STEVE
WYNN’S ENCORE IS OPEN
Everyone is talking about
Steve Wynn’s new $2.3 billion, 2,034-room Encore resort that is attached to his
2,700-room Wynn resort and opened on Dec. 22. Former Mirage headlining
impersonator Danny Gans will open the Encore’s showroom on Feb. 10.
The resort’s centerpiece and
main attraction is the new XS nightclub that resembles a showroom with gold and
classical sculptures and embraces a pool and night-life culture.
Mötley
Crüe WILL BE CLOSING ACT FOR THE JOINT AT THE HARD ROCK
The Hard Rock resort will
close its legendary concert venue, The Joint, in February 2009 to make way for a
brand new expanded Joint. As part of their Saints of Los Angeles 2009 Tour,
Mötley Crüe will help close The Joint doors in rock ‘n’ roll fashion with two
closing weekend performances Feb. and 7.
Scheduled to open in April
2009, the new Joint will be twice the size, feature an innovative sound and
lighting system, and offer seven premiere VIP hospitality suites.
The original Joint was opened
in February 1995 and was the first rock venue in Las Vegas to be built at a
high-end boutique property. AEG Live was contracted in February 2007 as the
exclusive promoter and booking agent for The Joint and will continue in that
capacity in the new venue. The venue will be able to accommodate boxing,
wrestling, mixed martial arts events, corporate functions and trade shows, as
well as red carpet movie premieres and advanced screenings.
The Joint’s $60 million
project is part of the $800 million expansion the Hard Rock broke ground on in
2007; slated for completion in late 2009. The expansion will include the
addition of approximately 860 guest rooms, including an all-suite 15-story south
tower, a new 17-story north tower, approximately 60,000 square feet of meeting
and convention space, and approximately 30,000 square feet of casino space. In
addition, the project includes the expansion of the Hard Rock’s award- winning
pool, several new restaurants and bars, a new nightclub, multiple new retail
outlets, as well as a new spa and health club.
DISTURBED WILL PERFORM AT THE PEARL AT THE PALMS ON JAN. 30
Disturbed with special guests
Sevendust and Skindred will perform at The Pearl at the Palms on Friday, Jan.
30, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $41.50, call 702-474-4000.
After the release of their
debut album “The Sickness” in 2000, Disturbed performed in Ozzfest in 2001 and
consecutively topped Billboard’s album charts with “Believe” and “Ten Thousand
Fists.” The Chicago-based foursome have topped the charts again with their
newest 2008 self-produced album “Indestructible” that has the hit “Inside The
Fire,” which garnered the band their first Grammy nomination in the Best Hard
Rock Performance category.
CANNERY
HOSTS ‘LEGENDS OF MOTOWN OLD SCHOOL TRIBUTE SHOW’
The Cannery in North Las
Vegas will welcome the “Legends of Motown Old School Tribute Show” on Jan. 2 and
3. The Motown-era show will feature acts paying tribute to The Supremes, The
Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, The Ojays and
more. Admission to the 8 p.m. shows is $5 at the door. This faux star-studded
show features tributes for more than 30 different legendary acts and gives a
brief biography of each act before they come out on stage to perform. This gives
audiences from every generation an opportunity to learn about the musical
legends they are about to see. The “Legends of Motown Old School Tribute Show”
has a traveling cast of 15 members including nine great vocalists.
CANNERY
AND SANTA FE STATION HONOR ‘THE KING’ IN JANUARY
The Cannery will celebrate
the King’s life on Jan. 9 and 10 with special performances by Johnny Fortuno,
The Stamps Quartet as well as other special guests, friends and co-stars
of
Elvis Presley. The concerts begin at 8 p.m. at The Club. Admission is $10 at the
door. Fortuno is a top Elvis Presley tribute artist singing his hits and
wearing costumes that pay homage to the late singer. One of Elvis’ musical
influences came from gospel music and his favorite gospel group was The Stamps
Quartet, who performed regularly with Presley on many recordings and at concerts
as his back up. Other special guests will include: Elvis’ personal friend and
bodyguard, Sonny West; Elvis’ “Kissin’ Cousins” co-star, Cynthia Pepper; Elvis’
“Blue Hawaii” co-star, Darlene Tompkins; DJ with “Elvis on Air,” Steve
Christopher; Sandy Pichon and Sandy Miller. Other activities taking place
throughout the weekend will include memorabilia dealers and fan club displays.
