Story Archive

After the flop

Poker’s time in the sun may have come and gone, if recent ratings are any indication

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009

Poker’s time in the sun may have come and gone, if recent ratings are any indication.

Bette Midler leaving after seemingly unhappy residency

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009

The Divine Miss M takes her leave from that gargantuan stage on January 31, checking out precisely when her contract is fulfilled and not a day or performance longer.

Good ol’ Boyd

Even in these hard economic times, a gaming bigwig takes time to get to know everyone

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009

Since retiring as CEO of his corporation nearly two years ago, William S. Boyd has decided to “get back to what we did when we were much smaller, and that is get out to the properties, meet the people who are actually making money for us and servicing customers.”

A Wynn lose situation for Garth Brooks tickets

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

Wynn is devoted to socialism-lite right here in Vegas in the form of his jihad against would-be scalpers of the tickets for the first 20 Garth Brooks shows sold Saturday.

Is the Vegas dream gone?

Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009

An audit forces a columnist to take a long, hard look back at the dream that was Las Vegas.

Back to basics—and Garth

After lots of trial and error, Steve Wynn is playing it safe

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009

Garth Brooks will sell out every seat of every show for however long he appears at the Wynn Las Vegas. Period. But there's more to this story.

Faces of Art

Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009

Eleven years ago, a group of fourth-graders created a lasting piece of art at McCarran International Airport. Where are they now?

As the worldwide web turns

Whether it’s the economy or a newfound savvy, Vegas resorts have stopped worrying and learned to love the Internet

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

Whether it’s the economy or a newfound savvy, Vegas resorts have stopped worrying and learned to love the Internet.

Frittering Top Chef?

Why the Vegas hype machine must turn up the heat now on its biggest culinary moment

Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009

This is Las Vegas, the world capital of self-promotion and hype. How is it possible that this city could be, seven episodes into the season, failing this miserably at exploiting this opportunity?

A death, the end of an era ... and Aubrey O’Day

The events of last week represent a serious cultural step back for Las Vegas

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009

The events of last week represent a serious cultural step back for Las Vegas, from a disastrous opening for Zowie Bowie and CineVegas being canceled to Playboy model Aubrey O'Day whining about topless photos.

Grin and Luv-It

Does a Las Vegas neighborhood slam really merit all this fuss?

Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009

Does a Las Vegas neighborhood slam by The Office's Mindy Kaling really merit all the fuss (you know, the chick with the annoying voice)? Was the custard at least good?

Don’t call it a downer!

Even at 81, Broadway legend and Phantom director Hal Prince has lost none of his enthusiasm for what he does

Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009

Even at 81, Broadway legend and Phantom director Hal Prince has lost none of his enthusiasm for what he does.

When life isn’t a movie

Cult director Ted V. Mikels goes from low-budget films to no-budget living

Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009

Every article and interview available online refers to Ted V. Mikels as a savant of sorts. But there's a different story to tell. Ted V. Mikels is 80 years old and broke.

What did I just do that for?

My wild, wacky, journalistically complicated Michael Jackson benefit journey.

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009

My wild, wacky, journalistically complicated Michael Jackson benefit journey.

A not-quite-so-transformative experience

Why the Monte Carlos’s stab at the top end with Hotel 32 comes off more as one giant copycat

Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009

Why the Monte Carlos’s stab at the top end with Hotel 32 comes off more as one giant copycat.

Delicious experiment

Why we hope a hotel executive’s decision to populate properties with locally based restaurants is a hit

Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009

Why we hope a hotel executive’s decision to populate properties with locally based restaurants is a hit.

Beer Summit West

Vegas’ best feuds need to be settled, Obama-like, over a beverage

Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009

It’s been a couple of weeks now, but I still can’t get that White House beer-summit image out of my mind. Which brought me back to Las Vegas. Believe it or not, we have lots of prominent people who dislike one another, too. I’ve picked the five most ripe for beer-or-whatever summits.

A riddle wrapped in ... Harrah’s?

