* * *

Jan 24: Kenny Kerr's Hard Fall

He was the longest-running solo headliner in Las Vegas history, but just a few years since the end of his last gig, he’s probably largely unknown to most of you. Kenny Kerr was the first female impersonator to go mainstream on the Strip, opening in the late 1970s at the Silver Slipper, paving the way for Frank Marino. But Kerr’s story is that of great success and constant financial problems, and when Steve spoke to him in December he had left a gig at a small Italian restaurant miles from the Strip because the owner hadn’t paid him. This hour, hear Kerr provide some fascinating history about Las Vegas, go into some shocking detail about drag queen life and, of course, some delicious slaps at his archrival.

In Banter: Drama at Casino Montreal, a visit to Cirque's mothership, Aria v Bellagio, news on the Fontainebleau, Matt Goss and Krave and more.

Links to Stuff Discussed:

Steve's Las Vegas Weekly column on Kenny Kerr
The website for the Casino Montreal
A YouTube video of the Royal Ascot Sigma Derby-esque game at Casino Montreal
The website for Martini Time, a live cooking show at the M Resort
The sites for Viva Elvis and Criss Angel Believe
VegasHappensHere.Com on the snake-box thing and gay-travel survey
LVA blogger Dave McKee’s post on the emptiness of CityCenter’s Crystals
The Review-Journal’s Howard Stutz in Fontainebleau’s sale to Carl Icahn

* * *

Jan 6: The Real Mr. Las Vegas

Could there be a better way to kick off a new year than with Mr. Las Vegas himself, Mr. Wayne Newton? The Wayner needs little introduction, so let’s just say that you’re about to hear the answer to all your questions including whether he’s had plastic surgery, what he thinks about his weathered voice and much more. Newton, who is performing at the Tropicana at least through April, also addresses his Norm Clarke plagiarism flap, explains how he recovers memorabilia stolen regularly from his Vegas home and for the first time ever reveals the scene from Vegas Vacation that he had nixed. Plus, is his Trop show profitable? What does he think of others who call themselves Mr. Las Vegas? Why doesnt' he want to see Viva Elvis? What was it like to meet Howard Hughes? And much more.

In Banter: Garth's amazing, NYE on the Strip, the Cupcakery and more.

Links

Get Wayne Newton tickets
Wayne Newton’s website
Steve’s Sphere piece on the NYE Christians in Vegas
A picture of the dead Vdara on New Year’s Eve
VegasHappensHere.Com on New Year’s Eve adventures
Google map for Bonanza High, where Kaan saw the NYE fireworks
VegasHappensHere.Com on the latest, re: Garth scalping issue
The Strip Sense column on why Garth was the best show in Vegas ever
Fox 5 on The Lion King’s big ticket numbers
An image of what the Garth wristband looks like
An image of what the Asian Equation looks like and a link to the recipe on VegasHappensHere
What a $40 box of cupcakes from the Cupcakery at Monte Carlo looks like
Wayne Newton and Norm Clarke in an Anna Quindlen column

* * *

Dec. 29: The Vegas Juniors...
...with Louis Prima Jr and Sandy Hackett

Nowadays if you’re the offspring of an iconic celebrity, you can get work regardless of your talent as the subject of a reality TV show or by providing vacuous interviews on red carpets. But some of those who were born famous actually spend their lives trying to both make their own mark on the world and protect the legacies of their parents. In this episode, we’ll hear from two men who have done just that, Louis Prima Jr and Sandy Hackett. Prima continues to try to rescue the dying Vegas lounge act that his father made so great and Hackett is a comic and musician in his own right whose Rat Pack production at the Sahara bounces off of his own family history with Frank, Dino, Sammy and Joey. Both have struggled with and enjoyed perks from their famous names and both speak openly about that mixed blessing as well as their fascinating Vegas histories.

In Banter: The Aria buffet, Phil Ruffin’s Bellagio play, the Build It Bigger on CityCenter, Forbes on Adelson and Ruffin, the MGM Mirage Xmas Day outage and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Get tickets for Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show at the Sahara
Louis Prima Jr’s website
Sandy Hackett’s website
The site for Casino de Quebec
Wikipedia on Mary Healy and Peter Lind Hayes
HowStuffWorks on Discovery Channel’s Build It Bigger shows on Veer and Aria
Doug Elfman’s baffling Viva Elvis piece claiming there aren’t Elvis impersonators in the show
Forbes Magazine’s pieces on Sheldon Adelson and Phil Ruffin
VegasHappensHere.Com’s coverage of the Christmas Day outage at the main IT center of MGM Mirage
John L Smith’s column about Jim Murren’s baseball lie
Norm Clarke’s reporting on the legal tussle between the Rat Pack shows

* * *

SPECIAL 5 MIN VIDEO EPISODE: CITYCENTER OPENS

* * *

Dec. 21: More Celebrity, More Puck

He can hardly keep track of how many restaurants bear his name, so he’d be forgiven if he found opening yet another one in Vegas to be run-of-the-mill. And yet Wolfgang Puck, seemed as giddy as ever as he inspected the construction site that will, in one month’s time, open as Puck Brasserie at CityCenter. Amid the hullabaloo surrounding Aria’s opening day, the 60-year-old restaurateur found time to chat with Steve about his childhood food memories, what the most famous celebrity chef in the world means by his “less celebrity, more chef” advertising tagline and why he’ll never open a restaurant in a Steve Wynn resort.

In Banter: A recap of the Aria opening, the latest on the P-Ho/Harrahs transaction, Wynn’s art purchase, Trump and Adelson’s CityCenter hate and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Wolfgang Puck’s home page
See renderings of Puck Brasserie in Crystals
Wynn’s no-comment comment in the New York Times on his art buy
A VegasHappensHere.Com teleplay between the Steves
Listen to guest host Amy’s podcast, GritstoGlitz.Com
Forbes shows how bad Sheldon Adelson believes money is love
Flickr photo collections by Hunter Hillegas and Steve on the CityCenter opening
See special Strip video episodes of the Aria opening and preview of Viva Elvis
Read VegasHappensHere’s full coverage of the opening of Aria
The Strip Sense column about journo Tweeting
The Associated Press on the NFL’s decision to allow Vegas ads
Fox 5 Las Vegas on the recent Las Vegas sign vandalism

* * *

SPECIAL EPISODE: VIVA ELVIS PREVIEW

* * *

Dec. 10: Murren's Opening Aria

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a little company opening up a few new attractions out there on Las Vegas Boulevard this month and the guy behind all that is a fellow named Jim Murren. The CEO of MGM Mirage was, for better or worse, the visionary behind CityCenter, the $8.5 billion project that is finally a reality and has already opened the hotel-condo Vdara, the Mandarin Oriental and the mammoth Crystals shopping mall. In the interview you’ll hear in this episode, Steve challenges Murren on several ideas behind CityCenter and Murren offers some surprising boasts – that CityCenter will singlehandedly save the Nevada economy, that he’s never set foot on Encore or Palazzo and much more. Plus, Murren allows that the problems of Fontainbleau and Echelon are good for CityCenter, has tough words about Harrah’s and Station Casinos regarding overleveraging and describes the green elements of CityCenter as “a gift to the United States.” Also, Steve asks, much to Murren's chagrin, if CityCenter is a Vegas version of EPCOT.

In Banter: RateVegas.Com’s Hunter Hillegas is in-studio to discuss being Steve’s date at the Mandarin Oriental gala last night, to tell all about his exclusive Aria tour and to explain how this Harrah's-Planet Ho thing makes sense. Or not.

Links to stuff discussed:

Jim Murren’s corporate profile from Forbes
Steve’s L.A. Weekly piece in which Jim Murren is a prominent figure
The list of the fired from Greenspun Media Group
Hunter Hillegas’ RateVegas.Com
VegasHappensHere.Com on the Vdara opening
Hunter Hillegas’ exhaustive Flickr from his Mandarin-Vdara-Aria swing
Dave McKee’s very strange dissertation about gay travel
The L.A. Weekly architectural review of CityCenter
The USA Today blowjob about CityCenter
The latest on Harrah’s effort to buy Planet Hollywood from GlobeSt.Com
Our listener’s suggestion for Vietnamese, Pho So 1

* * *

Dec. 1: Doyle Brunson Loses A Bet...
...and Norm Clarke answers The Question!

Even if you know or care nothing about professional poker, it is hard to imagine you’ve never come across the name Doyle Brunson. Poker’s elder statesmen was there when Texas Hold ‘Em came into being, was there when the concept of the poker tournament was invented and was there when they added hole-card cameras to poker tables to make it interesting for TV viewers to follow the action. Now, at 76, he’s published a surprisingly frank autobiography appropriately titled “The Godfather of Poker” in which he reveals the violent early days of his gambling life, his strained relationship with his father and much more. When Steve spoke to two-time World Series of Poker Main Event champ this week, he opened up some more about the Binion family, mob enforcer Tony Spilotro, Annie Duke, Joan Rivers and Phil Hellmuth, among others. Plus, Steve did the seemingly impossible – he won a bet off Doyle.

In Banter: USA Today’s CityCenter piece, New Year’s Eve is back on top, Harrah’s is buying P-Ho but with what?, Hash House A Go Go is opening a Strip location and more.

Links:

Buy Doyle Brunson’s biography "Godfather of Poker" or the classic "Super/System" on Amazon.Com
Doyle Brunson’s online poker home, DoylesRoom.Com
The LeRoy Neiman painting in Bobby’s Room at Bellagio up close
The travel blog of Kitty Bean Yancey of USA Today
The USAT piece on CityCenter
Rich Velotta’s Las Vegas Sun natural-light-in-Aria casino piece
The piece on the Four Seasons from the NYT that may explain the Mandarin Oriental’s pricing approach, too
The Las Vegas Sun on Harrah’s trying to buy Planet Hollywood
The Review-Journal on the announcement that they’re setting NYE fireworks off on the roof this year
PlanetMoney from NPR, which Miles listens to
The site for Hash House A Go Go, which is looking for a Strip locale
Norm Clarke gives FiveHundy.Com credit for breaking news that HHAGG is opening at the IP
Norm ferrets out the Vegas connection to Tiger Woods
Anna Quindlen’s classic, brilliant Wayne Newton plagiarism column

* * *

Nov. 23: Frankie Goes To Vegas

You may not be all that familiar with the name Frank Caliendo, but it will become hard to miss it the next time you’re on or around the Las Vegas Boulevard. The 35-year-old impressionist known for his work on MADTV and on Fox NFL Sunday just started a 10-year deal to appear nightly at the Monte Carlo, so Steve chatted with him this hour about how that happened, about how he felt about the cancellation of his TBS sketch comedy show and much more. Plus, he explains why he wasn’t at his best the night the media came to review his show and opines on female impressionists, Rush Limbaugh's NFL prospects and the format of Jay Leno's new talk show.

In Banter: More pre-CityCenter thoughts, the future of non-smoking casinos, Lily Tomlin's show and slots, strippermobiles, Mirage's 20th, Golden Nugget's non-price-cutting price-cutting and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Get tickets for Frank Caliendo’s Monte Carlo show
Frank Caliendo’s website
The Las Vegas Advisor’s green Vegas guide
The link to the special edition from the Global Gaming Expo with Roger Thomas and the rest
Las Vegas Sun’s Joe Brown gave a VERY positive review of Lily Tomlin’s show
An image of the Ernestine the Phone Operator slot machine that Lily announced at G2E
An image of lame interviewee Chris Noth checking out the Sex And The City slots
The latest in the Sun about the drama behind the strippermobile
The perplexing Review-Journal piece on the Golden Nugget Rush Tower’s rate cutting
Listener suggestions: Archie’s Thai restaurant and Pho So 1, a Vietnamese restaurant
Tommy Held, whose song “Bound For Las Vegas” we use for bumper music sometimes, is on Twitter
Mike Weatherford’s first-since-scandal interview with David Copperfield
India Palace’s website
Food Not Bombs Las Vegas, which offers a free vegan picnic every Sunday, is also on Twitter

* * *

SPECIAL: WYNN DESIGN TEAM SPEAKS!

Audio from a panel discussion moderated by TheStripPodcast.Com host Steve Friess at the Global Gaming Expo that featured Roger Thomas, DeReuyter Butler, Andrew Kreft and Todd Avery Lenahan. Thomas is the mastermind behind several Wynn property designs going back to Mirage, Butler has been drawing up the architecture for Steve Wynn for 20+ years, Kreft oversees all the horticulture and Lenahan designed the Wynn Buffet as well as the Encore rooms and spa. The conversation includes new details of the plans for the Switch Beach Club area, some surprises about Wynn's initial intentions with both the Dunes and Desert Inn properties and some thoughts on Wynn/Encore versus CityCenter.

* * *

Nov.16: Good Ol' Boyd

At 77, William S. Boyd could just sit back, count his money and let his children carry on his family’s casino and philanthropic legacies in Nevada. But for Boyd, retirement from running the company means being active in it in other ways, and he remains very much involved in the important decisions of Boyd Gaming. Mr. Boyd speaks to Steve this hour about halting construction of Echelon, making a play for the properties of bankrupt rival Station Casinos and old versus new Vegas.

In banter: Frank Caliendo opens, Steve bets on Cotto for a friend, WSOP ratings are flat, the Rio is NOT all suites, three popular attractions are now neighbors, crazy Bette fans attack and Jim Murren claims he listens to this show.

