02.28.11 · 4:03 PM

‘Triumph …’ was not exactly that at the Las Vegas Hilton

The buzz around town about Triumph … at Las Vegas Hilton was consistent and uniformed: “See it before it closes.” So it is that the multimedia entertainment event that opened in December at the Hilton has closed, it was announced this afternoon. This, less than a week after a hastily announced media preview night. The show was a pie-in-the-sky effort from the illusionist team of Larry Fischer and Rafael Palacious, known as “LaRaf,” who brought a happy blend of music, ... Read more...

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02.27.11 · 10:35 PM

Battered from the slopes, Ruvo slaloms through another Power of Love gala

Larry Ruvo has a broken arm. But because this is Larry Ruvo, this is no ordinary broken arm. He broke his arm in a manner befitting a man well-acquainted with spectacular events. Ruvo was injured while skiing — Vail Ski Resort in Colorado. He was cutting the slopes with Cindy Nelson — the same Cindy Nelson who was a top downhill skier for more than a decade and won a bronze medal in the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. ... Read more...

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02.26.11 · 8:20 PM

Notes: Gans clan wows at Hall of Fame event; Knight headed for Tiffany?

Notes? We got yer notes right here, buddy, and they’re stacking up like used snow tires in a Pocatello Big O shop: • This year the Nevada Entertainer/Artist Hall of Fame moved from Ham Hall to the UNLV Student Union ballroom. It’s was a wise move, given that the audience in past years rattled around cavernous Ham Hall, and those attending had little chance to interact (unless you count tweeting from your seat). This event, attended by about 250 guests, ... Read more...

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02.25.11 · 8 PM

Vince Neil moves from the Big House to his own

You can put those “Free Vince Neil” T-shirts away. The Motley Crue frontman is a free man. Sort of. Neil has been released from Clark County Detention Center after serving 10 days of a 15-day sentence stemming from his June DUI arrest. The 50-year-old vocalist is now set to serve 15 days under house arrest. His girlfriend, KSNV Channel 3 entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs, announced the release herself on her Twitter page, saying, “My great day just got even BETTER!! ... Read more...

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02.25.11 · 6:45 PM

Nick Cannon speaks of twins, his marriage to Mariah and the dustup with Chelsea

Nick Cannon looks no older than a teenager. How does he do it? “I exfoliate!” says the entertainer who at 30 years old has been performing since age 8 and could pass for 18. Even so, Cannon is about to be a father — of twins, even — with his internationally famous wife, Mariah Carey. The fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, are due in late April. During Carey’s pregnancy, the youthfully exuberant Cannon says he’s sometimes felt like ... Read more...

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02.24.11 · 2:05 PM

One Giancana out, another in, as Mob Experience shoots for Tuesday opening

It’s mafia quiz time, kids: Question: How do you replace a Giancana? Answer: With a different Giancana! In the face of a lawsuit “Mafia Princess” Antoinette Giancana has reportedly filed against the Mob Experience at Tropicana, the attraction has hired Giancana’s own son to replace her as a paid consultant. So, put your hands together for Carl Manno, son of Antoinette, and grandson of Sam “Momo” Giancana. This development is the latest twist in a sometimes farcical modern-day mob tale ... Read more...

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02.24.11 · 10 AM

In retrospect, Gilbert Gottfried’s 9/11 joke was maybe ‘too soon’

In comedy, timing is … Everything. Current Las Vegas Hilton headliner Gilbert Gottfried remembers a moment of remarkably errant timing nearly a decade ago, when he was among the comics recruited by the Friars Club to roast Hugh Hefner in New York City. In a performance that has become revered among comics, Gottfried surveyed the audience, measured the merits of terrorism jokes against the anguish being suffered across the country and … “I came out and said, ‘I have to ... Read more...