The Cannery Row Buffet will host a special “Food that fed the King” section with
Elvis’ favorite dishes. At the Santa Fe Station in North Las Vegas, “A Tribute
to the King Show” starring Dennis Wise will take place in the Chrome Showroom on
Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Wise’s tribute to Elvis
turned professional one year after the King’s death, when he auditioned as an
impersonator in Florida and was offered the job halfway into his first song. Now
with more than 10,000 shows under his belt, Wise has been deemed one of the top
three Elvis impersonators by the legendary Dick Clark. Over the course of his
career, he has performed on shows including “Good Morning America,” “Today,”
“Oprah” and “American Bandstand,” among others.
BOB ZANY
HEADLINES RIVIERA COMEDY CLUB
Funnyman Bob Zany, 46, famous
for his off-the-wall humor and one-liners such as “I’m self taught, I went to
public schools” and “Take the law into your own hands, hug a cop” will headline
at the Rivera’s Comedy Club with comedians Tom Clark and Wendy Kamenoff, Jan.
5-11. Tickets for the 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. shows are $24.99, call 702-794-9433.
Known for performing with his
trademark cigar on stage, Zany, born Robert Tetreult, is a veteran of stand-up
comedy. He started out as a contestant on the ‘70s game show program “The Gong
Show,” and moved on to being a contestant on “To Tell The Truth” in the mid ‘90s
before earning his living as a full-fledged comedian. Zany now appears on “The
Bob and Tom Show,” in the “Zany Report,” and also guest hosts on the “Jerry
Lewis Labor Day Telethon.”
Clark was one of the college guys from the Movie Tickets.com
commercials. He has written for “The Man Show” and has appeared on “The Late
Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” as well as Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend.”
Kamenoff has extensive
television and movie credits including “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Bernie Mac
Show” and “All My Children.” She currently co-hosts “New Jewish Cuisine” for
the Jewish Television Network.
QUICK
CLIPS
It was a quick sale that no
one saw coming. Phil Ruffin who sold his New Frontier resort last May for more
than $1.24 billion to Elad Group that plans to build a new resort to resemble
The Plaza Hotel in New York City is buying the Treasure Island (TI) from the MGM
Mirage for $775 million.
Flamingo headliner George
Wallace is offering a special dinner and show deal through Valentine’s Day –
Feb. 14. The special package is two VIP show tickets and two dinners at the
Paradise Garden Buffet in the Flamingo for $99. For information, call
702-733-3333.
Emmy award-winning comedian
Wayne Brady, who headlines in his one-of-a-kind show, “Making It Up,” that
opened at the Venetian in April 2007 has been nominated for a Grammy. Brady
released his debut album, “A Long Time Coming,” in September and is now vying
for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for his soulful rendition of “A
Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. The Grammy Awards will be presented on
Sunday, Feb. 8.
Trump Hotel is starting the
New Year on Jan. 1 by implementing a guaranteed complimentary late 4 p.m.
checkout for all guests. For direct reservations, call 866-
939-8786 or 877-878-6711.
The M Resort has begun
accepting room reservations for the $1 billion property’s opening sometime in
March, call 877-673-7678. The hotel will have 390 rooms on 90 acres at the
southeast corner of St. Rose Parkway and Las Vegas Boulevard.
AARON
LEWIS
Lead singer of Staind, Aaron
Lewis, will perform on Jan. 2 at the Ovation at Green Valley Ranch and at the
Access Showroom at the new Aliante Station on Jan. 3. He’ll do 8 p.m. shows at
both places and tickets are the same prices: $39, $49 and $59.