Links to stuff discussed:

Steve’s blog post and column on the Main Street Station walkabout
Frank Caliendo’s home page
The VegasHappensHere.Com explanation of how the MJ money was spent
Steve’s Bette Midler failure column and WSOP’s ratings drop
The new locations for the Gambler’s Book Shop and Pinball Hall of Fame
See the weird Aubrey O’Day YouTube rant after the first Peepshow performance
The VegasHappensHere.Com rant against the wrap on The Harmon
The first CityCenter pictorial on the blog
The latest from the R-J’s Howard Stutz on the Boyd-Station tussle
The Dave Berns chat on KNPR with Bob Arum about maybe-gay UFC

* * *

Nov.9: Ungilding Lily

She’s conquered Hollywood and Broadway and won over the hearts everywhere in between so at 70, Lily Tomlin has finally decided it’s time to become a Vegas headliner. For nine nights, from Nov. 10-18, the comedienne brings her cast of famous characters – Ernestine the telephone operator and bratty 5-year-old Edith Ann among them – to the stage. Tomlin explains this hour her illustrious career never before included the Strip and chats with Steve about her roles in Desperate Housewives, West Wing, Damages and the X-Files. Plus, she explains why she walked off the Dick Cavett show in 1972 in a feminist huff and why she and her longtime partner Jane Wagner won’t be getting married.

In Banter: A CityCenter tour, Bette's departure, the WSOP final table, Miles' Oval Office adventures, the disgraceful debasing of The Harmon, a Top Chef viewing party and some we-toldja-so's.

Links to stuff discussed:

Get tickets for Lily Tomlin’s MGM Grand shows Nov 10-18
The Advocate's current piece on Lily Tomlin
Time's 1977 cover on Lily Tomlin
Steve’s blog about the Bartolotta viewing party
The VegasHappensHere.Com post about the marathon WSOP session on Saturday
Steve’s pieces on Phil Ivey, Darvin Moon and the outcome of the WSOP
Links to blog posts about Barry Manilow and Viva Elvis long before both were official
The VegasTripping.Com run-in with Wynncore over Wynncore.Com
VegasTripping.Com's perfect response to Wynncore
The charming letter from Steve Wynn to RateVegas.Com from 2003

* * *

Oct.31: The Top Chef Effect
w/Hubert Keller

Four years ago, a San Francisco chef took a gamble and opened up his San Francisco kitchen to the first challenge of a new Bravo TV show called “Top Chef.” At the time, Hubert Keller came across as tough and grouchy but the show was a hit and his Fleur de Lys in California became a place of intrigue for its fans. Fast forward to this year when warmer, cuddlier Keller appeared first on Top Chef Masters and then in an episode of the current, Las Vegas-set season of the show. Business at Fleur de Lys – long an underperformer at Mandalay Bay – is booming. Keller speaks this hour about that, about what it smelled like to grow up above his family’s bakery in Alsace, France, and about how a Frenchman became one of the biggest things ever in the burger cuisine. Plus, as usual, Steve asked Keller about his food guilty pleasures.

In Banter: Ticket scalping issues, Barry Manilow, the Podcast-a-Palooza, Harrah's dumb iPhone app, DB leaves Wynn, DB opening at Sands in Singapore and who is the Maori Hi Five?

Links to stuff discussed:

Top Chef Vegas
Fleur de Lys in Las Vegas
The Strip Sense column that included Hubert Keller
Our Podcast-a-Palooza episode
Harrah’s lame iPhone app
Steve Wynn’s gotten political
Jan Jones and others defend Obama
Steve’s column about Obama and Elaine Wynn
A YouTube clip of Lady Elaine from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
Steve’s Las Vegas Weekly cover story on the D Gate murals
John Curtas of EatingLV.Com breaks news of Daniel Boulud’s Wynn exit
Las Vegas Walk of Stars

* * *

Oct. 20: Podcast-a-Palooza 2
Take a Chazz On Us

When the idea first came up, nobody -- and by nobody we mean Steve -- thought it could possibly work. Chazz Palminteri was a career character actor with modest name recognition next to the likes of, say, Holly Madison, and his plan was to bring a serious autobiographical one-man play to the Strip? Fuggedaboutit. But Palminteri has faced down doubts about "A Bronx Tale" before, and here he is now in the middle of a two-week run at the Venetian that has been extended by popular demand. Palminteri joined us live at the 2009 Vegas Podcast-A-Palooza to discuss the show, his friendship with Frank Sinatra and the chronological problem in his play that only three people have ever asked him about in 20 years.

In Banter: Rating the Garth deal, revealing some new slot machine ideas coming to G2E.

Links:

Chazz Palminteri's website
VegasHappensHere.Com's skepticism about Chazz's show earlier this year
The Vegas Gang podcast
Five Hundy By Midnight
Podcast-a-Palooza emcee Dave Lifton's new show, PopDose
The IMDB site on the stinker flick Chazz discussed, Scar City
Our podcast episode with Palminteri's "Bullets Over Broadway" co-star Jennifer Tilly
Steve's Las Vegas Weekly column about Steve Wynn and Garth Brooks

* * *

Oct. 13: The CSI Interview Experience

It’s the biggest TV show ever set in Las Vegas, but can CSI: Crime Scene Investigation succeed as a permanent Vegas attraction? The folks at MGM Grand decided to find out. On the occasion of the opening of the interactive solve-it-yourself CSI: The Experience, Steve sat down with both Vegas-raised creator Anthony Zuiker and the show’s longtime star, Marg Helgenberger.

In Banter: Debate over the notion of a Top Chef restaurant, A Bronx Tale is excellent, Wynn's new flight deal, post-MJ career notes, weird lights on the Cosmo and more.

Links:

CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation homepage
The CSI: The Experience attraction at MGM Grand
VegasHappensHere.Com on the CSI: The Experience attraction's slow start
Steve's Las Vegas Weekly column on Vegas' Top Chef flub
The Las Vegas Sun on the Wynn Las Vegas' new private jet deal offer
Get tickets to "A Bronx Tale"
See Steve's photo of the weird lights on the Cosmopolitan
VegasHappensHere.Com about the Top Chef Sandy Valley switcheroo

* * *

Sept. 17: Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen

In a city of knockoffs and impersonations, how do you go about reinterpreting a great piece of music without being tainted as a copycat? Well, it helps if you’re already a legendary rock band in your own right behind you, too. That’s how Cheap Trick’s doing it anyway, landing at the Las Vegas Hilton for nine performances of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band before a full orchestra and assisted by such other pop stars as Joan Osbourne. Cheap Trick’s guitarist and vocalist Rick Nielsen joins us this hour to talk about the band’s relationship with the Beatles, about growing up in Rockford, Ill., and whether this swing of shows could portend a resident Vegas gig of some form soon.

In banter: Mindy Kaling gets Vegas whiners whining, Terry Fator puts puppets on cabs, Amy gets a Vegas welcome on her European cruise, Top Chef's been good to Hubert Keller and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Get tickets to see Cheap Trick’s Sgt. Pepper Live at the Hilton
Cheap Trick’s website
Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza on Oct. 17 at the Palms
See the redesigned VegasHappensHere.Com
Amy’s revived (for how long?) podcast, Grits to Glitz
Amy’s trip report on her European cruise
Sparky of Las Vegas, our redesigner and hero
Watch the whole Mindy Kaling clip
VegasHappensHere.Com’s rant on the whiners re: Kaling
Luv-It Frozen Custard’s website
Join Steve’s Facebook group “Las Vegas Needs To Grow A Pair”
Fleur de Lys, owned by Hubert Keller
Steve’s TV Guide Magazine piece on CSI: The Experience

* * *

Sept. 10: Hal Prince's Vegas

Legendary Broadway producer-director Hal Prince of Phantom, Evita, Fiddler, Sweeney Todd, Damn Yankees, Cabaret and Pajama Game fame spars with Steve again over whether Phantom is a downer, discusses his 2008 stroke, predicts the Vegas version of "Phantom" will run "indefinitely" and offers up a split-decision on Patti LuPone's on-stage outbursts. Prince's last remark said it all: "You're a good interviewer, but you're dangerous." Prince is the keynoter for the first Phantom Fan Week in Las Vegas, which runs from Sept. 16-20 at -- where else? -- the Venetian.

Links to stuff discussed:

Get tickets for Phantom in Vegas
Hal Prince's Wikipedia page
More on the Phantom Fan Week at the Venetian
The American Theater Wing's fascinating interview with Hal Prince
VegasHappensHere.Com on Patti LuPone's on-stage drama

* * *

SPECIAL VIDEO: ELIJAH AT THE PEARL

Raw footage courtesy of KLAS-TV in Las Vegas of Elijah "Lil Elijah J" Johnson of The Lion King performing "Dancing Machine" at the Pearl in the Palms on Aug. 29, 2009 for the "Las Vegas Celebrates The Music of Michael Jackson" benefit concert. The concert raised more than $100,000 for the Clark County Public Education Foundation earmarked for music education programs in Las Vegas-area schools.

* * *

Sept. 3: The Next Big Li'l Thing

If you were at the Palms on Saturday for the Michael Jackson tribute benefit, you might want to put your ticket stub in a safe place. Years from now, the concert may very well be remembered in the same light as Motown 25, a magical moment when the world witnessed the birth of a major talent. This time, it was Elijah Johnson, the 11-year-old star of the Lion King at Mandala
y Bay, who flew onto the stage in a burst of energy and confidence and sang and danced with an exuberance that now has the Tonight Show calling. Johnson, who leaves the cast of Lion King in October, joins us this hour with his father in the studio to discuss that magical moment last weekend and what it could mean for his future.

In Banter: MJ benefit follow-up, Earl Turner's peeps are jerks, McKee's Carmen Electra infatuation, MGM Mirage's condo issues and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Elijah "LilElijahJ" Johnson’s website
Dave McKee’s blog is Stiffs and Georges blog
Coverage by John Katsilometes and Norm Clarke of the Michael Jackson concert
Cinevegas’ podcast of the Moonwalker Q-and-A
VegasHappensHere.Com breaks the Viva Elvis title for Cirque’s new Aria show
McKee’s Carmen Electra infatuation
VegasHappensHere.Com on Bill Lerner’s Union Gaming Group report on MGM Mirage condo pricing
MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren’s CNBC interview
VegasHappensHere.Com on all the dirt behind the MJ event
The Myspace site and homepage of "Jersey Boys" star Travis Cloer, whose gorgeous cover of "The Music and Me" closes this episode

* * *

Aug. 27: Joan Rivers

She’s been mocked mercilessly for her voice, her red carpet antics and, of course, her plastic surgery. And yet at 76 years old, Joan Rivers is somehow still relevant, with a new show on TV Land called How’d You Get So Rich and stand-up shows this weekend and next at the Venetian. Rivers returns to our version of The Strip, too, to gab about her recent slam on all poker players on The Celebrity Apprentice, about how she’s more famous today than her late nemesis Johnny Carson and about which stars she thinks have – get this – had bad plastic surgery.

In Banter: A Strip zip but no Dinner in the Sky?, Hotel 32 thoughts, Top Chef Vegas and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Joan Rivers’ website
Get tickets for Joan Rivers’ Venetian shows
Hear Steve and Erich on KNPR this week on the MJ show
The site for Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza II
Norm on Holly Madison on Hef’s ex
YouTube of Joan with Gwar
YouTube of Joan and Annie Duke
VegasHappensHere.Com on the 24/7 ABC stakeout of Conrad Murray’s home
See the video of the Bootleg Canyon Flightlines zipline where Steve gets stuck
Read about the prospect of an Excalibur zipline?
The site for Top Chef Vegas
The R-J’s story about the nixing of a Strip launch for the Dinner in the Sky
Steve’s column on Hotel 32 at Monte Carlo
Joan’s new TVLand show
Is Daniel Negreanu a racist? One blogger thinks so
VegasHappensHere.Com on the $2 lobster machine

* * *

Aug. 20: Daniel The Kid

This is an abbreviated episode because we couldn’t get into the studio this week because of our work schedules. Thus, an interview-only episode featuring Daniel Negreanu, nicknamed Kid Poker. But the kid, presently No. 3 on the list of all-time earnings in poker tournament play at $11.6 million, has a bit of a wicked side, too. His Tweets during this year’s World Series of Poker were rife with snark about other players, Asian drivers and weird encounters with fans on the rail, and in this week’s conversation, Negreanu has some harsh words for fellow star Annie Duke’s representation of the game on the recent season of Celebrity Apprentice. Plus, is it true that most poker players are atheists? Negreanu answers that, too.

Links to stuff discussed:

Negreanu’s blog site
Steve’s column about poker and Twitter
Daniel Negreanu’s Twitter feed
The McClatchy wire feature on Nick Maimone, Catholic poker player
The YouTube clip of Joan Rivers attacking

* * *

Aug. 13: Anthony Cools' Spell
New! Get bookmarked AAC edition

Whether you buy hypnotism or not, there's no denying that Anthony Cools has Las Vegas under his spell. The Paris Las Vegas headliner has become a somehwat unlikely Strip entrepreneur, responsible for four shows besides his own including Bobby Slayton and Penny Lane at the Tropicana and Mental and Freaks at O'Sheas. Cools explains how he became the king of middle-brow and why he thinks some of the more disgusting acts that take place at Freaks are really "quite romantic."

In Banter: Amy and Steve discuss Mental and Freaks, another MJ raid, Laughlin sees an uptick, an accidental ReHab visit, a Maggiano's deal for Amy, and more.