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02.23.11 · 10:30 PM

In one-man show, storyteller Larry King has Mirage by the tale

It’s like an encore, but not at Encore. Larry King is bringing his throwback storytelling act back to Las Vegas, but it will not be at Steve Wynn’s Encore Theater, where King unspooled yarns aplenty during a memorable performance in June 2009. This time the now-retired talk-show host is center stage at The Mirage’s Terry Fator Theater, fronting a one-man show set for 10 p.m. on June 11, after Fator himself packs the puppets. King revealed plans for this show ... Read more...

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02.22.11 · 4:10 PM

‘Screaming at Yoko’ an idea whose time has come at Hard Rock Cafe

“Screaming at Yoko” might be a more appealing concept than, say, “Screaming by Yoko.” Most important, it also is a fittingly funny name for an inventive comedy/rock band playing on the Strip. The assembled comic musicians are multifaceted funny guys Todd Paul, Mat Black, Rob Sherwood and Ian Stewart. Paul, Black and Sherwood have all been busy comics in Vegas for years. Paul is a regular performer at The Dirty Joke Show, which also stars relentless joke-teller Geechy Guy and ... Read more...

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02.20.11 · 8:30 PM

Vince Neil: Motley Crue world tour tops post-jail agenda

First, don’t call Vince Neil a “former” anything, unless perhaps a “former inmate” by the end of this month. I made this “former” slip while introducing Neil as the “former frontman for Motley Crue” during the appearance he made with his girlfriend, KSNV Channel 3 entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs, on the episode of Kats With the Dish that aired Friday on KUNV 91.5-FM. This is the new radio show that airs at 6 p.m. Fridays, which I co-host with Tricia ... Read more...

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02.19.11 · 8:35 PM

HBO’s ‘Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV’ effectively captures a moment in time

Las Vegans frequently bemoan the city’s absence of “community” and the need for a shared bond to connect the town’s widespread citizenry. It wasn’t always so. A college basketball team once stitched this patchy town into a single quilt. They were the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV. A smartly constructed and slickly edited HBO documentary by that very name, Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV, was screened Friday night at Brenden Theaters at the Palms. The film debuts March 12 and runs throughout ... Read more...

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02.18.11 · 4:05 PM

Is he here to save the day? Brad Garrett says no, but don’t be so sure

Brad Garrett says he’s not trying to save the day. “Don’t get me wrong,” he says. “I’m not trying to save the day!” But listen as he lays out his goals for the Brad Garrett Comedy Club at Tropicana, and he sounds a lot like a day saver. “I don’t think there are enough guys giving it back. I had a lotta help in the early days,” Garrett said during the episode of Kats With the Dish that airs today ... Read more...

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02.17.11 · 2 AM

Somebody told me Flowers, Romney had lunch at the Palm

Mitt Romney and Brandon Flowers had lunch at the Palm at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. This was reported elsewhere Wednesday morning and confirmed that afternoon by Jen Appel, PR rep for Flowers and The Killers. It was a private lunch, she said in an e-mail, so Flowers has nothing to say to the media about it. Of course, “private lunch” can be translated to mean, “It is time to take creative license with this lunch.” The conversation: Mitt ... Read more...

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02.16.11 · 3:40 PM

Las Vegas Rocks Cafe closes at Neonopolis, and we’re surprised … why, exactly?

The rule of the land in VegasVille is, when the mayor warns you about doing business on one of the city’s most famous corners, it’s probably a good idea to heed that warning. Longtime Vegas entertainer and businessman Tony Sacca was reminded of that reality when his Las Vegas Rocks Cafe closed for good in early January. “I warned Tony to be careful,” Goodman said this month in his City Hall office. “Neonopolis is the bane of my existence.” Nonetheless, ... Read more...