There may be great stories about the Stage Door, but good luck finding them

Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009

There may be great stories about the Stage Door, but good luck finding them.

When the fun stops

Somewhere along the way, all the reasons to love Sin City went bye-bye

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Somewhere along the way, all the reasons to love Sin City went bye-bye.

Film flam

Lottery tickets, magic tunnels, scorching heat in January and other Vegas-movie flaws

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Lottery tickets, magic tunnels, scorching heat in January and other Vegas-movie flaws.

Raise, fold ... Or tweet

Twitter is giving new life to the World Series of Poker

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Twitter is giving new life to the World Series of Poker.

Bad things do come in threes

Thursday, July 9, 2009

A trio of the worst ideas in Vegas right now.

Jackson’s comeback

With the King of Pop’s tarnished life behind him, Vegas has the chance to rescue his legacy

Thursday, July 2, 2009

I know you felt it, too, so I’m just going to come right out and say it: Michael Jackson’s untimely death was the best thing that could ever have happened to Michael Jackson’s music.

LuPone’s showstopper

When the Broadway diva chastised a texter, it highlighted problems with Vegas audiences

Thursday, June 25, 2009

When the Broadway diva chastised a texter, it highlighted problems with Vegas audiences.

A fine restraint

By not going tabloid on the Danny Gans story, the Vegas media distinguished itself

Thursday, June 18, 2009

In New York and Los Angeles, when a major star drops dead of unknown causes, there is a repulsive ritual that takes place. In Las Vegas, when left to our own devices, we do things a little differently.

An easy target, a misguided notion

Why the people of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, should be grateful for, not suspicious of, their new casino

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Why the people of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, should be grateful for, not suspicious of, their new casino.

The Anti-Wynn

Phil Ruffin reveals big plans for that neglected niche: the mid-market

Thursday, June 4, 2009

I was a bit confused when I showed up at the Treasure Island on Monday for lunch with its new owner, Phil Ruffin, and his assistant told me on the house phone to meet the Kansas billionaire at Francesco’s Pizzeria.

Larger than life, perfect for Vegas

Someone here needs to sign American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert right now

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Someone here needs to sign American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert right now

Ten shows that you absolutely have to see (or send your visitors to see)

And the winners are ...

Thursday, May 21, 2009

One show that everyone should see? I get this question a lot. I get it from Facebook friends when they’re about to visit and you readers ask about once a week by e-mail.

He walks alone

Unlikely gay groundbreaker David Parks forges on quietly

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Just a couple of days before one of the most important votes in the gay history of Nevada, David Parks stood, as he usually seems to, in the background.

Danny Gans: 1956-2009

Apart from Vegas, most of the country had no idea who Gans was—and odds are he’s just fine with that

Thursday, May 7, 2009

How does someone become such a mammoth, wealthy star, entertain untold millions and still remain largely anonymous in the broader popular culture?

Now we’re cooking

Top Chef is filming its latest season in Vegas—could it be the answer to our prayers?

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Top Chef began filming Season 6 in Las Vegas on Monday. This could easily be the start of an economic recovery. It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds.

A rock and a Chinese place

The Woo family’s move to the Palazzo might not have been the best thing for all

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Sometime back in the 1990s, an eccentric fellow wanted to eat at a restaurant. He sent his advance team to scope out the place and its various exits, baffling the owners of the fine establishment.

Funny while it lasted

The brothel tax never had a chance, but one thing’s sure: a good time was had by all

Thursday, April 16, 2009

There was never any remote possibility that Nevada was going to impose a tax on sex acts at legal brothels. But it still gave attendees at public hearings an excuse to talk about the good stuff: whores!

Building block

More than a few did see this mess coming, and acted accordingly

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The competition was trying to be dignified, generous, sympathetic. “Yes, I think it would be devastating to Las Vegas for MGM to fail,” said Jan Laverty Jones, senior vice president at Harrah’s and former Vegas mayor.

When the fun stops

Is MGM Mirage Nevada’s AIG or GM?

