Las Vegas Weekly

November 16, 2008 · 8:16 PM

Jason Mraz helps Maloof family celebrate Palms’ 7th anniversary

By Robin Leach

Jason Mraz at the Pearl Concert Theater.

Photo: Scott Harrison/www.ScottHarrisonphotos.com

There was a delicious irony to the weekend, separate, sold-out appearances of Canadian songbird Alanis Morissette and singer-songwriter Jason Mraz. Solo star Jason was at the Pearl concert theater in the Palms, and Alanis was in the Joint at the Hard Rock.

(Click HERE for our earlier, stunning souvenir photo album of Alanis by contributing celebrity photographer Erik Kabik.)

Even though Alanis went to the top of the charts in 1995 with her debut Jagged Little Pill, she didn’t go out on the “Jagged Pill” tour until 10 years later. Guess who was her opening act back in 2005? That’s right, then unknown Jason Mraz.

In three short years, he has shot to the top in his own right. He’s recorded two best-selling platinum albums, Mr. A-Z and Waiting for My Rocket to Come. He also wrote “The Ugly in Beauty,” which he reworked for the ABC hit Ugly Betty.

Palms owner George Maloof booked him for last night’s gig so long ago, he didn’t realize then that it was the actual 7th anniversary of the Palms’ opening day!

Our contributing celebrity photographer Scott Harrison was front row center for this great collection of candid performance photos, and we’re delighted to share his wonderful work with you.

“Jason was the perfect music star to perform on our 7th anniversary,” George Maloof told me. “There was no real reason we didn’t turn it into a full-blown celebration. It was low-key. All the family came in for the weekend. We had a quiet, family-only champagne celebration yesterday just after midnight because that was the exact day we first opened.

“I telephoned a lot of people to thank them for being loyal and supportive to the Palms over the past seven years. Yes, it is remarkable how far we’ve come in a relatively short time. To be honest, I don’t think any of our family thought we’d have three hotel towers and so many hot restaurants and nightspots -- including the world’s only Playboy Club -- open within that time.

“So fairly quiet this time around, but who knows what we’ll look like in another three years’ time. So when we hit 10, that will really be the ultimate party.”

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