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02.15.11 · 6:40 PM

Usher’s Grammy victory for ‘Raymond v. Raymond’ emerged from Studio at the Palms

Music recorded at Studio at the Palms accounted for one golden gramophone trophy amid six nominations Sunday night at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in L.A. Most of the music on Usher’s Raymond v. Raymond, which won the Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album, was recorded at Studio at the Palms, which (as the name indicates) is the state-of-the-art recording studio at the Palms. Aside from Usher’s winning recording, the Studio figured in five other nominations ... Read more...

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02.14.11 · 2:40 PM

A true Mob Experience: Bloom cuts loose Giancana

Even before it has opened to the public, there has been a whacking of sorts at The Mob Experience. Saying he’s grown tired of Antoinette Giancana’s untethered approach to fulfilling her role as a spokeswoman for the long-awaited organized crime-themed attraction, Jay Bloom has cut loose the daughter of notorious Chicago mob head Sam “Momo” Giancana. Effective Friday, Giancana is no longer a paid consultant for the nearly completed, high-tech shrine to organized crime at the Tropicana. The Mob Experience, ... Read more...

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02.11.11 · 4:01 PM

Jabbawockeez sign on through November at Monte Carlo

In the face of news that Blue Man Group will begin headlining at Monte Carlo in the fall of 2012, the future of Jabbawockeez at the hotel is in sharper focus today. The contract for the hip-hop dance troupe’s popular MUS.I.C. show has been extended through November. Jabbawockeez’s original contract was to expire next month. An announcement detailing the new extension is expected today. In an interview Thursday morning, Monte Carlo President Anton Nikodemus spoke to the troupe’s wide appeal. ... Read more...

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02.11.11 · 1:31 PM

Rao’s, and Las Vegas, loses some of its joy with the passing of Bubbles

Several years ago, a friend told me about a man he’d met working the door at Crazy Horse Too. He wasn’t really a bouncer, this man, nor was he a top-level club executive. He was more like a greeter-at-large, this roundish hunka fun, and it was a role he played with relish. “This guy has tickets to everything and knows everybody,” my friend said. “He’s like the lost character in The Sopranos.” Soon the storied gentleman from Crazy Horse Too ... Read more...

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02.10.11 · 2:05 PM

By the time Blue Man Group opens at Monte Carlo Theater, Jabbawockeez will be long gone

The blue hue is washing away the plucky youngsters masked in white. When Blue Man Group arrives at Monte Carlo in the fall of 2012, the hip-hop dance production Jabbawockeez will have long bounded from the stage. “Blue Man Group will have the theater to themselves,” Monte Carlo President Anton Nikodemus said in a phone interview this morning, his first since it was confirmed by hotel officials Wednesday morning that the Blue Men would leave The Venetian for Monte Carlo ... Read more...

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02.9.11 · 9:50 PM

Blue Man Group moving to Monte Carlo from The Venetian in 2012

The wordless dance troupe Jabbawockeez is set to have some similarly inspired company at Monte Carlo Theater. Blue Man Group, who helped usher in an era of multimedia entertainment on the Strip when it opened at Luxor in 2000, is moving from The Venetian to Monte Carlo in the fall of 2012. Founders Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton opened the unique stage show, featuring the now-familiar blue-painted trio performing such acts as slamming PVC pipe with drumsticks to ... Read more...

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02.9.11 · 12:15 PM

Two new films, Casa de Shenandoah completion in Wayne Newton’s plans

As part of his appearance on Kats With the Dish, the new KUNV 91.5-FM radio show co-hosted by Tricia McCrone and myself, Wayne Newton revealed two new movies he’s finished due for release this year and also talked of the unique challenges of portraying himself on film. The hourlong show, which to me seems as big as all of the great outdoors, kicked off at 6 p.m. Friday and airs each week at that time on KUNV. You also can ... Read more...

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02.8.11 · 9:25 PM

Christina Aguilera botches the anthem, and ‘Fantasy’ star Lorena Peril feels her pain

The voice on the message is that of Lorena Peril, and in her soaring voice, she is singing the national anthem. Fraudulently. “Ooooh say can you see? And the ramparts over the sea! And the flags that we shaaaared, are so truthfully willing!” Funny. Peril is the firecracker vocalist in Fantasy at Luxor, but she’s more than that. She also happens to be one of the great national anthem singers in the city, and one of the great singers of ... Read more...

