It's New Year's Eve in Vegas, and who better to celebrate with than, uh, Greg Brady? Yep. Barry Williams leads a cast of former child stars including Leif Garrett and the Bay City Rollers for the debut of "The Original Idols Live," a song-and-dance revue at the Flamingo.

In Banter: What Santa brought, why the Xmas lights don't work anymore, who's where for New Year's, bye to James Brown and hello to Michael Jackson.

Links:

Barry Williams' site is here
Get tickets to The Original Idols Live here
More info about the show is here
The Brady Bunch clip of "Sunshine Day" from YouTube is here

* * *

Dec. 21: Heidi Fleiss

The Hollywood Madam now wants to be a Nevada Madam, offering male prostitutes to women clients. What's been holding up the plan and what wacky things has Fleiss been up to since she made her big splash in Steve's Newsweek article last year? Plus, Wet Design CEO Mark Fuller discusses designing the Bellagio Fountains.

Links:

Heidi's website is here
Wet Design has two Bellagio Fountain videos here
Steve's Newsweek piece on Heidi is here
See renderings of the Project CityCenter buildings in the graphics here
KVBC's story on the smoking-ban decision is here
An R-J story on the Harrah's deal to go private is here
The Traveling Wilburys are shockingly hot on Amazon
The site for Richard Cheese, who wrote "Christmas in Las Vegas," is here
A YouTube video of that song is here
The Grits to Glitz podcast is here

* * *

Dec. 14: Olivia Harrison

The Beatle widow discusses "Love," her late husband and why they didn't originally plan to stage the Cirque-Beatles show in Vegas.

In this week's banter, we're in NYC where we ate at the amazing Rao's, the impossible-to-get-into Italian restaurant in Spanish Harlem opening a supersized edition at Caesars Palace this month. We also saw "Spamalot" ahead of its Wynn debut next year.

Links:

"Love" at The Mirage is here
Buy the "Love" soundtrack here
See Rao's website here
Lyrics to that lovely Art Garfunkel tune "Heart In New York" can be found here
See the images of the tiny Soho loft we rented here

* * *

Dec. 7: David Hasselhoff

Just when it seems like David Hasselhoff couldn't conquer any more aspects of show business, the Knight Rider and Baywatch star is set to land in Las Vegas next month for a four-month gig as the gay director in "The Producers" at the Paris Las Vegas resort. In this chat, the Hoff talks about his future on the Internet, his international fame as a music sensation, his friendship with Pamela Anderson, his new T-shirt line and those off-the-wall music videos.

Plus, a planned 1,888-foot tower for the Strip is deemed "out of character with neighborhood" (huh?) and the new smoking law means no butts at McCarran.

Links:

David Hasselhoff's site is here
See YouTube clips of the Hoff's video for "Jump In My Car," "Hooked On A Feeling," "Looking For Freedom" and "Secret Agent Man"
See his ads for Pipex.Com here
A Las Vegas Sun piece on the new smoking law is here
The Las Vegas Business Press' piece on the Milam Tower is here

* * *

Nov. 30: Don Rickles

The ultimate insult comic talks about his long career from Vegas lounge act to Caesars Palace Walk of Famer, from Carson to Mr. Potato Head. Plus, Steve and Miles brave the Bellagio Buffet for Thanksgiving, the MGM Grand wants your DNA, Nevada is considering allowing casinos to alter slot machine payout based on who's playing and it is very, VERY cold in this here desert this week. Brr.

Plus, a special interview edition of the Top Secret Tourist Tip of the Week with Tim Arnold of the Pinball Hall of Fame.

Links:

YouTube clip of Rickles' cigarette-box moment on Carson is here
Steve's Rickles Q-and-A in USA Today is here
Norm! reports that Bette and Cher are en route here
Britney's indecent exposures chronicles here
The Westin Casaurina's spa, Hibiscus, is here
The bizarre "Hooked on a Feeling" video by Hasselhoff can be seen -- and you MUST watch -- here

* * *

Nov. 23: Roseanne Barr

Roseanne Barr says she's back and has the HBO special to prove it. But she's also angling for a Vegas headlining gig and talks about her weekly Internet video call-in show. Plus, the winner of the Southwest Vacations sweepstakes is revealed.