Links for stuff discussed:

Tickets for Anthony Cools at Paris Las Vegas
Anthony Cools’ website
Amy’s Norm bird video on YouTube
Amy in Norm Clarke’s column in the R-J
The site for both Freaks and Mental at O'Sheas
Luke Jermay, the mentalist from Mental
O’Sheas homepage
Steve-O’s website
Steve’s NYT piece on the latest MJ pharmacy raid
Steve’s LVW column on the Stage Door Casino
A link to see the Tropicana’s new logo
See the latest depressing data from the LVCVA for yourself
Las Vegas Advisor’s notice about the hot deal at Maggiano’s Little Italy, Amy’s favorite place ever
Follow “Bound For Las Vegas” singer-songwriter Tommy Held on Twitter
Doug Elfman’s Carmen Electra piece

* * *

Aug. 6: Smokey's Awesome Aussies
New! Get AAC edition

What’s a legend of Motown doing as the chief backer of a Vegas production featuring a white former boy band from Australia? Smokey Robinson explains that, talks about Michael Jackson and sings a few bars of the first song he ever wrote this hour. It’s no “My Girl,” but he was only 6 when he wrote it. That’s coming up, plus Andrew Tierney of that very band, Human Nature, talks about the group's transition from top-of-the-heap Down Under to headliners at, uh, the Imperial Palace.

In Banter: MJ concert details, the attack of the Chitown columnist, Beyonce v Anthony Cools, Prive's woes, Tao's interesting idea and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Tickets for Human Nature at the IP
Smokey Robinson’s website
Amy’s podcast, GritstoGlitz.com
Amy’s Norm video
Station Casinos in bankruptcy
Tickets for Anthony Cools at Paris
Beyonce review in the R-J
Prive nightclub's problems
Tao’s Twitterhunt
Neil Steinberg’s outrageous Chicago Sun-Times column on Vegas
VegasHappensHere.Com attacks Neil Steinberg’s column
Steve’s column about the Stage Door Casino

* * *

July 30: Bob Saget

We couldn’t pull off a regular show this week because both of us had to work overtime on Tuesday, so instead we’re posting this interview with comic actor Bob Saget. The Saget interview was recorded back in April and never ran because Saget’s dates at the Pearl Theater at the Palms were canceled, but it’s actually a pretty interesting discussion. Saget became famous as a wholesome TV sitcom dad from 1987 to 1995 on “Full House” but more recently turned his own image inside out by being the filthiest, raunchiest comic to appear in the 2005 documentary “The Aristocrats.” In this conversation, Saget talks about his image, about clubbing with the Olsen twins and his new show, premiering this fall, called Surviving Suburbia.

Relevant Links:

Bob Saget’s website
The New York Observer piece on Saget
Saget’s segment of “The Aristocrats” on YouTube

* * *

July 23: Cuchi Cuchi for Charo

You think she's just a blond, air-headed, surgically enhanced... oh, wait. That's last week's guest. This week, we've got Charo the giggly, jiggly Spanish singer and guitarist, who in the early 1970s was making as much as Sinatra for shows on the Strip, is back in town with a new headliner show at the Riviera. Steve chatted with Charo this week about plastic surgery, her affection for RuPaul and where her signature “cuchi cuchi” line came from.

In banter: A weird WSOP interview story, a weird Panorama Towers ad, a weird Caesars Palace sign, a baffling Monte Carlo strategy and more.

Links To Stuff Discussed:

Steve’s NYT piece on the WSOP Bear Stearns guy
Charo’s website
Tickets to Charo’s show at the Riviera
Hotel32 at Monte Carlo
VegasHappensHere image of RS PALACE
Anthony Cools’ show extended for four years
VegasHappensHere.Com on the weird Panorama Towers job audition

* * *

July 16: The Smartest Little Dumb Blonde in Vegas

Holly Madison admits it: She wants to be famous. And she doesn’t mind being famous just for being famous – in the tradition of Pam Anderson and Marilyn Monroe, she says – but she wants to try her hand at a few things first. To that end, the ex-Playmate who appeared as Hugh Hefner’s No. 1 babe on “The Girls Next Door” and spent a few months as Criss Angel’s girlfriend, now stars as the innocent-turned-naughty Bo Peep in the Planet Hollywood burlesque production, “Peepshow.” In this conversation, Madison discusses her ambitions, the situations in which she is not comfortable being nude and – as odd as it may sound – what she’s reading right now. You’ll be surprised that it’s not in English.

In Banter: The big MJ tribute benefit concert, Peep v Crazy Horse, WSOP and Twitter, Welcome to LV sign vandals, Prive/PHo fined, Harrah's latest Big Idea, MGM's CSI attraction and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Holly Madison’s website
Tickets for Peepshow
Las Vegas Celebrates The Music of Michael Jackson homepage
Sparky in Las Vegas, who worked up the current VegasLovesMJ.Com site
Daniel Negreanu’s sometimes offensive @RealKidPoker Twitter feed
Cirque’s Elvis show website
Howard Stutz’s piece on the Planet Hollywood’s $500,000 fine
VegasHappensHere.Com on Prive’s lawsuit against Michael Politz
Las Vegas Sun on Harrah’s Project Link
MGM Mirage’s press release on CSI: The Experience
The Review-Journal on the Boulder Dam closure
The LVA item on the closure of Lamborghini in at Vegas
VegasHappensHere.Com on Crazy Horse v Peepshow

* * *

July 9: G-Force Winds

On stage and on your stereo, he is laid back and comfortable. But in tonight’s interview, saxophonist Kenny G shows other sides of his persona: arrogant, vain, opinionated and controversial. The musician, who has sold 75 million albums worldwide, also provides a fascinate behind-the-scenes story about his first time on Johnny Carson, discusses Bill Clinton’s influence on the popularity of the sax and has some terse words for audience-scolding showstoppers like Patti LuPone.

Plus, a special INTERVIEW edition of the Trivia Question featuring Las Vegas Advisor publisher Anthony Curtis, aka Curtis Flowers speaking for the first time about his alias.

In Banter: Michael Jackson's memorial, Steve is Hispanic, the WSOP is off and running, The Hangover is mostly Vegasly accurate and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Tickets for Kenny G on July 10-12 at the Orleans
Kenny G’s website
Alan Albert’s restaurant on Yelp
YouTube clips of Paris Jackson, Mariah Carey and Jermaine Jackson at MJ’s memorial
VegasHappensHere.Com on the possible Jackson Fourish show
VegasHappensHere.Com on Steve’s Hispanic excursion
Survey America’s website
Phil Hellmuth’s arrival at the WSOP on YouTube
Doyle Brunson’s Twitter feed
The Review-Journal’s report on the overage at WSOP’s Fourth Day One
Doug Elfman’s column about Carmen Electra in Crazy Horse Paris
Who is new "Peepshow" Aubrey O’Day?
The YouTube clip of the Vegas TV reporter’s Fremont Street tussle
Kenny G’s Guiness Record for holding a note for 45 minutes challenged

* * *

July 2: Rolling With Dice

Hide the kiddies, brace yourself and, if you’re easily offended, you may want to skip at least the second half of this week’s show. Andrew Dice Clay is coming to Vegas in July for another set of shows on the Strip that may portend a headliner residency, so the controversial and foul-mouthed comic is our guest tonight. Is he, as he likes to say, the Elvis of comedy, or is he, as Steve put it in their conversation much to Dice’s annoyance, an overgrown Fonzie? Judge for yourself this hour as they go at it about the 51-year-old’s overactive sex life, about ejecting hecklers and about why he canceled some recent shows in Utah. Plus, hear his version of what happened when Saturday Night Live player Nora Dunn quit the show because he was hosting.

In Banter: The Twin River racino, Michael Jackson’s death, Patti LuPone’s outburst, the Danny Gans 911 call, the tricky Brotastic ad, the survey about Vegas tourist walking habits and Lance Burton looks forward to six more years and (then?) the Monte Carlo’s implosion.

Links to stuff discussed:

Andrew Dice Clay’s website
Steve’s New York Times piece on the bankrupt Rhode Island racino
VegasHappensHere.Com photos of the Twin River casino in RI
Hear the Danny Gans 911 call
Norm Clarke on Lance Burton’s new deal
The billboard for Brotastic/Blue Man Group
Steve’s column on the Patti LuPone text-messaging incident
Hear KNPR on Michael Jackson’s death and his Vegas relevance
Steve’s column on rehabbing MJ’s image
The Las Vegas Sun on Boulder City Hotel’s money woes and the NYT travel on Boulder City
The Las Vegas Sun on the data related to walking tourists and Orbitz hotel bookings
Our episode with Whoopi Goldberg from Nov. 9, 2006
Wikipedia on the difference between a “video lottery terminal” and a slot machine
The L.A. Times’ tasteless blog headline on Billy Mays’ death

* * *

June 18: A Tony Winner and an Oscar

This week, on the Strip: We spoke to her nearly two years ago and she was hinting at a comeback she didn’t want to jinx. And, in fact, Broadway legend – and Steve’s gayest obsession – Patti Lupone did have a trick up her sleeve: A few months later, she returned to the Great White Way in the title role of “Gypsy” and walked off with her first Tony award since her 1981 triumph for “Evita.” Lupone is back in Vegas on June 20 and 21 for shows at the Orleans, so Steve got her back on the line to see how her life has changed. Among other things, Lupone went on a bit of a rant about poor Susan Boyle and the nature of celebrity. That’s coming up. Also, we check in with Mayor Oscar Goodman about Obama’s recent visit and gives an update on plans to resettle the Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas.

In Banter: Cinevegas, Sheer Madness, a listeners' Wynn visit, how Steve saved $400 on his Connecticut rental car, All-In: The Poker Movie, Charo, Larry King, MGM Grand Egypt and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Tickets for Patti LuPone’s June 20-21 shows at the Orleans
Patti LuPone’s website
Guest host Amy’s show, GritstoGlitz.Com
All about the odd Summer of ’69 thing at Fremont Street
Sheer Madness at Town Square
The Las Vegas Sun on All-In: The Poker Movie, the Cinevegas documentary champ
VegasHappensHere.Com on Jon Voight’s Roy-tiger tale
More on the Lookin’ To Get Out film is here
The R-J’s Mike Weatherford of the R-J on Charo’s coming to Vegas
The Sun on Cheap Trick’s Beatles show
The latest on Sen. John Ensign’s sex scandal
The R-J on MGM Grand’s Egypt plans
The AP on on Oscar Goodman’s electoral plans
The Sun on Carolyn and Oscar Goodman’s political ambitions

* * *

SPECIAL VIDEO EP: JON VOIGHT REVEALS 1981 ROY-TIGER INCIDENT

* * *

June 11: Engelbert Humperdinck

In our quest to cover all the classic old-timers of Vegas lore, one fixture we hadn’t yet caught up with was Englebert Humperdinck, the British chart-topper who was first brought to the Strip in 1968 by none other than Dean Martin. Humperdinck, now 73, talks about everything from Liberace to Lambert, recalls Howard Stern's playing with his hair, explains why James Blunt fits in the canon with Clapton and McCartney and discusses the fact that his rival, Tom Jones, has received a knighthood while he has not. Humperdinck performs in Vegas at the Orleans on June 11-14 playing his hits as well as the contemporary pop songs he covered in his 2007 album, “The Winding Road.”

In Banter: Danny Gans’ cause of death, the Cinevegas passes contest winner, the future of the TI, Steve’s show spree, changes at Peepshow, Robuchon’s odd discount and the Chippendales do Paris.

Links To Stuff Discussed:

Engelbert Humperdinck’s website
Tickets for Engelbert Humperdinck’s shows June 11-14 at the Orleans
The shirtless Engelbert Humperdinck “Release Me” video
VegasHappensHere.Com photos and links regarding the Treasure Island changes
Pictures of the Wynn Sky Casino
Joel Robuchon’s “discount” menus
VegasHappensHere.Com on the Peepshow changes
The YouTube version of the special video edition of The Strip from Bethlehem, Pa.
Hear the Gans death press conference

* * *

June 4 : Jon Voight

Actor Jon Voight's roles in Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance and Coming Home made him one of the most iconic movie stars of the 1970s. He’s also the father of one of the most iconic movie stars of this era, Angelina Jolie. Voight is being honored with the Marquee Award at Cinevegas at a June 14 ceremony where an overhauled version of his 1982 Vegas-set comedy “Lookin’ To Get Out” will be screened. The film also stars Ann-Margret and was Angelina Jolie’s first film role. In this conversation, Steve and Jon Voight discuss his experiences with everything from Midnight Cowboy to Coming Home to Seinfeld. Then Voight explains how he turned from being an anti-Vietnam War activist to a fan of George W. Bush and Sarah Palin. He also has some harsh words for President Barack Obama.

* * *

May 28: Carlos Santana

It may be one heckuva a recession, but the Hard Rock Hotel has pulled out all the stops on its new version of The Joint, spending $60 million on the posh new concert venue and signing modern Las Vegas’ first resident rock ‘n roll act in Carlos Santana. The 61-year-old guitar legend granted Steve one of only a few interviews in advance of his first set of shows, which begin Wednesday night. Santana talks to Steve about playing the old Joint on the millennial New Year’s Eve, about his views about Vegas and about which athlete he thinks is more impressive than Tiger Woods. That’s coming up. Also, hear an excerpt of Steve’s explosive chat last week with Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson in which explains his company’s freefall and bats back against Steve Wynn’s criticism of their strategy in Macau.

In Banter: More on Bethlehem and Adelson, Danny Gans memorial and curse, Wolfgang Puck, Obama: The Las Vegas Spectacular, Adam Lambert, Jeff Beacher and Pansy Ho.

