09.30.10 · 7:52 PM

Wayne Brady, Mike Tyson, Bobby Brown and one of the greatest videos, ever

Wayne Brady: Unbridled genius, always. Mike Tyson: Unbridled genius, on occasion. Bobby Brown: Unbridled genius, 1988 or so. These three artists of varying aptitude have collaborated on what is the funniest video you’ll see, ever. It’s a remake of Brown’s 1988 dance hit ,Every Little Step, and you really can’t take your eyes off it. And, we plug: Brady is at Planet Hollywood’s CHI Showroom on Friday and Saturday nights, and again Oct. 8-9, with his well-received Making It Up ... Read more...

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09.30.10 · 12:05 PM

Mayor Goodman persuading Stephen Colbert to bring ‘The Colbert Report’ to Las Vegas

Last Thursday when Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman opened his interview with Stephen Colbert with the familiar braggadocio that Las Vegas is, “the greatest city in the universe,” Colbert cut him off with, “It’s the greatest city in the universe, and if it isn’t the greatest city in the universe, they can import part of the greatest city there and charge you to see it!” As it turns out, Colbert himself might be imported. After his quickly paced, six-minute appearance ... Read more...

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09.28.10 · 1:07 PM

Of missing hand stamps and ‘impromptu’ audience participation: Prepping for Train is a show in itself

At 3:15 p.m., Arlene Wakefield asks, “Is the fruit organic?” “It’s organic,” Albin Villanueva answers, addressing both Wakefield and a stainless-steel bowl heavy with apples and bananas. “Good, they want it organic,” Wakefield says. Wakefield and Villanueva are members of the Red Rock Resort catering department. “They,” in this instance, are members of the band Train. The threesome of Patrick Monahan, Scott Underwood and Jimmy Stafford prefer their fruit organic. And it is so. They also fancy Ketel One vodka, ... Read more...

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09.24.10 · 4:10 PM

Rick Dale’s ‘Pawn Stars’ spinoff, ‘Rusty Nuts,’ set for Oct. 18 debut

The virtual reality continues to spin out of Gold & Silver Pawn, home of Pawn Stars. The first spawn of the pawn sensation is a similar reality-based show to be called Rusty Nuts, centering on the happenings at Rick’s Restorations, the restorative Las Vegas business owned by Rick Dale. Dale has been a frequent guest expert on Pawn Stars over the past year, and has become famous for restoring such items as old Coke machines, motorcycles, and even dentists’ chairs. ... Read more...

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09.24.10 · 4 PM

As Train barrels into Station, Mandy Christine makes sure the resort is ready

The artist had but one request, and it was so simple: Paint the room black. As in, blacker than the deepest recesses of a mineshaft. Blacker than the darkest night. So black that if you were to put your hand in front of your face and still make out its murky form, it would not be black enough. “So, we made it black,” says Mandy Christine, Station Casino’s corporate entertainment manager. “We dry-walled it black. Oh, it was black, definitely.” ... Read more...

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09.23.10 · 2 PM

Liberace Museum hosts a parade of protesters — and even a puppet

On the day of the big protest, Joseph Gabriel clutched a puppet. This was no ordinary puppet. It was a little Liberace marionette, wearing a wide grin and a sky-blue sequined suit. That’s what it’s come to: Dolls and demonstrators. So very Liberace. “We want a full accounting of what has happened with the Liberace Museum’s finances,” said Gabriel, a master magician and puppeteer featured in David Saxe’s Vegas! The Show at Miracle Mile Shops. “It has been sad to ... Read more...

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09.21.10 · 10:09 PM

‘The Colbert Report’ tabs Mayor Oscar Goodman for Thursday’s show

How Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman fits into Stephen Colbert’s “Keep Fear Alive” campaign is anyone’s guess, but the self-dubbed “Happiest Mayor in the Universe” is sitting with Colbert for six eventful minutes during Thursday night’s edition of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. The show airs at 11:30 p.m. Mayor Goodman and his wife, Carolyn, will be in Washington D.C. for the Conference of Mayors, and the two will dovetail to New York for the mayor’s sit-down with the ... Read more...