Front man Lewis of Staind
blends heavy metal with soulful melodic rock, sensitive lyrics and an
emotionally vulnerable image. After recording their first album “Tormented” in
1996, the band reached No. 1 in 2001 on The Billboard 200 with “Break The Cycle”
and again in 2005 with “Chapter V.” Through the band’s success Lewis has shined
as a solo act, rocking mainstream radio with “Outside,” a live collaboration
with Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst during the 1999 Family Values Tour, which hit No.
1 on Billboard’s Main Stream Rock Tracks in 2001. Staind’s newest album, “The
Illusion of Progress,” is already hitting the charts with “Believe.” The
versatile artist is currently on a U.S. solo tour and concurrently on a world
tour with Staind.
EASTSIDE
CANNERY’S NEWS YEAR’S EVE AT THE ONE SIX SKY LOUNGE
The Eastside Cannery’s brand
new 16th floor, 11,000-square-foot ONE SIX Sky Lounge that opened on Dec. 19
featuring a three-sided balcony with awe-inspiring views is offering affordable
options for celebrating New Year’s Eve 2008. For $20.09, guests can party in
the lounge. Prior to the count down, guests can enjoy a six- course luxury
dinner at ONE SIX for $79.99 (alcoholic beverages are not included) from 8 to
10:30 p.m., call 702-856-5432.
MORE
QUICK CLIPS
David Osborne, who is known
as the pianist to the presidents, performed at President Bush’s final White
House party before Christmas. Osborne played piano at Caesars Palace for 11
years and then moved to the Bellagio’s Baccarat Lounge in April 2007.
At the Riviera, “Crazy Girls”
is closed until Jan. 13, and “ICE – The Show from Russia” and “Fab Four Mania”
will be dark Jan. 16, through Feb. 8.
It’s rumored that Donald
Trump’s Miss Universe pageant may be headed to Las Vegas and be held at Planet
Hollywood.
Sorry to say both of chef
Louis Osteen’s restaurants in Town Square, Louis’s Fish Camp and Luis’ Fine
Dining are casualties of the poor economy and had to close.
This winter, MGM Grand, a AAA
Four Diamond hotel, and The Signature at MGM Grand, a non-smoking, non-gaming
luxury resort, are partnering with MasterCard Worldwide to offer a valuable
savings to cardholders. Now through Jan. 30, 2009, guests can book a suite,
from $129 per night, at The Signature at MGM Grand or a room at MGM Grand, from
$89 per night, with a valid MasterCard card and receive 30 percent off bars,
restaurants, select retail outlets, shows and spa services by charging to the
room and paying with a MasterCard card, call 800-929-1111 and use booking code
“SIG007” for The Signature at MGM Grand.
With three well known
nightclubs under its umbrella, Pure Management Group’s PURE, LAX and Christian
Audigier The Nightclub collectively have received seven nominations in the 7th
Annual Club World Awards. Winners are chosen by a panel of industry-expert
judges and will be announced at a ceremony in early
2009.
Opportunity Village welcomed
6,119 Santas at the fourth annual Las Vegas Great Santa Run that took place on
Dec. 6 at the Fremont Street Experience.
NEW REALITY TV SERIES
‘FUEGO EN VEGAS’ DEBUTS ON TELEMUNDO
“Fuego Raw Talent,” the
high-energy Latin dance production and video illusion show produced and hosted
by Latino star, actor Rene Lavan, which has been performing at the Sahara since
last October, is launching the Spanish language reality television series,
“Fuego en Vegas.” that will air on Saturdays at 6 p.m. beginning Dec. 27 on
KBLR Telemundo Las Vegas (channel 39). The half-hour program delves into the
lives of the cast members, performances, behind-the-scenes drama, gossip,
rivalries and love triangles, etc.
“Fuego Raw Talent” will be
closing at the Sahara on Jan. 4.