Links to stuff discussed:

Carlos Santana’s website
Tickets for Santana at the Joint
Guest host Murphy’s show, Spankwagon
All VegasHappensHere.Com coverage of Bethlehem and Sands
Steve on KNPR discussing "Obama: The Las Vegas Spectacular" at Caesars
The Review-Journal’s Molly Ball on "Obama: The Las Vegas Spectacular"
The Strip Sense column on Adam Lambert’s Vegas potential
Norm Clarke’s reports about the Mirage-Jeff Beacher alliance and the messy Whoopi show
Hot Club of Las Vegas with singer Carol Linnea Johnson
The Utah Shakespearean Festival schedule
The Bootlegger Bistro where Hot Club plays on June 5

* * *

Special Video Ep: May 22 opening of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem

* * *

May 21: It's Cranky Miller Time

Comic and political commentator Dennis Miller has a reputation for being cantankerous and on this week’s show, he lives up to that image to the fullest. More than three years after he came on this show and complimented us as erudite and astute, he’s back in a tense conversation that he ends abruptly because it’s, well, “too deep.”

In Banter: No news on Danny Gans yet, is Lion King a wise Vegas move, British Airways opens daily nonstops, the pasties are gone from and Holly Madison is coming to Peepshow and Menopause finds a new home at the recently hipped-up Luxor.

Due to travel, links for this episode will be listed on VegasHappensHere.Com after the show is posted.

* * *

SPECIAL 5/1 EDITION: REMEMBERING DANNY GANS
see full Danny Gans coverage here

May 7: Danny Gans' Muse

Las Vegas is in stunned mourning this week following the shocking death Friday of impressionist Danny Gans. We’ll talk about that at the top of the show, but it’s also fitting that our guest this week is comic Jeff Foxworthy because Gans spent at least 10 minutes in every show doing Foxworthy and his trademark redneck jokes. Foxworthy talks about Gans, about performing for presidents Clinton and Bush and about hosting dimwit adults on the hit TV game show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

In banter: Danny Gans’ death, Jim Murren’s defense, China’s wacky swine flu response, Peepshow’s surprisingly great, Peppermill’s surprisingly classy and Vegas stocks are inexplicably way up.

Links to topics discussed:

Jeff Foxworthy’s website
Tickets to Jeff Foxworthy’s May 16 tickets at The Orleans
LasVegasSun.Com’s piece following Dave Navarro in Vegas via Twitter
VegasHappensHere.Com coverage of the death of Danny Gans
The press release for Beyonce ticket prices at Encore
MGM’s earnings as covered by Howard Stutz of the Review-Journal
VegasHappensHere.Com on swine flu in Macau
The YouTube clip of Carrie Prejean and Pat Robertson
The YouTube clip of Kelly Pickler and Jeff Foxworthy
The Peppermill Coffee Shop’s website
Ex-Milwaukeean chef Paul Bartolotta’s hometown blog on his 2nd James Beard Award
Carol Cling’s “Shooting Stars” column on Top Chef gossip
The Twitter feed for Miles’ station, KVBC
The Reno News & Review on gay-rights legislation pending in Nevada

* * *

April 30: Top Chef's Top Chef

Some chefs are TV stars first, then Vegas restaurateurs. Tom Colicchio did it the other way around. The five-time James Beard Award winner already owned Craftsteak and ‘wichcraft at the MGM Grand when he was tapped to become the chief judge for the hit Bravo reality competition Top Chef. The show began filming its sixth season in Las Vegas this week, although this interview took place a day before that was confirmed. Still, Steve spoke to Colicchio at length about everything from his criticism of the show’s finale format to the late Natasha Richardson’s stint as a guest judge last season. Colicchio also retells how he saved the life of a famous food writer at an Obama inauguration party in January. Plus, as always, we asked him about his fast food preferences, if any.

In Banter: Top Chef a'coming, Angel v. Perez, Fontainebleau's problems, coinful slots, changes to WSOP and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Craft Restaurants’ website
VegasHappensHere.Com on Top Chef Vegas
The UPI wire service on the Kelly Monaco burglary
TripAdvisor.Com on Golden Gate’s $19.06 special
Elvolution star Trent Carlini’s site
Las Vegas Sun’s Joe Brown raves about Elvolution
Norm Clarke’s call for Criss Angel to be fired
Hear the podcast of the vermin Perez Hilton’s panel to Vegas for a charity event
VegasHappensHere.Com’s post about the Fontainebleau problems
The Associated Press on the trend back toward coin-full slot machines
The New York Times on the possible Nevada lottery
VegasHappensHere.Com on the changes afoot for the 40th World Series of Poker
The site for that wacky plastic surgeons convention
the photo Mark from Chicago sent us on VegasHappensHere.Com

* * *

April 23: Shecky's Complaint

When Steve makes a joke that’s so awful it’s funny, Miles refers to him as Shecky Friess. That’s because long before Steve was hamming it up badly, comic Shecky Greene was one of the legendary comedians who made Las Vegas what it is today. Greene, now 83, is back in town for a three-show gig at the Suncoast next month, so Shecky Friess chatted him up about being tackled by Buddy Hackett in the middle of Paradise Road, about crashing his car in the Caesars Palace fountains and about which of the current crop of comics he loves and which he hates with, as Shecky put it, “a purple passion.” Take a listen and have a great week.

Links:
Shecky Greene's site
Tickets for Shecky's show at the Suncoast

* * *

April 16: Hard Rock's Sweetest Star

In retrospect, Dee Snider was born to play Vegas. And finally, thanks to Monster Circus at the Las Vegas Hilton, that time has come for the long-haired, gravel-throated, lingerie-wearing front man for the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. The former choir boy from Long Island speaks this hour to Steve about the show, about just how subversive all that hard-rocking crossdressing was back in the day and about Barry Manilow’s reaction to sharing his showroom with this bunch. Plus, is Gene Simmons of Kiss really is as big a jerk as he seems? Snider has some interesting thoughts on that, too.

In Banter: Le Reve's new ending, the Venetian's umbrella act, Wynn on TV, Hellmuth via chariot, bye-bye whore tax and a great new Vegas pay-per-view idea.

Links to stuff we discuss:

Dee Snider’s website
Monster Circus tickets
Snider’s radio shows Fangoria and House of Hair
A Monster Circus review by Joe Brown of the Las Vegas Sun
Shecky Greene’s website
The Washington Post on NPR’s record ratings in 2008
American Anonymous by Benoit Denizet-Lewis
Vanity Fair piece on Bernie Madoff
The “60 Minutes”, uh, loving portrait with Steve Wynn
Jon Ralston’s interviews with Steve Wynn, Day One and Day Two
Steve’s Las Vegas Weekly column about the death of the whore tax
VegasHappensHere.Com photos of The Joint
The logo of Loves Park, Illinois

* * *

April 9: Marie Osmond, Part II

In Banter: MGM goes up and down, Tony Curtis is weird, CityCenter may seem cluttered and legislators ponder a whore tax.

Last week she talked about genteel topics like Groucho Marx pinching her butt and brother Donny falling off tables. But this week, Marie Osmond gets controversial, particularly when she’s talking about what she knows about the behind-the-scenes world of Dancing With the Stars and American Idol.

Links to stuff we discuss:

Tickets for the Donny and Marie show
GritsToGlitz.Com, guest co-host Amy’s show
Jill Curtis’s horse rescue organization, Shiloh
VegasHappensHere’s photo of the F’bleau towering over the Riv
The Strip’s Tony Curtis episode
The A.P. on the whore tax hearings
RuPaul’s Drag Race TV show

* * *

April 2: Marie Osmond, Part I

She’s a little bit country and a little bit, well, you know the rest. But she’s also now a big bit of a Strip headliner. Marie Osmond, she of the gigantic gleaming smile stretched across the Flamingo, joins us this hour to talk about show business nepotism, performing with everyone from Groucho Marx to Snoop Dogg and the night she and Donny performed their Vegas show in the dark.

In Banter: Freaks at O'Sheas, MGM drama, Follies bye- bye, Vegas impersonator jailed in Suriname.

Links to stuff mentioned:

Tickets for the Donny and Marie show
The 2009 results of the R-J’s Best of Las Vegas survey
The VegasHappensHere.Com post on the mayoral chips for Airmen
The website for SeaWorld’s Military Program
Sites for Minskoff and Mandalay theaters, both of which now house The Lion King
KNPR, the Las Vegas NPR member station
A Las Vegas Sun piece on Freaks, a gross new show at O’Sheas
VegasHappensHere.Com on MGM making their payment
MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren’s letter to employees
News on Hooters, Riviera and Bally’s closing its sportsbook until September
Mike Weatherford’s coverage of the closure of Folies Bergere at the Tropicana
Gaming Today’s Monti Rock III on Bobby Slayton’s Trop deal
Norm Clarke’s coverage of the Toni Braxton impersonator jailed in Suriname

* * *

March 26: Anthony Marnell III

His father built the Mirage, Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas, Sam’s Town, the Rio, Caesars Forum Shops and countless other iconic structures. But now is 35-year-old Anthony Marnell III’s time, with the surprisingly successful opening of the $1 billion M Resort way, way, WAY south on Las Vegas Boulevard. Marnell the younger talks this hour about the future of his famous M Blimp, about growing up on Vegas construction sites and about why the new resort is in some ways a way for his father to receive the recognition he deserves. Plus, Steve confronts him about whether putting a pharmacy in a casino is, as Steve believes, predatory.

In Banter: MGM Mirage's woes, Phil Ruffin's financing issue, Luxor billboards, hard-to-believe Lion King ticket sales, getting in trouble taking pictures in casinos and thought on Terry Fator.

Links to stuff mentioned:

The M Resort’s site
The Strip Sense column on the Olds’ visit to the M
VegasHappensHere.Com coverage of the Reid-MGM controversy
The Review-Journal’s Howard Stutz reveals that Phil Ruffin can’t seem to finance $175 million
VegasHappensHere.Com on the Luxor billboards
Norm Clarke’s report on the Lion King’s ticket sales
VegasHappensHere.Com breaks news that Celine Dion has inked a Caesars deal
Reviews of Terry Fator from VegasHappensHere.Com, the Las Vegas Sun and the Review-Journal
The R-J’s Ben Spillman’s piece about a blogger who fought with Cannery security about photos
The Poker Grump blog
The Dinner In The Sky in Las Vegas website

* * *

SUPERSIZED EP!! March 10: Race To Trump Mountain

This week, on the Strip: He’s bold, he’s brash, he’s arrogant. And he’s on this show tonight. Donald Trump spoke to Steve last month for a New York Times piece on the Vegas real estate crash that appears in the Friday, March 6, issue. You get to hear that conversation in full this hour, including Mr. Trump’s conclusion that the American economy is in a depression and his mockery of the stalled condo development at the Venetian. Also, we hear from the director of the new Disney adventure “Race To Witch Mountain” as he explains how a Vegas cab can get from Planet Hollywood to Fremont Street in 10 seconds flat.

In banter:
Siegfried & Roy's return, Vegas economic ups and downs, Elaine Wynn's In N Out fetish and M Resort has opened.

Links:

Steve’s New York Times piece on the second-home market crash
The Race To Witch Mountain website
Film director Andy Fickman’s IMDB page
The VegasHappensHere.Com posts on the Siegfried & Roy’s return, 20/20 appearance and aborted third trick
Cleveland Clinic Ruvo Center for Brain Health’s site
The VegasHappensHere.Com post touting Hawaiian Air’s additional Vegas service
An Associated Press report on Allegiant Air’s good numbers
A Reuters piece on Terrible’s possible bankruptcy
An Associated Press piece on the Adelson-v- Weidner tussle
A Dow Jones piece on the Boyd-v-Station tussle
The Wikipedia history on the Moulin Rouge
The site for Jersey Boys Las Vegas
All you want to know about Frank Marino’s Vegas exit
The VegasHappensHere.Com post on Elaine Wynn
The site for RuPaul’s Drag Race
A Las Vegas Business Press report on the Trump class action suit

* * *

SPECIAL VIDEO EP: Cirque's Open Dance Auditions

On Feb. 10, I observed Cirque du Soleil's open audition process for dancers. Here's some of the footage of what went on and how it worked. Follow the link to my Las Vegas Weekly column to read more.

* * *

Feb. 25: Dino's Boy

Before there was Shake-Your-Bon-Bon Ricky Martin, there was another singer by the same name, albeit spelled a little differently. Dean Martin's son Ricci joins Steve for a fun walk down memory lane, with some great anecdotes about Sinatra and Old Vegas and some thoughts on the children of celebrities.
This is an interview-only episode while we await the return of the LVRocks studio. And there will be a return! Stay tuned!

* * *

Feb. 15: The Impressionist Era Of Vegas...

with Terry Fator and Gordie Brown

Call it the impressionist period of Las Vegas. This month, three major impersonator acts open – or reopen. Danny Gans relocated to Encore, Terry Fator took Gans’ space at the Mirage and Gordie Brown, late of the Venetian, has returned to his old Golden Nugget haunts. Fator and Brown both join us this hour. Find out what Fator’s new Mirage-appropriate puppet will be and hear all about Brown’s early years as a celebrity stalker. Plus, Steve grills Brown on parts of his act he didn’t like.

In Banter: Behind the scenes at Cirque dance auditions, Oscar v Obama, Curtas v Encore, bye-bye La Cage and Heidi Fleiss, the Excalibur’s new deal.

