, says he tries to showcase local professionals. ‘Brides can walk around and have true conversations without being harassed,’ he said, ‘and there’s not 200 or 300 vendors so they don’t become numb and forget who they spoke to.’” 3. AMSTERDAM BANS TOURS OF RED LIGHT DISTRICT: Amsterdam will ban tours of the Red Light District starting next year. The government of the Netherlands’ capital has moved to ban the popular travel activity because of concerns about sex workers being treated as a tourist attraction. CNN: “While the new ruling on tours will affect sex workers in the Red Light District, there will also be repercussions throughout the neighborhood, which is in central Amsterdam and extremely popular with tourists. Dutch locals have complained about the increase in foot traffic, and measures have been taken to reduce tour group sizes (there is a maximum of 20 people) and to require all tour operators to have formal permits. The ban will go into effect on January 1, 2020, which gives existing tour companies an opportunity to wind down their business in the Red Light District.” 4. HOW GOOGLE MAPS IS LETTING USERS CREATE PUBLIC EVENTS: A new feature on Google Maps will let people create public events. The update works through the app’s Contribute section, where users can add crowdsourced information and rate businesses. The Verge: “You can set an event’s name, location, date and time, and assign various other tags and images to describe what’s taking place. Google hasn’t officially announced the feature beyond creating a support page for it, but events tie into the social functionality that the search giant announced for Maps at last year’s Google I/O. It’s all part of the app’s transformation from a service that tells you how to get somewhere into one that tells you where you might want to go in the first place.” 5. LHAN OMAR AND DEMOCRATIC DIVISIONS THE FOCUS OF AIPAC: The annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference (AIPAC) began Sunday in Washington, dicsussing the topics of divides in the Democratic party and Rep. Ilhan Omar's criticism of the pro-Israel lobby, which many deemed anti-Semitic. Many 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren, announced they were skipping this year's conference, while congressional leaders such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer are slated to speak. The Hill: "Omar has been on the defensive since she referenced AIPAC in a tweet last month that suggested U.S. lawmakers defending Israel were motivated by money. Freshman Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) apologized to his Jewish constituents during a district town hall last week for Omar's rhetoric, which he had already publicly condemned. ... The [2020 candidates'] announcements came the same week that liberal group MoveOn urged Democrats running for president to skip the annual AIPAC conference, while the left-leaning Jewish advocacy group J Street called for denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies and 'enabling of right-wing extremism.' AIPAC has contrasted with Democratic positions in the past, including the international accord to curb Iran's nuclear program, which Trump later abandoned. Some progressives view the group as being aligned with Trump and Netanyahu." | 