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09.21.10 · 4:46 PM

Wayne Newton gives a spoken-word performance for a hard-to-please crowd

Pity the jet. It’s Wayne Newton’s jet, a luckless Fokker if there ever was one. The full make and model of the plane is a Fokker F-28, actually, and it is parked just inside the walls of Wayne Newton’s Casa de Shenandoah ranch. The tail of the partially disassembled aircraft peeks above the fence, even. It’s become something of a symbol, this mysterious Fokker, for the intrigue it has sparked from behind the gates of “The Ranch.” What’s happening back ... Read more...

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09.21.10 · 11:38 AM

For UNLV Jazz Ensemble I, it’s national acclaim, a director with ‘Family Guy’ chops, and all that jazz

Notes assembled from outer and inner space: • Whenever you hear the lively piano riffs accompanying the barbed criticisms of baby Stewie, or the addled dronings of Peter Griffin, think of the great UNLV Jazz Ensemble I. This band is among the best anywhere. This is not an opinion. It can’t be, as I’ve yet to even hear the ensemble play live. You probably haven’t either, but you should, as the band that was named one of the nation’s best ... Read more...

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09.20.10 · 11:26 AM

After 20 years, Sunday is a nice day for a white wedding

The last ESPN radio update I heard before shutting off the car and walking to Little White Wedding Chapel was that the Raiders were beating the Rams, 16-14. The Raiders had to win Sunday, of all days, because this was the day Tim Foreman would be married. Tim is a friend from long ago, from Chico. I met him when he was 13, I think, and I was 15. He was in seventh grade and I was in ninth, a ... Read more...

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09.19.10 · 5:50 PM

Supporters of Liberace Museum refuse to close the show without a fight

A master showman who graced the most famous Las Vegas showrooms and such lavish venues as Radio City Music Hall, Liberace hardly was known as a street performer. But his supporters are putting on a sidewalk show befitting any strolling performer Wednesday outside the Liberace Museum on East Tropicana Avenue and Spencer Street. On that day and at that iconic site, friends and fans of the museum will picket to protest the imminent closing of the historic attraction. The group ... Read more...

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09.16.10 · 10:47 AM

Joey Fatone cuts a swath through Bally’s as guest host of ‘The Price is Right’

Joey Fatone walks like a guy who knows how to keep two paces ahead of teen-age girls in hot pursuit. He’s a fast walker, this former ‘N Syncer. He walks as fast as anyone you will see who is not actually running. I often use what I call the “Casino Walk,” nimbly hotfooting it around plodding tourists and cocktail waitresses who often clog casino floors. But Fatone’s ‘N Sync Walk blows the doors off my Casino Walk. As if instinctively, ... Read more...

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09.15.10 · 4:39 PM

Monte Carlo president, Jabbawockeez forge unlikely alliance

So many terms leap to mind when you encounter Anton Nikodemus: Highly refined. Well-suited. Admirably groomed. But, “Fan of Jabbawockeez” is not among them. Yet today the president of Monte Carlo — who has the dashing disposition of a man who just beamed in from the real Monte Carlo — is an avid backer of the plucky, hip-hop dance crew. Announced earlier this month, Jabbawockeez are bounding into the onetime Lance Burton Theatre and replacing onetime Monte Carlo magician Lance ... Read more...

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09.14.10 · 3:26 PM

Hotel closing no surprise at Plaza; Geoff Emerick eager to return with ‘Sgt. Pepper’ live production

From Paris Las Vegas to the Plaza, the note parade starts … now! • Inevitably, the Sgt. Pepper Live featuring Cheap Trick production has about played out at Paris Las Vegas. The last performance at Paris Theatre is Saturday. I caught the show over the weekend, on Saturday, and it again was wild fun. I think that was Domenick Allen, once of Foreigner, off stage right, rocking out, and I was seated next to gravely engaging Laura Sussman and Wendy ... Read more...

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09.12.10 · 8:28 PM

Liberace Museum aftermath: Nateece, officials, fans wonder if there will be an encore

The pain written across Anna Nateece’s face told the story. She’s been through this before. “I am sad today,” Nateece said as she gazed, seemingly in disbelief, at a two-page document issued to Liberace Museum employees Friday morning formally announcing the museum would close Oct. 17 “I feel the same as the day we lost Liberace. I feel kind of empty right now.” Nateece was Liberace’s costume designer and close friend for the balance of his career. She often refers ... Read more...