Links:

Get tickets for Terry Fator at the Mirage here
Get tickets to Gordie Brown at the Golden Nugget here
Get tickets for Danny Gans at Wynn Las Vegas here
Terry Fator’s website is here
Gordie Brown’s website is here
Danny Gans’ website is here
Read Steve’s column on Danny Gans’ show here
Find out what happened to the LVRocks studio here
Read Steve’s posts on the Obama v Oscar row here and here
Hear the 2/12 Oscar Goodman press conference here
Read John Curtas’ blog review of Encore here
The Review-Journal’s report on the closure of La Cage is here
The Las Vegas Sun’s story on the rebranding of the Trop is here
If you care, Richard Abowitz discusses Heidi Fleiss’ no-go of a stud farm here
Read about the smoker to fell out of the Circus Circus window here
Our listeners’ new show Seattle Geekly, can be found here
Buy an Edirol that we use to record interviews here
See the list of companies likely to go under, with two Vegas-related entries, here

* * *

SPECIAL: MAYOR GOODMAN'S 2/12 PRESS CONFERENCE

* * *

Jan. 29: Poker's Hellian

He owns a record eleven World Series of Poker bracelets and has earned well over $8 million in his poker tournament career, but the reputed bad boy of Texas Hold ‘Em isn’t done yet. Phil Hellmuth, who has a forthcoming documentary and memoir, opens up this hour about his quest for bracelet number 12, about how why he stormed off the set of NBC’s Poker After Dark two years ago and about what the 2008 World Series of Poker final table contestants did wrong.

In Banter: Fishing in Las Vegas, a mea culpa and taxing the brothels.

Links:

Phil Hellmuth’s website is here
See Phil Hellmuth storm off the set of NBC's Poker After Dark here
See a list of Hellmuth's biggest blow-ups here
See the odd McCarran billboards that prompted a rant here
Steve’s NYT piece on the potential of a brothel tax is here
A site for the Jasmine Tea House where Steve and Miles had great Chinese in SF is here
The L.A. Times’ Richard Abowitz' brutal piece on Miss America is here

* * *

Jan. 22: A Diamond In The Ruffin

Others may be more creative, more ambitious and more flamboyant, but nobody nobody on the modern scene today is as brillian t – or as fortunate – at making deals as Phil Ruffin. The 72-year-old Kansas billionaire sold the New Frontier land in 2007 for a record $35 million an acre before the real estate crash, and now he’s used a mere $775 million of that profit to pick up the Treasure Island. For the first time this hour, Ruffin discloses some new plans for the property, explains why he’s unlikely to ever buy a Harrah’s property and reveals the reason he’ll never build anything in Vegas. Plus, he dishes about Wynn, Trump, his young wife and the billionaires’ poker game he wins year after year.

In banter: Obama’s Vegas stage moment, Folies, Menopause and Scintas closing, Rita will go on and on, MGM Mirage’s reservation system woes, the F’Bleau will be finished, does anyone care about Joaquin Phoenix’s music career?

Links:

Phil Ruffin’s Wikipedia bio is here
See the LV Sun’s post about Rita Rudner extending at Harrah’s here
The R-J’s report that Folies Bergere is closing here
Steve’s blog post about the Obama inauguration at the Hilton is here
The Las Vegas Sun says F-Bleau will finish no matter what here
Steve’s NYT on the mob museum is here and the Daily Show appearance is here
Norm reports Scintas and Menopause here
Doug Elfman wonders if Joaquin Phoenix’s rap career is a hoax here
MGM Mirage’s online reservation outage was only reported here
Miles’ hearts the hateful, vile Ann Coulter and Michael Savage. Find them here and here
The weird George Wallace show that Desiree referred to is here

* * *

Jan. 15: Top 10 Moments of 2008!

Steve, Steve, Steve. Wynn, that is. We’ve tallied up the Top 10 moments of 2008 as voted on by you and, surprise surprise, Mr. Wynn is involved in some way in six of them. But, still, a few others made outrageously memorable remarks on this program during the year that was, and we take our annual look back at all of it tonight. For good measure, though, we’ve got some never-before-heard bits to keep it fresh. Plus, news from Vegas, a new trivia question and a poll. You’re on the Strip, brought to you by Priceline.Com and Hotels.Com, and we’re kicking off a new year with a new theme song!

In Banter: The mob museum, Octavius tower blues, our staycation at Trump and Encore and a very weird phone call.

Links:

Norm’s piece on Cheap Trick is here
Steve’s NYT piece and blog post on the mob museum is here
Steve’s coverage of the porn confab for Newsweek in 2003 is here
The AP story on the halt of the newest Caesars tower is here

* * *

Jan. 8: Mamma Mia! Exit Interviews

The skeptics – including Steve -- said it would never work. A two-act, full-length musical scored by decades-old pop songs telling a convoluted story about parenthood and spandex could never, possibly succeed in Las Vegas. But succeed “Mamma Mia!” did, emboldening another half-dozen or so musicals to believe they, too, were Strip-worthy, only to find out that what Mamma Mia did so effortlessly was actually quite a feat. But all good things must come to an end, and on Sunday, Mandalay Bay said goodbye to Donna, Sophie, her three possible dads and the rest of the cast. We, however, aren’t done yet. Tonight we have live in the studio Brad Grey and Tim Tucker, the only two actors who stayed with the show for its entire, record-breaking Las Vegas run.

In Banter: New Year's Eve fireworks sucked, CityCenter's hiring, Stratosphere's laying off, The Harmon's in limbo, Tamara's stalled and Paris' empty showroom is a blessing.

Links:

See Tim Tucker's website here
Hear Steve euologize Mamma Mia! on KNPR by clicking here
See more on CityCenter's Harmon stall here
See rants from Fox viewers about the lousy NYE fireworks here
See the last blog post about Tamara at Venetian, now stalled, here
See more about Stratosphere's restaurant woes here

* * *

Jan. 1: ...And A Wynning New Year

We’ve walked through Encore with him and chatted him up about everything from that damaged Picasso to the exact curvature of his resort towers. So what’s left to talk about with Steve Wynn? Well, it’s Steve Wynn, so there’s always more. We finish playing our pre-Encore interview tonight with discussion of Wynn’s athletic prowess, his concerns about the economy and a little Gandhi chit-chat, too.

In Banter: Switch at Encore, the view from Capital Grille, Criss Angel on Larry King, Danny Gans’ Encore poster and free coffee at Silverton.

Links:

Find the site for Bagelmania here
Heidi Knapp Rinella’s Top 10 restaurants reviewed in 2008 is here
See the Danny Gans poster at Encore here
Read more about the Silverton’s Starbucks offering and other casino freebies here

* * *

Dec. 25: Wynn's Encore, Part I

This is Steve Wynn’s week, no doubt about it. On what is traditionally one of the slowest nights in Las Vegas and in the middle of the worst recession in generations, he opened the doors to his $2.3 billion expansion, Encore. The results were a flood of curious explorers that led to bumper to bumper traffic on the Strip as far south as the Mandalay Bay and a line all the way into the Wynn casino. In honor of that milestone, over the next two weeks we’re presenting our interview earlier this month with Wynn in which he talks about everything from the shape of the buildings to the original plans for the Encore TV commercial.

In Banter: Encore, snow, Criss Angel, City Center, Elton John.

Links:

See Encore here
See pix of the snow in Vegas here
Read CityLife's cover of Criss Angel here
See the breaking news about Elton John here
See the L.A. Times' glowing review of Encore Las Vegas here
See the video for Richard Cheese's"Christmas in Las Vegas" here
See Steve's coverage of the Treasure Island sale here
See the Vdara sign photo here

* * *

SPECIAL VIDEO: SEE THE WYNNS OPEN ENCORE

* * *

SPECIAL: Tour Encore with Steve Wynn

On Dec. 16, Steve Wynn led Steve Friess on a tour of his newest $2.3 billion resort, Encore. No other journalist received this level of access. A map of Encore can be found here and an annotated written guide for you to follow along is here.

* * *

Dec. 4: Brian Wilson, Cheech Marin

We never know quite what to do when Steve emerges from his office after an interview and says, ‘Well, that sucked.’ Usually, he’s wrong. And tonight, we’re going to find out. This fall, Steve chatted with Cheech Marin and Brian Wilson and, each time, he was initially dissatisfied with the outcome. But in reviewing them later, decided the conversations were Strip-worthy after all, perhaps because of their weirdness. So, this week , we let ‘em rip.

In Banter: Viva McDonalds is a McDonalds, Copperfield's still great, the gingerbread house display is pretty cool, R is for what?!?! and Wynn's doing it Sinatra's way.

Links:

See Brian Wilson’s website here
See Cheech Marin’s website here
See pictures of Steve and Miles’ dogs, originally named Cheech and Chong, here
Read about the first new smokefree casino in Nevada here
See the website of the Blue Moon Resort here
See Steve’s column about David Copperfield here
Get tickets to the David Copperfield show here
The MGM’s Mastercard promotion can be found here
The Encore website is here
Norm’s reportage about the Sinatra restaurant is here
Norm’s scoop on Wynn’s effort to buy the Guardian Angel Cathedral is here
See Steve’s picture at Binion’s is here
Doug Elfman’s report on how hard it was to interview Brian Wilson is here

* * *

Nov. 27: The Other Wynn

We know you’re sick of politics this time of year, but we’re serving it up this week with a distinctive female touch. First, a very rare interview with the first lady of Las Vegas, Elaine Wynn, as she explains her journey from lifelong Republican to Obamatic, much to the dismay of her industry and her husband. You might’ve heard of him. Then, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley returns to the program to explain what’s happening with that Internet gambling ban, but what Steve secretly really wanted to know is, has she had any more plastic surgery?

Links:

Steve’s column about Elaine Wynn is here
Find Steve on Facebook here
See the recipe that Steve needed duck fat for here
The fraudulent but widely distributed report that Vegas is the T-Day king is here
See what Steve found in Bob Maheu’s trash here
TV Guide’s report about Peepshow at Planet Hollywood is here
See this week’s TicketNews.Com ratings here
The Believe-less piece on Criss Angel’s possible NBC sitcom from Variety is here
Norm’s report on Danny Gans’ last Mirage show is here
See the weird YouTube thing about, uh, Steve Frice here
Read Steve’s review of the Wynn Las Vegas in the Chicago Tribune from 2005 here
A report on Bush’s midnight regs on Internet gaming here

* * *

Nov. 18: Cirque's Top Guy

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, the former street performer who redefined the human circus into a worldwide entertainment phenomenon, just helped open the company’s sixth show on the Las Vegas Strip, Criss Angel Believe. He gave Steve 10 minutes the day of the show’s opening which, of course, meant Steve took 15. In this conversation, Laliberte defends the show and his alliance with the controversial Mindfreak illusionist, discusses the recent purchase of a large chunk of his company by Dubai and tells why there won’t be a Cirque show at Mandalay Bay … YET. Just a note, this interview was conducted outside so Laliberte could smoke, so there is some background noise.

In banter: Terry Lanni goes bye-bye, LVS lays off 11,000, MGM Mirage's CityCenter condo sales suck, Vegas may be shrinking, Wynn joins the S&P 500, Bob Maheu's awesome house and Jubilee! goes, uh, topful.

Links:

Cirque du Soleil’s website, where they sell tickets for all their shows, is here
The R-J’s Arnold Knightly’s report about the changing of the guard at MGM Mirage is here
MGM Mirage’s press release on its deal to build in Vietnam is here
The WSJ blog on Sheldon Adelson’s vanishing fortunes is here
A piece on Primm’s woes is here and a piece about Mesquite’s closure is here
The R-J’s coverage of Sheryl Crow and the Aliante opening is here
See a piece on Wynn’s joining the S&P 500 here
Read Steve’s blog commentary about Vegas shrinking here
Norm’s coverage of Jubilee! going topful is here
A piece on Vegas’ brief flirtation with lowering the gambling age to 18 is here
Take a virtual tour of Bob Maheu’s home on Steve’s blog here

* * *

SPECIAL: Wanda Sykes Comes Out @ Vegas Protest

* * *

Nov. 11: Norm Clarke Confidential

Pete Rose bitch slapped him. Criss Angel threatened to blind him. And countless celebrities and notables alternately love and loathe him. Norm Clarke, this city’s premier gossip columnist, joins us in the studio this hour to talk about his adventures in the ever-fascinating world of Las Vegas fame and to discuss his new book, “Sinsational Celebrity Tales.” In the process, we learn more about Norm's famous eye patch, about his infamous DUI arrest and about what kinds of stories he doesn't touch.

Plus: Criss Angel's suckage, poker's big night, Aliante opens, Adelson's fortunes keep sinking and Stomp is being replaced.

Also, thanks to Amy from GritstoGlitz.com for filling in while Miles was ailing.

Links:

See Norm’s website here
Buy Norm’s new book, Sinsational Celebrity Tales here
Check out guest co-host Amy’s podcast here
Find out more about RateVegas.Com’s new VegasMate iPhone app here
Read Criss Angel reviews from Mike Weatherford and Joe Brown here and here
See Steve’s column on his encounter with Wanda at the Criss Angel show here
Weekly rankings for Vegas s hows can be found from TicketNews.com here
See the R-J’s coverage of the opening of Aliante Station here
Steve’s coverage of the poker finale is here and of the poker’s changing fortunes is here
Information about “The Real Deal” show at the Venetian here
See a recent Wall Street Journal piece on the Las Vegas Sands’ troubles here

* * *

Oct. 30: Tony Curtis, Part II

If you thought Tony Curtis’ remarks on last week’s show were something, just wait till you hear the rest of it. The actor, out with a sex-soaked memoir of his career and life, offers some tough words this hour for a long list of Hollywood figures including Jerry Lewis, Angela Lansbury, Danny Kaye, Neil Simon and more. Then, later, he discusses his own mental health issues, his views of old and new Vegas and tries to explain why he’s so disappointed by his film career.

In Banter: Is Criss No. 1, Paris is for shopping and what really ails Las Vegas Sands?