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Having evidently learned a little something from the hundreds of acrobats who perform astonishing death-defying feats nightly in its Vegas resorts, MGM Mirage last week leaped headlong into the open air.

Losers' Las Vegas

A tribute to the casino saints who save us from ourselves

Thursday, March 26, 2009

I’m a loser. I lose things. All the time. So far today alone I misplaced one of the dog’s leashes, my wallet and my wedding ring. And it’s only 1 p.m.

Catch the rising stars

Some of the Strip’s Broadway performers offer unique entertainment for locals

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Erich Bergen has one of those clean-cut young faces that make you want to pinch his cheeks and mess up his hair.

M is for Minutiae

‘The Olds’ review the Valley’s newest casino-resort

Thursday, March 12, 2009

For the nearly 30 years Walt, an 83-year-old retired doctor, and Terry, a 65-year-old travel agent, have lived in Vegas, they’ve had a charming tradition: They eat breakfast at every new hotel-casino on the first Saturday it’s open.

Real magic

Roy Horn’s moment onstage was an emotional watershed; too bad it couldn’t escape the past

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Forget for a moment whether the white tiger on the stage really was Montecore. I did. It was the only way to take in one of the most genuinely emotional events in the history of Las Vegas.

Sun dance festival

Cirque du Soleil is about far more than acrobatics, as a recent audition proved

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009

In a dance studio south of the Strip earlier this month, a long table of casting personnel sat at attention in a large mirrored room where an impeccably built young dancer named Mas slithered about in nothing but extremely tight blue underwear.

Is it Oscar vs. Obama or Oscar vs. Oscar

Las Vegas’ thin skin causes more problems than the economy or the president

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009

There is an axiom I’m sure you’re all very familiar with that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. It is, it often seems, a central and guiding principle of one Oscar B. Goodman.

How Danny got his groove back

Whatever happened, Gans’ show is now one of the best on the Strip

Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009

Something very odd happened at Wynn. Danny Gans, the brunt of my jokes and my ire for several years now, made me laugh. A lot.

Yes, Las Vegas, there is homophobia

From Lance Bass to yours truly, gay hate still abounds here

Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009

A few weeks ago, the Review-Journal’s Doug Elfman wrote something shocking. Or, rather, it was shocking to me, and it was even more shocking when it drew no more attention and, thus, was not shocking to anyone else in the national media.

Si, vamanos

Casinos are finally learning to appreciate how much Hispanics corazón Vegas

Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009

"You know,” Michael Weaver says to me at the tail end of a lunch appointment that has been filled largely with gloom about the state of the Vegas economy, “there actually is one segment of the population that is actually up over the year before.”

Lawyers, guns ... and money

Why a mob museum in Las Vegas would be criminally successful

Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009

A legitimate mob museum at the beautiful, restored historic old federal building Downtown would be an enormous success for Las Vegas.

The headliner that got away

Former Zumanity host Joey Arias should have been Cirque’s first marquee star

Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009

I am one of just 70 people packed into an air-conditioning-less basement at an “experimental” theater in SoHo watching a gargantuan, nearly naked gender-bender stomping through a miniature set of New York City, à la Godzilla.

One hot "Mamma!"

Honoring an often-mocked, but ultra-entertaining, Vegas production as it says goodbye

Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009

There is a nasty rumor going around that as the last numbers began to swell through the Mandalay Bay Theater on Sunday at the final performance of Mamma Mia!, I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket to dab away some precipitation flowing from my eyes.

Can you feel the length tonight?

The Lion King has a shot at success here—but its running time could kill it

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008

My 9-year-old niece sat next to me at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City, utterly enthralled. Her widened eyes were glued to the visual feast before her, the mammoth puppets and the ebullient, multiethnic cast performing colorful, energetic song-and-dance numbers, the Elton John/Tim Rice score.

In the margins

All the stuff from my interview with Steve Wynn you didn't get to read about

Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008

A few weeks ago, I was staring at Steve Wynn while he went on about his theories as to why the economy was in the shitter when I noticed something far more interesting to me. “Your eyes are sparkling,” I interrupted,