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09.10.10 · 1:47 PM

Recycled Percussion does the junk ‘n’ roll at MGM Grand’s Studio 54

People have gotten trashed at Studio 54 before, but never like this. This crew makes you an offer you have to refuse. I mean, refuse! The opening act should be the Man from Glad! There are so many garbage containers strewn about the stage the production’s sponsor should be Republic Services! This is the biggest use of junk bonds on the Strip since Steve Wynn financed the Mirage! Fred Sanford could be music director of this outfit! I haven’t seen ... Read more...

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09.10.10 · 10 AM

Liberace Museum closing Oct. 17

One of Las Vegas’ jewel attractions, and a significant part of its cultural and entertainment history, is closing. The Liberace Museum, which has exhibited the jewelry, pianos, garish gowns and other artifacts owned by the great pianist and showman for more than 30 years, announced today it will close effective Oct. 17. The museum opened April 15, 1979. Liberace Foundation Board of Directors Chair Jeffrey Koep informed the staff this morning that all paid positions –- full- and part-time –- ... Read more...

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09.9.10 · 6:05 PM

Video surfaces of lion attack at MGM Grand’s Lion Habitat

It would have been something of a miracle if video didn’t surface from the Sept. 1 incident at the MGM Grand Lion Habitat, in which one of the lions in captivity took after one of the attraction’s trainers. And, almost inevitably, video of the incident was captured and aired early Wednesday on the CBS Early Show. Newlyweds Titus and Drew Ellis of Bozeman, Mont., were interviewed by Harry Smith about witnessing the attack during their honeymoon in Vegas. “When you ... Read more...

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09.9.10 · 3:35 PM

From the Riviera: Comedy Club closing as ‘Greg London’s Icons’ moves in

Notes cobbled from the mean streets of VegasVille: • Word out of the Riviera is that the Riviera Comedy Club is closing. That’s the word inside the Riviera, too. One comic booked in November has said his scheduled appearance has been cancelled because the club is shuttering, and the box office is not taking ticket orders from Nov. 1-on. The last scheduled performances are Mitchell Walters, Bruce Clark and Bob Gautreau from Oct. 25-31. The club has been struggling for ... Read more...

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09.5.10 · 3:30 PM

Robert Schimmel, frequent Las Vegas stand-up performer, dies after car accident in Arizona

Robert Schimmel, who performed often in Las Vegas clubs and theaters and frequently referred to his recovery from cancer in his unvarnished stand-up act, died Friday night from injuries he suffered Thursday after a car accident near his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was a passenger in the vehicle with his 19-year-old daughter, Aliyah. He was 60. Schimmel’s publicist, Howard Bragman, confirmed to media outlets that Schimmel died Friday night in Phoenix. A colleague of Schimmel’s, longtime Vegas comic and ... Read more...

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09.3.10 · 7:20 PM

As MDA Telethon approaches, a shout-out from, and to, Jerry Lewis

I’m seated on a soft sofa upholstered in cushy red fabric, sipping from a cold can of Diet Sunkist. And Jerry Lewis is yelling at me. “I can’t talk to you if you’re not looking at me! OK? You need to look at me when I’m talking to you, OK, John!” Yes, long before anyone ever coined the term, “shout-out,” Jerry Lewis mastered the verbal form. It’s not an angry yell, either. There is something happy and high-spirited about the ... Read more...

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09.3.10 · 11:15 AM

Danny Gans’ auto collection mirrors his variety-laden show; Jerry Lewis jabs at Vegas’ corporate culture

Danny Gans was famous for his quick shifts onstage and his innate ability to steer his performances. But not many fans were aware of his keen interest in vintage cars. They will be next month. Ten of the 12 cars once owned by Gans are to be sold at the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas Collector Car auction Sept. 23-25 at Mandalay Bay. Gans died May 1, 2009 and left two of his cars to his kids. The rest are to be ... Read more...

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Featured Cocktail

Cocktail of the Week May 23, 2012
by Sabrina Chapman

Rhumbar’s Scorpion Bowl stings so good

Ready to celebrate the official start of summer? Prepare for takeoff. Memorial Day Weekend picks up speed with the addition of Rhumbar’s Scorpion Bowl ($49) to the weekend’s party lineup. ...
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