Links

Steve’s piece on Tony Curtis for USA Today is here
Tony Curtis’s Wikipedia entry is here
Is Criss Angel is No. 1? See here
See more about LVS crashing again here
Steve’s column about resort anniversaries is here
Is Paris for shoppers? Read more here

* * *

Oct. 23: Tony Curtis, Part I

Fifty years ago, there were few Hollywood heartthrobs hotter than Tony Curtis. This month, the star of "Some Like It Hot" and "The Defiant Ones" published a memoir of those glory days in which he recounts in great detail his almost compulsive sex life, his troubled childhood, his celebrity feuds and his triumph over a late-career cocaine addiction. As gripping as the book was, the interview about the book was even better, more detailed, more telling.

In banter: Harrah's woes, smoke-free casinos and why didn't the Bellagio have a 10th birthday party.

Links

Steve’s piece on Tony Curtis for USA Today is here
Tony Curtis’s Wikipedia entry is here
Jon Ralston’s take on the Palin’s Nevada appearance here
See pictures from the Palin rally and see the McCain song sheet music here
Read more about the Michelin star decisions here
The Arnold Knightley’s R-J piece on Harrah’s fiscal woes is here

* * *

Oct. 16: Jerry Springer

You know him as the ringmaster of one of the trashiest, low-class and successful syndicated TV shows of our time, but Jerry Springer may have yet another act coming: Vegas headliner. Springer, the host of the NBC reality contest “America’s Got Talent,” gets his first taste of that Friday as the emcee for a concert at the MGM Grand featuring this season’s winner and runners-up. Also, Springer defends the virtue – yes, virtue – of his talk show.

Plus: A Vegas-bashing comment, hi and bye to Point Break Live, some GOOD economic news and a gay hotel-casino.

Links

Buy tickets to see AGT finalists at MGM Grand here
America’s Got Talent site here
Jerry Springer’s site is here
More on the M blimp can be found here
Steve’s column about the gay casino is here
The good news about the Vegas economy can be found here
Read Steve’s USAT piece on Tony Curtis here
Info about Bette Midler’s appearance for Obama at Krave is here
Steve’s NYT piece about the conclusion of the eco-friendly road race is here
Wynn’s restaurant lineup can be found here
An obit for Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal from the R-J’s Benjamin Spillman is here
A Las Vegas Sun report on why Point Break Live opened and closed quickly is here
Steve’s NYT piece on the outcome of the Plaza v Plaza case is here

* * *

SPECIAL: OJ LAWYERS PRESS CONFERENCE

* * *

Oct. 2: Bobby Slayton's Rant

There is a fine line in comedy between being Don Rickles and being Michael Richards. Somehow, comic Bobby Slayton has carefully negotiated that complicated path, spicing his act with stereotypes, insults and foul language while never actually sparking any widespread controversy. Slayton, who appears nightly at the Hooters Hotel-Casino, joins us this hour to explain how he does it and what it may have cost him in career opportunities.

In Banter: The Lion King is coming, Donny & Marie are here, the Believe theater, a poker whippersnapper and the OJ and Plaza v Plaza cases are still in court.

Links:

Get tickets for Bobby Slayton here
Slayton’s website is here
Read more about the “Lion King” decision here
See the buggies that Steve saw on the Strip here
Read more about Dave Schwartz’s Plaza testimony here
See pix of Steve and Trevor at Donny and Marie here

* * *

Sept. 25: Dominick Dunne's Last Sit

If O.J. Simpson is on trial, then Dominick Dunne must be in town. The ailing Vanity Fair columnist and CourtTV personality, legendary for chronicling the intersection of celebrity and the criminal justice system, ignored doctor’s orders and his family’s wishes to descend on Las Vegas for the trial of, well, the month. He's had challenges -- he left court ill on Monday but returned Tuesday -- but his reward has been the warm embrace of Las Vegas high society, such as it is, and a loving New York Times profile rendered by none other than your Strip co-host, Steve. Dunne, an accomplished novelist and Hollywood producer in addition to his career observing the high-profile trials, opens up this hour about his health and why this is his final trial, what the difference between Britney Spears and Zsa Zsa Gabor is and whether John McCain is too old to be president. Plus, he tells one of the greatest Steve Wynn anecdotes of all time.

In Banter: Why Aria's great food line up is disappointing, the Venetian funk spreads and the fake OJ crime scene.

Links:

Dominick Dunne’s most recent Vanity Fair column, a career retrospective, is here
Dominick Dunne’s Wikipedia entry is here
Read Steve’s profile of Dominick Dunne here
Learn more about Aria’s food lineup here
See the fake OJ crime scene pix here
The site for Mario Batali’s Carnevino at Palazzo is here

* * *

Sept. 18: Mickey's $25m Vegas Gig

The Beatles were reincarnated in Las Vegas as a Cirque show. The Four Seasons and Abba came back as hit musicals. And Donny & Marie are returning as, well, Donny & Marie. But only the Grateful Dead could resurface on the Las Vegas Strip as, well, a volcano. Sort of. Dead drummer Mickey Hart has teamed up with an Indian musical maestro to score the classic street side attraction at the Mirage with a score that Hart says will blow you away. We'll talk to Hart this hour about that and more this hour.

In Banter: Notes from OJville, IGT layoffs, we’re a-Twitter, a too-catchy ditty, Gordie Brown goes back downtown and Andre Agassi’s benefit goes upscale.

Links:

Follow us on Twitter here
See a video documentary on the Mirage’s new volcano here
Mickey Hart’s website is here
Dominick Dunne’s Wikipedia page is here
Some of Steve’s coverage of the O.J. can be found here
The Gambler’s Book Shop podcast, with that fun little theme, is here
Norm covers Gordie Brown’s move back to the Golden Nugget here
A press release about the new version of the Andre Agassi benefit is here
The Las Vegas Sun’s piece on more about Criss Angel’s delay here and catch the iTricks Criss Angel podcast here
Dare To Gamble Blog comments about Harrah’s cutting back on Wheel of Fortune slots here
The R-J’s breaking news alert on IGT’s layoffs is here

* * *

Sept. 11: The Earl of Vegas

Making up is fun to do! After a year of conflict, the CEO of Planet Hollywood and Steve have buried the hatchet and, to prove it, Earl granted Steve his first podcast interview. In this wide-ranging discussion, Earl explains why he was upset, offers his view on why the Planet Hollywood brand collapsed and is now resurging, speaks of new expansion plans and acquisitions, and answers the question of whether the infamous “Planet Ho” sign was accidental. Also, find out who gave and loaded Robert Earl’s iPod and offers his own verdict on the short-lived Hans Klok show.

Plus, details on the new Mirage volcano, a shakeup brewing in the nightclub world, Point Break, the Las Vegas Spectacular and O.J., the Las Vegas dud.

Links:

The website for Planet Hollywood Resort is here
Richard Abowitz writes about both OJ Simpson and half-bottle service at Rok here
The press information about Point Break Live! is here
Read about the new $25 million Mirage volcano is here
Steve’s blog post about the parking lot at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign here

* * *

Sept. 4: The &*#@! Blooper Anniversary Special!
Extra: Even More Bloopers and Outtakes!

The show you hear may make us sound like well-spoken, polite, erudite podcasters, but like many things in Las Vegas, that’s an illusion. For the past three years, we’ve been recording our show live with a listening audience of, well, tens, on the Internet. And so, as we did last year for our anniversary, we’re pulling the curtains back this week and airing all the behind-the-scenes drama. The curses! The chat people! The arguments! The Neil Sedaka impressions! The Steve abuse! It’s our 3rd birthday and we couldn’t be more thrilled, so sit back, relax … and beware.

In Banter: Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza thoughts, Mark has left LVRocks to reinvent the air conditioning, where the would 40/40 Club work, Yellow Tail Sushi opens at Bellagio, Criss Angel ups the hype with another delay, the M Resort’s blimp is delayed too, Virgin America debuts this week, the Price is Right Live’s fun but odd, Manilow changes his name and direct flights to China could be years away.

Links:

See pictures from the Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza here
Read Steve’s 40/40 issues here
The site for the Bellagio’s new sushi spot, Yellow Tail, is here
0AThe I Love Sushi place in Henderson that Miles complimented is here
See Steve’s breaking bulletin on Criss Angel’s delays here
See pix of the M Resort’s “lightship” is here
Read about the launch of the Virgin America’s new JFK-LAS route here
Get tickets to The Price is Right Live here
Read more about Manilow’s name change here

* * *

STRIP EXTRA: Steve on Nevada Newsmakers

Here's audio from Steve's 8/28 appearance on Nevada Newsmakers, a daily half-hour TV show based out of Reno. The discussion centers around how the national media deals with all things Vegas. Find more Nevada Newsmakers shows at NevadaNewsmakers.com.

* * *

STRIP EXTRA: Q&A FROM THE 'PALOOZA!

Here's the audio from the question-and-answer session of Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza on Aug. 16, 2008 at the Palms. The questions were answered by Miles and me as well as Hunter Hillegas of RateVegas.Com and Tim and Michele Dressen from Five Hundy By Midnight.

* * *

STRIP EXTRA: Jennifer Holliday

For the next two weeks, George Wallace will have an unusual co-star for his show at the Flamingo, the original Dreamgirl, Jennifer Holliday. Decades before Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for playing the role of big-voiced girl-band reject Effie White in the 2006 film, Holliday won a Tony for creating the same part on stage. She also landed a Grammy for the signature hit, “And I’m Telling You, I’m Not Going.” But Holliday’s life in the interim has been tragic, with bouts of depression, battles with her weight and an inability to replicate her earlier success. She spoke to Steve in advance of her opening for Wallace from Aug. 19 to Aug 30, relating stories of opening for George Burns at Caesars Palace in the 1980s, about a disastrous outing in the same showroom with Rosie O’Donnell in the 1990s and about how she reconciles her religion with her status as a gay icon.

* * *

Aug. 21: Carrot Top @ The Podcast-a-Palooza!

**NOTE: THE AUDIO IS A LITTLE ROUGH AND NOT EDITED THIS TIME SINCE IT WAS LIVE AND THAT'S THE CHARM OF IT. HOPE THAT'S OK!**

You may love him or you may hate him, but you cannot deny this one truth: Carrot Top is a Vegas star. And he’s the kind of star whose act could only have this kind of longevity on the Strip. Scott Thompson, the comic with the enormous orange plume and the shockingly ripped physique, joins us live today to explain his journey from Butts Road – no, really – to Las Vegas Boulevard. That’s coming up. Plus, news from Vegas, a new poll, the trivia question and, as always, the Top Secret Tourist Tip of the Week. This is The Strip, we’re at the Palms and our part of the 2008 Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza starts right now.

PLUS: The Robert Earl rapproachement, Sheldon Adelson's protection and Steve's pre-Palooza nightmare.

Links:

See Carrot Top's website here
Get tickets for Carrot Top live at Luxor here
The website for Woo Restaurant, referred to early in the show, is here
See the back story on the Earl-Friess-Hillegas feud here
Find other Podcast-A-Palooza pix and video of The Vegas Gang's part here

* * *

Aug. 14: Nathan Burton

If there’s anyone who can attest to the fact that achieving fame in Las Vegas is never easy, it’s illusionist Nathan Burton. Yes, his goofy grin is now plastered across a tower of the Flamingo Las Vegas now -- and he reveals what that costs! -- but his journey to that triumph required two decades of work, gigs at countless hotels and appearances on not one but two top-rated reality TV competitions. Oh, and sealing himself in a box with seven Vegas showgirls for a week didn’t hurt, either. Burton joined us in the studio, as did Amy Turner of GritsToGlitz.Com subbing for a working Miles.

In Banter: The ladies' night ruling, BestofVegas.Com's screw-up and Steve's theory on that Cirque-Dubai transaction.

Links:

Nathan Burton’s website is here
Get tickets for Nathan’s show at the Flamingo here
Read Steve’s coverage of the ladies’ night question here
See the mildly risqué microwave trick Burton did on TV here
Hear Amy’s regular show, Grits To Glitz, here
See Steve’s blog rant and the head-scratching images from BestofVegas.Com here
Read the AP report on Cirque selling a fifth of itself to Dubai here

* * *

Aug. 7: David Spade

On paper, David Spade wouldn’t seem a likely to become a star, let alone a ladies’ man. And yet, more than two decades after he got his start in comedy clubs and was guided by Dennis Miller to a role on Saturday Night Live, Spade is a staple of American TV comedy as star of such hits as Just Shoot Me, 8 Simple Rules and Rules of Engagement. Spade, who usually performs his stand-up twice a month at the Planet Hollywood spoke to Steve about being the surprising object of affection of many a hot babe, about the tragedies that surround him and about the difficulty of mocking Barack Obama.

Plus, Vegas nightlife guru Jack Colton of JackColton.Com explains the noisy club scene, Steve Wynn's hooker tangle and why Alan Thicke will never be on this program.

Links

Get tickets to see David Spade at Planet Hollywood Aug 30-31 here
David Spade's website is here
For all things Vegas nightlife, check out JackColton.Com here
Read why Alan Thicke is a liar here
Steve's column about the would-be 9/11 discount is here
Steve Wynn's hooker adventure can be read about here
See Wynn's puzzling carpet-bombing advertising blitz here
The Michael Jackson "scoop" from Parade Magazine is here
Steve's piece on David Spade from the L.A. Times is here

* * *

July 31: Steve Lawrence

They’ve become known as the casino closers. Four times in the past decade, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme have been called upon to be the final performers at the closing of a resort or a famous showroom. But the act itself keeps on trucking. Well, sort of. Steve Lawrence is performing solo in August at the Orleans while his wife deals with a variety of health problems, as you’ll hear this hour. Lawrence spoke to Steve last week about Frank Sinatra, the original Tonight Show, about fighting with Eydie on stage and about why they haven’t seen a resurgence like Tony Bennett and Frankie Valli. Plus, he talks about their son, David, who composed the scores for the “High School Musical” movies. That’s all coming up.

