Happy Birthday to the beautiful 'Crazy Girls.' Our 'Sexiest Topless Revue' is the longest-running and survives the test of time. Tonight, it celebrates its 20th anniversary and despite controversies and battles over the decades because of its outrageous sexiness the show is still running strong at the Riviera.

Since September 1987, there have been 150 Crazy Girls and they've performed some 13,500 times since opening night. Celebrities such as Magic Johnson, Nicholas Cage, Roseanne, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Tom Jones, Martin Lawrence, and Chyna Doll have been fans. Montel Williams ex-wife Bambi Jr.  is a former 'Crazy Girls' emcee and Jeannette Marquis another emcee, was once-upon-a-time married to Rich Little.

                   

That famous 'Crazy Girls' statue "NO, IFs ands or...," attached to the Riviera's façade, weighs 1,674 pounds. It's bronze butts are shiny from people rubbing them for good luck, like the Fat Buddha in Japan, where one rubs the tummy for good luck. The world's largest life cast statue will celebrate its 10th anniversary this coming May. The statue was made by the Shidoni Foundry under sculptor Michael Conine. Shidoni also made the Women's Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. It was commissioned during the media war when Las Vegas City Hall wanted the billboard of the 'Crazy Girls' taken down when it faced City Hall. This statue is a memorial to the First Amendment after City Hall backed down. Another media battle was fought and won when a state Senator pressured taxi companies to not use the ADDY-award-winning image on the trunk ad-space, but today the ad still appears! .

Three new dancers have been added for the show's 20th anniversary all new look. Let's meet them all:

CHERYL VICK: A 5'7", 24-year-old blonde from Denver. She began taking jazz and gymnastics at age 5. "Dance was always a reward from my parents," Cheryl said, "I grew up as an only child. My mother was a secretary, while my dad worked as a building inspector. I feel like I've been dancing my whole life. My parents are conservative and don't like me dancing topless, but I won't hide it from anyone. I like to go nightclubbing and workout at the gym." She graduated with a BA in Biology from the University of Colorado in 2005 and moved to Las Vegas to join the 'Crazy Girls.' "I love my life and I'm living out a dream!" Cheryl said

NIECY FONTAINE: The 25-year-old line captain hails from Lake Charles, about 300 miles west of New Orleans, Louisiana. She said, "I joined `Crazy Girls' the same day as Eliset Lobato. In the beginning, my family was against me being in show business, but since then they've come around and are very proud of me. They now realize I am doing what makes me happy and that someday I will be a full-time nurse, mother and wife. I'm an LPN at a colonoscopy clinic by day. You can come in have the procedure done by me and then go see me dance in "Crazy Girls' the same night!"

LINDSAY MANNOOCH: The 24-year-old Lindsay said, "I adore being in `Crazy Girls' and enjoy going to work everyday. I love performing and began dancing at age three while growing up in Michigan. I'm an only child and my mom raised me. My dad passed away when I was 18. In the day I work as an aesthetician/makeup artist at Amp Salon at the Palms. In person I'm a little shy, but on the stage I'm playing a role, so I hold nothing back. I love all the new changes in 'Crazy Girls.' I'm very happy with the new dancers and the new props in the show. For now, I'm young and having fun, but I see myself married with children in 20 years, and maybe I'll have a daughter who becomes a 'Crazy Girl.'"

SUMMER FERGUSON: The 5'9", 19-year-old blonde is the youngest 'Crazy Girl' and has performed in the revue for eight months. She said, "I'm originally from San Juan Capistrano, CA. I live with my mother in Las Vegas, but she travels to be with my dad in Carlsbad, CA. My parents are supportive that I'm in 'Crazy Girls.' My favorite things to do are shop and eat sushi at Hamada with one of the new dancers, Terese, who has become my best friend. All of the `Crazy Girls' are great! My favorite number in the show is a ballet solo I do to 'It's a Man's World' inside a heart prop."

    

ELISET LOBATO: The 5'7", 24-year-old Latina in 'Crazy Girls' has graced many Las Vegas magazine covers. She was born in Buenos Aires and moved to Chile where her father was a show producer who has since retired. The family moved to Miami where her first dance job was performing onstage with her mother. Eliset said, "Rayma and I began dancing in 'Crazy Girls' on the same day, so we became instant friends. In the daytime, I do a lot of modeling and convention work. I'm always surprised by the number of people who have one of my posters hanging in their garage. In my free time, I'm an outdoors girl, who loves the sun, skiing and hiking at Red Rock Canyon. The new `Crazy Girls' is an awesome show that I'm so proud to be a part of!"  