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02.7.11 · 12:30 PM

Goodman’s Packer windfall, rock star Vince and other weekend haps

Car horns blared for Aaron Rodgers in the great city of Chico, Calif., on Sunday night to celebrate the native son’s MVP performance in the Green Bay Packers’ 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. It was a death-throes game, as suspenseful as any Super Bowl, and Rodgers held up well as the inevitable Steeler onslaught nearly buried his offense in the second half. And speaking of contact sports replete with high drama, it was quite a ... Read more...

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02.6.11 · 1:50 PM

Before he was a Green Bay Packer, Aaron Rodgers was a PV Viking

At this writing, the ESPN NFL Countdown crew is rolling out its 4-hour analysis of Super Bowl XLV. Within the first 5 minutes, it was determined that, if Green Bay is to win today, No. 12 is going to have to take care of business. Don’t take my word for it. Analyst Tom Jackson just said, “For Green Bay to win, No. 12 has to take care of business.” That’s Aaron Rodgers, of course, star quarterback for the Packers. The ... Read more...

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02.5.11 · 2:45 PM

When 300 Super Bowl props are not enough, we list even more

One of the great scenes we’ve never seen is the “War Room” at the Las Vegas Hilton Superbook as Sports Book Director Jay Kornegay and his crew compose the Super Bowl prop list. “What about a prop listing Mike Wallace’s total reception yards against Mike Wallace’s total number of years on 60 Minutes?” “That’s crazy!” Or, is it? That prop is not listed among the crush of 300 options on the Hilton’s 25-page list, which is printed double-sided to save ... Read more...

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02.4.11 · 4:10 PM

It’s Carolyn’s campaign, but the Goodmans are in this together

On the day after his wife officially filed the paperwork required to succeed him as mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman made a quintet of public appearances. During this typically madcap Goodman pentathlon, the Happiest Mayor in the Universe showed why he proclaims himself as such. He breezed into P.J. Clarke’s at one end of The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, then bounced to a Chinese New Year celebration performed by Meadows School students at the other. He hustled to ... Read more...

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02.3.11 · 5:55 PM

New show ‘Kats With the Dish’ takes shape with Holly Madison

The idea started maybe a year ago, and it was not mine. It was Tricia McCrone’s, who referred to a radio show I was hosting on KUNV 91.5-FM titled Our Metropolis and announced, “I should be your co-host.” That overture was rejected, and not only because (as I learned months later) Tricia likely never heard an entire episode of Our Metropolis and often referred to the show as My Metropolis. For many other reasons, it seemed an ill-fitting concept. Tricia ... Read more...

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02.3.11 · 1:30 AM

‘Phantom’ Anthony Crivello is a loyal Packer backer

As a kid, Anthony Crivello darted around the stands at Milwaukee County Stadium like a little Phantom. “I’m here!” “I’m here!” and “I’m here!” This was during the 1960s glory days of the Green Bay Packers. Crivello, who as the lead in Phantom — Las Vegas Spectacular helped the show celebrate its 2,000th performance at The Venetian on Tuesday night, grew up in Milwaukee. The city remains Packer territory, and for many years, County Stadium served as one of the ... Read more...

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02.1.11 · 12:25 PM

How did Tommy Rocker become an ‘emerging’ act?

During one of the pre-opening media tours of Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, PR practitioner Alex Acuna led our group into a still-dusty Book & Stage and informed us that the concept for booking acts was to seek emerging artists. Catch them before they get famous. And in its infancy, the hotel has followed that ideal, as such rising bands as Best Coast and Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears have rocked the hybrid music club/sportsbook. And playing Book & Stage March ... 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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