In Banter: Trump IS having layoffs, Jerry Lewis is packing heat, Ping Pang Pong is wonderful, Miles is hung up over a gross Secret commercial and the prospect of the Las Vegas TV show as a movie.

Links:

Buy tickets to see Steve Lawrence at the Orleans Aug 15-17 here
See that Steve and Eydie is on What’s My Line here
See a spoof of the Secret Flawless ad Miles is so irked by here
Others hate that Secret ad, too, and they chatter about it here
Find the Global Gaming Business podcast with Vegas biz exec interviews here
Read all about Jerry Lewis packing heat at McCarran here
Find out more about the terrific Ping Pang Pong at the Gold Coast here
See the KVBC report on the Trump layoffs and Trump’s denial of same here
See the drive-thru article about the Fiesta Rancho sportsbook here
The Burger King drive-thru ad Miles whines about is here
Chris Lawrence’s blog post about the potential “Las Vegas” film here
Weatherford breaks news about a new poker show at the Venetian here

* * *

July 24: Eddie Izzard

Eddie Izzard has many claims to fame. He’s a well-regarded comedian, a terrific actor in such programs as FX’s “The Riches” and, of course, he’s probably the world’s most famous out-of-the-closet heterosexual transvestite. Oh, and he’ll be playing Vegas on July 25-26 at the Palms, so Steve chatted with Izzard about all of those things—and Izzard makes Steve a "Rich" promise that will delight many.

* * *

July 17: Wanda Sykes

She told Jane Fonda to f--- off in "Monster-in-Law," had her portrait snapped by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine and, this fall, is expected to marry Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the sitcom “The New Adventures of Old Christine.” Those are some of the highlights of Wanda Sykes’ illustrious career. The comic-actress, who performs stand-up twice in July and twice in August, speaks to Steve this hour about all that and some of the less thrilling moments – can someone say Pootie Tang?

In Banter: The Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza is coming up, a WSOP marathon night, BLT Burger rocks, Rub less so, MGMGrand.Com has troubles and more.

Links:

Get seats for Wanda Sykes' P-Ho shows in 7/18-19 and 8/8-8/9 here
Wanda Sykes' website is here
Steve's AFP piece on the WSOP finals is here
Find out more about the Vegas Podcastapalooza here
Read about WSOP finalist Craig Marquis' father here
The kerfluffle over the MGMGrand.Com is all over the blog here
The site for BLT Burger at the Mirage is here
Read Steve's LVW column on the Trump here (after 7/17)
Hear the full version of Wanda's porn-related phone prank and others here

* * *

July 3: Leno and Wayans

Jay Leno has always been comfortably inside the lines of mainstream American comedy while Damon Wayans has built a family business out of going out on a limb. So what do these two comics have in common? For one, both are performing in Las Vegas this month. For another, they’re both on the show this week. Leno reacts to questions as about why he’s not more respected by the entertainment media while Wayans tries to explain the method to his mad career.

In Banter: Steve Wynn's cocktail, Steve Friess' drinking binge, Harrah's environmentalism, Penn v Angel and a George Carlin tribute.

Links:

Get tickets to Damon Wayans' Orleans show here
Get tickets to Jay Leno's Mirage performances here
Learn how to make Steve Wynn's favorite cocktail here
Check out the Downtown Cocktail Lounge here
Read Penn Jillette's diss Criss Angel here
Learn more about Noir Bar at the Luxor here
The site for Miles' would-be obsession, Clean House, is here
Steve's scoops on the blue tape and the Criss Angel delay is here and here
Read how the AIDS Rides turned out to be a scam here
Read Harrah's press release on their WSOP carbon-credit buy here
That 7/1 WSJ piece on Vegas casino debt is here
See the George Carlin clip we played on the show here
Watch the whole Wayans three-titties routine excerpted on the show here

* * *

June 26: "Love," Exciting and Two

Two years ago this week, the world experienced the Beatles music in a new way, the Cirque du Soleil way. The show “Love” arrived in the theater formerly occupied by Siegfried & Roy to rave reviews and its soundtrack of tracks remixed from the original tapes by the original producer, went on to win a Grammy. To honor the show, we’ll talk live in the studio tonight to Kyle Stokely, a 12-year-old actor who has been in the production from the beginning about what it’s like being a child actor on the Strip and about all the famous people he’s met on the job.

In Banter: The New Yorker's Adelson opus, Cosmo v Cosmo, Trump in the dumps, Cirque gossip and a "locals" Sahara?

Links:

See Love's Kyle Stokely in a YouTube juggling video here
Get tickets to see Love here
That 12,000-word New Yorker piece on Sheldon Adelson is here
Steve's take on that New Yorker piece is here
Information about Wizard, the show about Harold Arlen, is here
Read about Cosmo's lawsuit against the Cosmo here
Trump's woes and denials of same can be read about here
Read more about Sahara's odd locals efforts her

* * *

REISSUED ARCHIVE EDITION: BEATLES PRODUCERS GEORGE + GILES MARTIN
Reissuing the June 8, 2006 episode featuring George and Giles Martin, the father-and-son duo who created the Love soundtrack from the tracks at Abbey Road Studios. This interview was conducted for a USA Today piece in advance of the show's opening at the Mirage.

* * *

June 19: James Caan

As casino security chief Big Ed Deline on the now-defunct NBC soap “Las Vegas,” James Caan played the center of gravity at the fictional Montecito with a certain old-school Sin City panache. That and a few film roles related to the Strip were enough to earn him the first-ever Vegas Icon Award at the 10th annual CineVegas Film Festival that’s on at the Palms this week. But what did Caan really think of those roles and that TV show? And, more importantly, what does he think led to its cancellation a year after he left the part? The colorful 68-year-old Oscar nominee lets loose on a variety of hot topics including drug use, bad films and the Mob.

In Banter: New tech at Rio and Fontainebleau, NY travels, room taxes, the Hank Greenspun movie and getting gas from hookers.

Links:

Download the Deutsche Bank look at Vegas building progress here
James Caan's Wikipedia page is here
Watch him make Kathy Bates "eat it!" on YouTube here
Find out all you want to know about CineVegas here
See the site for Xanadu The Musical here
Find our chat with Mel Brooks here
Read the R-J piece on their room tax poll here
Hear the disastrous George Wallace show here
Read about whores giving people gas here
The LV Weekly's take on the Hank Greenspun flick is here
See our coverage of the I-Bar's Microsoft Surface tech here
Read Steve's USA Today piece about Fontainebleau's Apple plans here

* * *

SPECIAL VIDEO: Sneak Peek of iBar @ Rio

This week, Microsoft rolls out its new Surface technology in the form of six $10,000 bar-lounge tabletops at the I Bar inside the casino at the Rio upon which, via some sophisticated touch-screen tech, customers can play games (video bowling, pinball), view YouTube videos, see who's sitting at other tables and send messages, take photos of themselves to send to friends and, oh yes, order drinks.

And here's some video I took -- think of it as The Strip Podcast Goes Pop-Up Video for all the comments I stuck in there. I used the thing to find my childhood home in Syosset, N.Y.

* * *

June 5: WSOP Champ Jerry Yang

A year ago, Jerry Yang was a just a 39-year-old social worker from Temecula, California, with six kids, a hefty mortgage and a wife who worked nights to make ends meet. Today, he’s living proof of why the annual World Series of Poker is the one championship that anyone can win. Yang spent $225 to enter a local satellite tournament that led him to a seat at the 2007 Main Event where he walked away $8.25 million richer. Next month, he begins a defense of that crown but this week, he’s live in our studio to talk about the year that was, what he’s done with all that money and how he feels about the changes being made to this year’s W.S.O.P.

In Banter: CityCenter's brief strike, more details on Fontainbleau, a tour operator thinks straight men are neglected in Vegas and K-Fed is Father of the Year?!?

May 29: Rita Rudner

Rita Rudner is having another important career moment. The comic has a new book out that’s both funny and surprisingly emotional and she’s recently become the first Vegas comedian to star in a PBS special to air in June. Rudner, whose girly voice and wry battle-of-the-sexes observations continue to pack ‘em in nightly at the Harrah’s Las Vegas resort, joins us live this hour to catch us up on all of her activities.

In Banter: The s*it flies at Panorama, revisiting Manilow, notes from Tussaud's and SATC is coming to Vegas, sort of.

Links

Get tix for Rita Rudner’s show at Harrah’s here
See Rita Rudner’s website here
See the info about Rita’s PBS special here
See Steve’s Madame Tussaud’s pictorial here
The site for Ethel M’s chocolate tour is here
Listen to Steve’s inspiration, Terry Gross, here
Miles’ starter kit for new Erykah Badu enthusiasts is here

* * *

May 22: LeAnn Rimes, Erykah Badu

We’re getting a little bit country, a little bit soul this week with interviews with two very different artists. First, former teen prodigy LeAnn Rimes is all grown up and writing her own music these days, some of it offering a window into what it was like to transition from teen phenom to married lady. Then, Erykah Badu, the R&B star often likened to Billie Holliday, is back after a five-year break with three – yes, three – new albums this year. She’ll explain how Apple’s Garageband kicked off that spate. Also, the winner of our Jersey Boys tickets giveaway is revealed!

In Banter: Playing the Criss Angel Red Carpet audio, a weird country song, Aria is named, Jubilee is old and a peek at Fontainbleau.

Links

Leann Rimes’ site is here
Erykah Badu’s site is here
Get tickets to Rimes’ concert at the MGM Grand here
Get tickets to Badu’s 6/13 concert at the House of Blues here
Hollyscoop is here
Read about Criss Angel’s threat to Norm Clarke here
Sharmian, who wrote that weird country song, is here
The YouTube video of the notable Taylor Swift can be seen here
Steve’s blog posts about the naming of Aria is here
Get tickets to Jubilee! here
The website for the Fontainebleau is here
An image of the Vegas Fontainebleau is here
The Jersey Boys Podcast can be found here

* * *

May 15: Frankie Valli

A priceless falsetto took an Italian pipsqueak from New Jersey all the way to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. But it’s only now, with the huge success of the Tony-winning Broadway show based on his life, that Frankie Valli is feeling truly appreciated by the entertainment world. That show, “Jersey Boys,” opened last month to rave reviews at the Palazzo, returning the sound of Valli and the Four Seasons to the Strip in grand fashion.

In banter: Terry Fator takes over, Cher needs work, the WSOP undergoes big changes, shrimp cocktails are more expensive and Vegas.Com rules the world.

Links:

Get Jersey Boys tickets for Vegas here
News of Terry Fator's takeover at the Mirage is here
Steve's blog post about Cher's show problems is here
A piece on the changes coming for the World Series of Poker is here
That website to find wireless hotspots in Vegas is here
A story about the increased prices for shrimp cocktails at Golden Gate is here
That weird Trek-crazy site's report on the possible closure of Star Trek Experience is here
Old blog posts about the feud, now over, with Robert Earl, can be found here

* * *

(FIXED) May 8: Bob Gaudio, Erich Bergen
Comment on the show here

Bob Gaudio is the legendary songwriter responsible for such hits as “Sherry,” “What A Night” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You.” Gaudio’s first hit was “Short Shorts,” a novelty song he wrote when he was 15. More recently, Gaudio he wrote a musical based on the film “Peggy Sue Got Married” and he tells Steve that it may yet come to Broadway sometime soon. Gaudio is joined in this conversation by Erich Bergen, a 22-year-old actor from New York City for whom the Jersey Boys role is his first major part. Bergen is also a former podcaster whose show, Green Room Radio, was a Broadway version of “The Strip” in which he would interview celebrities of the Great White Way.

* * *

SPECIAL VIDEO EDITION: JERSEY BOYS PREMIERE
(See more pix and blogging on the event here)

* * *

May 1: Kerry Simon, Charlie Trotter

Steve Wynn – again! No, sorry. Gotcha! A podcaster cannot dine on Wynn alone. But speaking of dining, how about we serve you up a generous helping of two hot Vegas chefs, Kerry Simon and Charlie Trotter? Both have new restaurants in town, Simon at the Luxor and the Palms and Trotter at Palazzo. So we ask them about the dining scene, about their foie gras aversions and, of course, about what kind of fast food they eat.

Plus, in banter: Perez Hilton sucks, the Donnie and Marie idea sucks, a Hustler hotel-casino would suck and the broken Encore sign sucks.

Links:

Kerry Simon’s website is here
Simon’s Cathouse is here and Simon at Palms Place is here
Charlie Trotter’s Las Vegas site is here
A CBS piece about the Chicago foie gras law is here
Steve’s USA Today piece on the Oprah-Tina-Cher event is here
Kerry Simon’s local favorite place, Go Raw, is here
VegasTripping.Com’s amusing take on Donnie and Marie is here
Steve’s post about the Perez Hilton rip-off is here
Richard Abowitz’s item about the Hustler idea is here
The Las Vegas Sun’s piece on Vegoose’s cancellation is here
Steve’s LVW column on Tamara is here

* * *

April 24: Steve Wynn
4/23 VIDEO SPECIAL: New Vegas Ads

Twice in one month! Wow! Steve Wynn is back to discuss the recession, reveal some intriguing new plans for the future of his golf course and declare Spamalot, closing this summer, a success. Oh, and he explains how it is he did NOT lie to Steve a few weeks ago about those Danny Gans rumors. Sorta.