LIZ GRANTHAM: Born in Memphis, her family moved from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas at age 12. The 23-year-old, 5'8" showgirl said, "I went to the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts for dance. I attended academic classes in the morning and dance classes in the afternoon. It's very similar to the school featured on the television show `Fame.' I was always a rebel, but not too bad because I had to maintain a good GPA and attendance. If I ditched school my parents took my car away. The new 'Crazy Girl' numbers are great and the audience response has been amazing. My favorite is the carousel horse number 'Ride my Pony!' I'm just so happy to be doing what I love!"

VALENTINA SMIRNOVA: The 23-year-old, 5'8" dark-haired beauty hails from Russia near the BalticSea. As an only child she left Russia for a better life although she misses her parents. Valentina said, "I have a B.A. degree in Architecture from Kaliningrad. I first arrived in San Francisco where I lived for three years and won the Miss Russian California Pageant and received $5,000. I used the money to move to Las Vegas and pursue my passion for dance and acting. I love being in `Crazy Girls' because the show gives me freedom to express myself! My dream is to become famous!"  

TERESE CHAFE: Terese said, "I was born in Phoenix, but my mom moved me to LA when I was 15-years-old so I could get better dance training. I went to auditions everyday. My mom was a dancer and a teacher so I couldn't have had a better advisor. I went to a performing arts high school and was home-schooled later. I had a lot of ballet training and then studied dance for six more hours daily. My first lesson began at age 3. I'm 20 years old now. My mom is very excited that I'm a showgirl. Having a job dancing in 'Crazy Girls' makes me the happiest person in the world."

   
Yours truly enjoys a moment with the sexy 'Crazy Girls.'

Former 'Crazy Girl' Karen Rader, who is married to my buddy, celebrity hair king Michael Boychuck, is now its general manager and a partner in the show with founder Norbert Aleman. She told me about the makeover update: "We've got 2 new dance numbers in the new show that are the hottest thing that have ever been on the Strip. The first features two really hot girls, Lisa and newcomer Valentina. Some people will think it is too lesbian but it is just really sensual, it is a sexed up song, it is techno with a lot of sex in it. One girl wears a little Fedora and a suit and tie, and the other one is in a slinkier outfit exposing her fantasies on the bed while the other one is dancing for her and the audience. Then they wind up dancing together and it is really, really hot and pushes the envelope. You haven't seen anything like this at any other Strip show. The other number raising eyebrows we nicknamed Bazooka to the music of Whatever Lola Wants, with the dancer making outrageous moves on giant objects that is so hot at the end you can hear the audience taking a deep breath and then they just burst out with applause. We brought in former ballerina Charmain Hunter who does auditions and choreography for Cirque to spice up our dances. 75% of the show has changed to celebrate our 20th anniversary and we added 9 completely new numbers and it now runs 90 minutes, 6-days-a-week at 9:30PM. We kept the opening 'Crazy Girl' marching number because everybody is familiar with the song". I asked Karen what they look for in a 'Crazy Girl' and she told me: "We look for freshness and youth and then their body and if they pass those then we look at their dance. Because there is no sense in looking at their dance when we don't like what we see. I think that this cast is a throwback to the earlier days when it was really fun and we were all hanging out all the time. These girls are all becoming best friends and they got really close during rehearsals. Rehearsals lasted about 2 months. It was really a long time so they were together all the time and it made the show real tight. It was great. They are all really young too."

               

I remember visiting Vegas in 1987 when 'Crazy Girls' first started. It was the show that shocked and scandalized Vegas, even though it wasn't the first topless show in town. Karen commented: "We were the first show where the girls went without tights; it really was scandalous when it first came out. A lot of the same things we broke ground with turned up in other shows around town so we didn't want the same again for our new 20th year, so we've pushed the envelope again and the numbers are hotter. I think the show has gone back to that scandalous feel. People have changed, so it is more fun for them, whereas before it was shocking where people got mad and would walk out sometimes, now they fully enjoy it and they like the sexiness. I actually hear people at the end of the numbers take a deep breath and go 'oh my God.' Our show has pulled ahead again and soon everybody will be copying us one more time to catch-up, but we remain the cutting edge original."

MODEL CLOSE-UP
                                 
An artists rendition of MGM's Project City Center, a $7 billion masterpiece.