In Banter: Powerful people are listening, Harrah's IS punishing the R-J, Criss Angel has not repented, the "What Happens in Vegas" trailer is good, Andrew Lloyd Webber is writing a batty "Phantom" sequel and more.

Links:

The Al Phlipp and the Woo Team band that gave us our special music can be found here
"Las Vegas" Executive Producer Matt Pyken's IMDB profile is here
Pyken's new show, "Knight Rider," can be found here
That god-awful third-ever episode of this program, then called Vegas S&M, is here
Steve's Harrah’s ad-halt blog entry is here
The trailer for "What Happens in Vegas" is here
See the tasteless headline for Richard Abowitz' Criss Angel-Norm blog item here
Read the bizarre plans for Phantom II here
The R-J's piece on the Westin giving the money back is here
The R-J's coverage of Las Vegas Sands on trial is here
The site for Town Square is here

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4/21 SPECIAL: Steve on KNPR, re: the R-J v Harrahs issue

* * *

April 17: Terry Lanni

You know a recession is pretty bad when it’s felt even in Las Vegas. Terry Lanni, the CEO of MGM Mirage, spoke to Steve earlier this month about these challenging economic times, about which of the young moguls of Vegas he admires and about the struggle to name the CityCenter Hotel.

In Banter: MGM layoffs, Harrah's dumps the R-J, mobile billboards under the microscope, Steve Scores and the Criss Angel nightmare for Cirque.

Links:

The R-J on the MGM Mirage employment cuts is here
Steve’s NYT piece and blog post on the Harrah’s-RJ issue is here
RateVegas.Com’s challenge to me and Christina Binkley is here
Read about the Las Vegas Monorail’s good news is here
Read about the Harrah’s name change is here
The Sun’s piece on the mobile-billboard issue is here
Steve’s Newsweek piece on salt-water pools is here
See Kool-Aid on Family Guy on YouTube here

* * *

April 10: Raising the Barr

The last time we heard from Roseanne Barr was before she signed to do a run at the New York-New York. That gig came and went and now Barr is playing through May at the Sahara. She spoke to Steve about the differences between working at opposite ends of the Strip, about giving Judd Apatow and Joss Whedon their writing starts on her legendary sitcom and about when she started calling herself the Domestic Goddess.

In Banter: More on the Binkley book, rival podcasters take their shots, strip clubs add fancy food, show ticket prices are rising and the Plaza's on ice again.

Links:

Roseanne Barr's website is here
Get tickets to Roseanne's Sahara show here
The Las Vegas Advisor's show-tix survey is here
Howard Stutz' column about Trump's delays is here
Steve's blog item on the Plaza is here
The Vegas Tourist podcast is here
Norm's item about Amazing Johnathan's hidden-cam claims is here
Read about the Binkley book controversy here
The YouTube clip of Roseanne's first Carson appearance is here
The image of a raunchy Roseanne on the cover of Vanity Fair is here

* * *

April 3: Steve Wynn

Guess who! It's Wynn on the young lions of Vegas, Encore, Christina Binkley's book "Winner Takes All," Eliot Spitzer, public art and Sheldon Adelson's delusions.

In Banter: Chewing on the best part of "Winner Takes All" by Christina Binkley, wondering who would swim in a salt-water pool, laughing about the Westin charging conventioneers, baffling over a McCain remark in Vegas and admitting being punk'd on April Fool's Day.

Links:

Kathleen Hennessey's brilliant piece on the Westin charging conventioneers is here
The gushing press release for what the MGM Grand is calling the first "ultra pool" is here
Planet Hollywood's good news is here
Steve's pictorial on the Forbuss Elementary student project is here
See Steve's USA Today review of Christina Binkley's book "Winner Takes All" is here
Buy a copy of Binkley's book here
Buy a copy of Tom Breitling's book, "Double Or Nothing," here

* * *

March 27: Attack of the Reality TV Champs
...with Terry Fator and Stefanie Schaeffer

Is Terry Fator ("America's Got Talent") worth $100,000 a show at the Hilton? Will Stefanie Schaeffer ("The Apprentice") stick up for Donald Trump and stick around after the opening of the Trump Las Vegas? Find out that and more as these recent reality-show champs talk about their Vegas work and their futures.

In Banter: Our Swiss recap, the Blue (wo)Man Group and the Plaza's on-again, off-again thing. Also, we take apart the Las Vegas Review-Journal's 27th annual Best of Las Vegas poll in the Tourist Tip Section this week.

Links:

Terry Fator's site is here
Get tickets to Terry's Hilton show here
Stefanie Schaeffer's site is here
The site for Trump's Vegas property is here
See all of Steve's blog posts on the Swiss trip here
See the YouTube clip of the weird thing in the Zurich airport tube here
See Terry Fator's winning "America's Got Talent" moment here
See Fator on Oprah here
See Stefanie Schaeffer's "You're Hired" moment on "The Apprentice" here

* * *

SPECIAL: Maria Bartiromo

* * *

March 13: Maya Lin

There are a lot of artists you’d expect to find on the Las Vegas Strip. Performing artists, that is. But it’s a pretty sure bet that you never expected to find an artist like Maya Lin there. Neither did she. And yet the Vietnam Veterans Memorial sculptress is about to become a Vegas headliner, one of the major attractions in an ambitious $40 million public arts collection being assembled by MGM Mirage for its $8 billion CityCenter project. Tonight we’ll hear all about what sort of piece she’s getting $3 million to create for Las Vegas, about her first impressions of our fair town and, for the first time, about how she’s re-envisioning her most famous works.

In Banter: Encore's opening soon, Steve loses 95 cents at Mandalay, Blue Man Group is looking for men and women (?), Bill Maher gets it wrong and Billy Crystal's odd "classics."

* * *

March 6: Emeril Lagasse and Tina Walsh

Bam! Emeril Lagasse, the Food Network’s most famous alum, has opened his third Vegas restaurant, Table 10, at the Palazzo. Steve caught up with the chef a few weeks ago for a chat about the Vegas food scene, his culinary empire and, yes, his fast-food preferences. That’s coming up. Also, Steve chats with Vegas stage veteran Tina Walsh, who has made a tremendous comeback by landing a major role in The Venetian’s “Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular.”

In Banter: Bye, Hooters, a NYT writer hates Vegas, andhepatitis and ricin scares.

Links:

Emeril's website is here
Buy the Vegas Phantom tix here
Steve goes after a fellow local journalist here
Steve goes after a fellow NYT writer here
See pieces about the Hep-C and ricin here and here
Norm reports on Paul Stanley's Phantom turn here

* * *
Feb. 28: Alanis Morissette

A decade ago, it was impossible to avoid Alanis Morissette on the radio. Her “Jagged Little Pill” album remains the biggest debut record of all time, selling 30 million copies worldwide and winning her seven Grammys. Yet Morissette has always been a bit of an enigma. On the outside, she seems rather girl-nxt-doorish, but her music and her lifestyle have often reflected someone working through quite a bit of torment. Morissette now believes she’s past a lot of that, telling Steve about her "recovery" and sharing her sympathetic thoughts on the trials and tribulations of Britney Spears other troubled young stars. The Canadian singer is just now returning to the music business after a two-year break during which she broke off an engagement with actor Ryan Reynolds, a topic that she addresses bluntly on her upcoming album, Flavors of Entanglement. She also explains the story behind her video spoof of the Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps,” which is one of the most watched clips in YouTube history. Morissette is concluding her current tour in Las Vegas on March 18.

In Banter: More Bette Midler updates, is Elton John bored, Pure is raided and more on the coins-in-the-fountain question from MGM Mirage.

Links:

Alanis Morissette's website is here
Get tickets to Alanis' 3/18 Palms show (with Matchbox 20) here
The R-J piece on the Sahara remodel is here
Alanis' YouTube of "My Humps" is here
Richard Abowitz writes about the Pure raid here
Steve's blog post with new MGM response to the fountain coins question is here
Joe Brown's brutal Bette commentary is here

* * *

Feb. 21: Bettemania! With Toni Basil

Bette, Bette, Bette. These days, that’s all you hear about in Vegas entertainment circles. So here’s some more. This week, we bring you Steve’s first-hand preview peek at the show, a review from a loyal listener who also saw it this weekend, a new poll with a Bette-tinged theme and even a related Top Secret Tourist Tip of the Week. Plus, Steve spoke with Toni Basil, Bette’s long-time choreographer and the singer behind that one-hit wonder “Mickey.” Basil explains how she used G.I. Joe figurines to plan the production, what sort of work she does for films like “Charlie Wilson’s War” and why she’s OK with being known as a one-hit wonder.

In Banter: A listener’s review of Bette’s show, new details on CityCenter, a new show for Palazzo, Wayne Brady renewed and a run-in with the Houseseatslv.Com tonidude.

Links:

Toni Basil’s website is here
Get tickets to see Bette at the Colosseum here
The site for HouseseatsLV.com is here
Mike Weatherford’s Cher v Bette column is here

* * *

Feb. 14: Lance Burton

Three weeks ago, when the Monte Carlo erupted in flames, magician Lance Burton was forced to cancel shows for only the second time in his 12-year run there. This Friday, though, it’s back to work for Burton as the beleaguered resort reopens to the public -- along with the best illusionist spectacle in Vegas. Steve spoke to Lance earlier today about the fire, his future and a surprising phone call he got from Roy Horn.

In Banter: Broadway West's death knell, Spamalot changes lyrics, Menopause is tops?!?, Bass Pro Shop is the No. 1 apparel shop?!?, a Robert Earl reconciliation?!? and more.

Links

Tickets to Lance Burton’s show is here
Steve’s current column about Broadway West is here
An AP piece on the changes of the Spamalot lyrics is here
Norm’s coverage of Tina Walsh’s new role at Phantom is here
Steve’s NYT piece quoting a listener about a flight school gone bust is here
The Silverton’s Bass Pro Shop’s website is here
Steve’s appearance on KNPR about Vegas paparazzi can be heard here
The blog post about coins in the Vegas fountains is here
Mike Weatherford’s column about Lance Burton as Monte Carlo’s face is here

* * *

SPECIAL: Steve on KNPR's State of Nevada on 2/11

* * *

Feb. 7: Wolfgang Puck and Frankie Avalon

Before Robuchon, before Palmer, before Lagasse and before Flay, there was Puck. Wolfgang Puck, of course. His Spago back in the early 1990s set off the star-chef boom here, and this month the most prolific restaurateur in Las Vegas is about to opens his sixth Strip restaurant, Cut, at the Palazzo. So Steve asked him about his proliferation and gets him to name his favorite fast food joint. Also, sticking with the theme of originals, Steve chats with Frankie Avalon, one of the original American teen heartthrob and a Vegas veteran.

Links

Wolfgang Puck's site is here
Frankie Avalon's Wikipedia site is here
Jeff Simpson's columns regarding the Trop are here and here
Steve's piece on the Monte Carlo fire from New York is here
Robin Leach's coverage of the Cher announcement is here
Steve's blog post about the Sahara's upscale rooms is here

* * *

Jan. 24: Mr. Sands Man

The first new Las Vegas Strip resort in nearly three years held its grand opening in grand style last weekend. The Palazzo is the taller, blonder, slightly more elegant 3,000-room addition to its sister property, the Venetian, and it served as an excellent time to sit down for an interview with Las Vegas Sands C.E.O. Sheldon Adelson. Sit back, relax, and get ready to hear some provocative comments from the Anti-Wynn.

In Banter: An incompetent Cathouse barrista, Menopause hits 1,000, Elaine Wynn at the casino caucus, and Oscar Goodman's queer query.

Links:

The Palazzo's website is here
Steve's USA Today Money-section cover story on Sheldon Adelson is here
Steve's AFP piece on the election, including Elaine Wynn's comments, is here
The Las Vegas Sun's brilliant new site is here
Norm's piece on Diana Ross' possible lip-synching is here

* * *

Jan. 17: Mayor Oscar Goodman

It’s been eventful nine years since the ultimate non-politician, a mob lawyer, became mayor of Las Vegas. Since then, Oscar Goodman has stirred up plenty of controversy, but he’s also proven to be a tireless promoter and defender of the city and a creative thinker when it comes to how to reverse the sagging fortunes of the beloved but blighted downtown area. All that work is starting to show some results, with downtown casino owners investing large sums to fix up their places and the city overseeing the development of land just to the east that will create a whole new downtown complete with a medical facility and a $150 million performing arts center. He even offers his prediction for the fate of the crappy part of town where we record this program.

* * *

Jan. 10: Bette Midler, Part II

Two weeks ago, Bette Midler talked about her new show, her movies and her music. So what’s left? Stick around and hear all about her early days playing in gay bathhouses and much more. Plus, an eight-hour casino, the life of the Vegas paparazzo and the astonishing Trippies results.

Links:

The 2007 Trippies results are here
Bette Midler's website is here
Get tix for Bette's Vegas show here
Steve's piece on Trailer Station from the New York Times is here and blog post/pix is here
The link to the Z100 phone tap regarding Vegas is here
The link to the Grits to Glitz episode discussing the Puck restaurant is here

* * *

Jan. 3: Our Top Moments of 2007

Another crazy year in Las Vegas has come and gone, and nowhere was it crazier than right here on this podcast. Fourteen times in the past 12 months, scoops you heard here first made it into Norm Clarke’s Review-Journal gossip column, but on this year-in-review roundup, we’re only revisiting the best moments -- as voted upon by YOU. So sit back, relax and enjoy the countdown. And, if you missed some of these shows, here’s your chance to hear them without having to wade through all those hours.

CLICK HERE FOR OLDER SHOWS AND SHOW NOTES