For the first time, prospective purchasers at MGM's Project City Center can get an up-close view of the plans for the $7 billion Center-Strip architectural masterpiece and catch a glimpse into the experience of living at the unrivaled address. The viewing gallery has been set up at the Bellagio, alongside the beautiful conservatory, before sales get underway in January with the ultimate 4,100 sq. ft penthouse pad selling for a princely $8-million. The model shows the world's foremost architects have created an icon of superb contemporary design that forever redefines Las Vegas:

                         

Distinctively designed as two glass towers leaning in opposite directions, Veer Towers represent a truly innovative architectural accomplishment. The 37-story twin-towers house more than 350 modern condominiums, topped off on the roof with an "infinity edge" pool, fitness center, spa, cabanas and a patio for outdoor entertaining. The Vdara Condo Hotel will be the complex's sole condo hotel; a 50-story ebony tower located between Bellagio and City Center's gaming resort, with 1,543 residential units. The Residences at Mandarin Oriental mixes the prestige of the internationally renowned resort-brand, with a world-class hotel and residential experience. The Harmon Hotel & Residences will define hip, exclusive living on the Strip and its pool deck will be perched 100 feet above the Strip. The Harmon's elegant tower will boast 400 hotel rooms and 228 condominium residences.   The iconic 60-story, 4,000-room City Center hotel casino is at the heart of the property with its own retail and entertainment district featuring high-end retailers, fashionable clubs, gourmet restaurants, galleries all under a crystalline canopy of unprecedented brilliance. The new drive-on roads to be constructed will provide two entrances at front and back of the mega-property.

PLATINUM PHOTOS
Last week Luxe Life reported on the opening of the city's first non-gaming non-smoking residential hotel, The Platinum and now Luxe Life has the first photos of the new property's interior. Enjoy the mini-tour!

                                    
                                 

DIAMOND AWARDS
Bolstering our city's continued reputation asa premiere luxury destination; AAA has added two more hotels and one more restaurant to its established list of Las Vegas Five Diamond Award-winning properties. This year, Skylofts at the MGM Grand Hotel and Wynn Las Vegas have earned Five Diamond ratings for the first time. The upscale hotels join repeat winners The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, which has garnered its fourth award; Bellagio, with its sixth Five Diamond award; and Four Seasons Hotel takes home its eighth Five Diamond Award, more than any other Nevada property. In the restaurant scene, Joel Robuchon at the Mansion (MGM Grand Hotel) has received its first ever Five Diamond Award. The upscale restaurant joins Picasso (Bellagio), a six-time winner, Le Cirque (Bellagio), a four-time winner, and Alex (Wynn Las Vegas), a two-time recipient of the prestigious ranking. "To achieve Five Diamond Award status means these establishments are at the highest level of service within the industry," said Michael Geeser, spokesperson for AAA Nevada. "When you consider the high-level service provided by so many properties in Nevada, this speaks volumes for the type of hotel and restaurant the winners are operating."

BEATLE BONANZA
On November 24, The Beatles first CD in over 20-years will be released and Luxe Life has the full "look and listen" report in an earlier posting. Click here to view the video, the photos, the interviews with producers Sir George and Giles Martin and to listen to the audio pod-cast in a very unique and special presentation.

STRIP SCRIBBLES
Comedy-star and impressionist Dana Carvey -- he does a brilliant Robin Leach by the way -- will be the headline entertainment at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) banquet tonight at the Hilton. SEMA I, one of Vegas' largest annual conventions, is the trade show for automotive performance products and accessories featuring new-product introductions, cross-marketing opportunities, and new trends and technologies. The Convention Center show which runs through tomorrow features more than 1,300 exhibitors in 6,000 booths displaying products for 82,000 visiting conventioneers -- one of our largest annual meetings!

TONIGHT'S TIPS
It's 'a good deal 'when Howie Mandel brings his phobias and fun-filled humor back to the MGM Grand for a 7-day run this evening thru next Wednesday. ... A 3-day festival of fantasy and flesh strips down to bare basics with The Vivid Girls at the grand opening of the new Minxx adult club with Tera Patrick continuing tomorrow and Jenna Jameson on Saturday. ... Hypnotist Anthony Cools returns to the Paris to put audiences in a trance so under his spells that they're almost completely out of control.

TOMORROW'S TEASE
We'll take a trip down Memory Lane for when I went camel-racing with film legend Lana Turner in the Egyptian desert, plus celebrate with my pal Vince Neil as he kicks off a jam-packed rocking weekend with the opening of his new Strip tattoo parlor, the Motley Crue/Aerosmith concert and his poker tournament charity fundraiser!

Read previous columns from Robin Leach at: journals.aol.com/robinsvegas/LuxeLifeVegas.

Articles and photos from Robin Leach's Luxe Life: Vegas column on AOL cityguide are copyright and reprinted with permission.