Links:

Roseanne's website is here

* * *

Nov. 16: Bill Maher
[see a partial transcript here]
[hear a brief preview here]

Controversial comic Bill Maher mulls the election, CNN's censoring of his comments about GOP chief Ken Mehlman and why Hillary won't be president. Plus, Miles and Steve ponder some of the most disgusting massage therapies ever suggested, from a bizarre press release from the Treasure Island.

Bill Maher's website is here
Find the podcast version of HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher" here
Here's Steve's USA Today Q-and-As with Roseanne, Rickles and Maher
Steve's Newsweek piece in Whoopi is here
Listener Bernadette's review of "The Strip" is here
A YouTube clip of Bill Maher's unedited CNN appearance is here

* * *

Nov. 9: Whoopi Goldberg

Comedienne Whoopi Goldberg discusses the revival of Comic Relief in Vegas on Nov. 18, racism at Hogwarts, nose-picking, why she never flies and why rich actors do TV commercials. Then, Nevada passed a very restrictive anti-smoking measure on Tuesday, so we discuss it with the political consultant who got it passed, Michael Hackett. Also, Orthodox Jews at Bellagio, the Professional Bull Riders finals and Steve's backstage tour at Le Reve.

Links:

Whoopi and her radio show's website is here
Comic Relief is here
The Comedy Festival is here
Steve's NYT piece on the smoking initiatives is here
Steve's piece on Manilow selling CDs on QVC is here
PerezHilton.Com, which Miles loves, is here
The Professional Bull Riders' website is here
Tickets for Le Reve can be found here

* * *

Nov. 2: Sayonara, Stardust
Boyd Gaming CEO William Boyd

Boyd Gaming CEO Bill Boyd chats with Steve about Wednesday's closure of the venerable Stardust and the $4 billion Echelon Place planned to replace it. Boyd also talks a bit about his neighbors, Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson. Plus, longtime Stardust musician Mickey Jones amusingly reminisces about the loss of the property.

Links:

Boyd Gaming's website is here
Vote for "The Strip" in the Trippies by clicking here
Mickey Jones' website is here
Buy Dave Schwartz's book here
The UNLV Gaming Research Center is here
Howard Stutz's piece on plans for the Tropicana site is here
Steve's NYT piece on the smoking initiatives is here
Tickets to see Prince at his venue at the Rio are here

* * *

Oct. 26: Olivia Newton-John

The Aussie chanteuse opens up about missing her boyfriend, who disappeared last year and discusses why she's selling her newest album exclusively at Walgreens. Plus, Roseanne and Prince are the latest hot rumors for new headline acts, the Stardust is about to become dust and Steve's thoughts on Gordie Brown's opening at Venetian.

Links:

Olivia Newton-John's website is here
Tickets for Olivia's Luxor shows are here
Buy Olivia's new CD through Walgreens.Com by clicking here
A piece story about Olivia Newton-John's boyfriend's disappearance is here
A piece from the Las Vegas Sun on Jimmy Carter in Vegas is here
Jerry Fink's rave review of Gordie Brown's show is here
The chatter about Wynn v Adelson on RateVegas.Com is here
The new podcast by Hunter at RateVegas, which we recommend, is here
Hear listeners chastize KNPR for a segment on bottle service here

* * *

Oct. 25: SPECIAL EDITION

Help us pick a new theme and win. Listen to the episode or click here to find out how.

* * *

Oct. 19: Wynn on China, Adelson and the Strip

The Vegas mogul discusses Macau, responds to Adelson's comments from our Sept. 14 show and identifies what he believes to be "single biggest toilet" in Vegas. Also, guess where he originally planned to put the Mirage! This is audio from Steve's Newsweek chat with Wynn from Macau in late August.

Links:

The earlier shows with Wynn are here and here
Steve's photo montage of the Wynn Macau is here
The Wynn Macau is here
The Wynn Las Vegas is here
Coverage of Wynn's "Le Reve" accident is here

* * *

Oct. 12: A Phantom Spectacular

Two stars of Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular join us live in the studio. Sierra Boggess (Christine Daae) and Brent Barrett (The Phantom) discuss their careers off the Strip and what it's like to be in a shortened version of history's most successful musical. Also, Steve's mom is in the house and nearly makes Miles weep by singing Steve's favorite lullaby! Plus, opening night at the Playboy Club with George Maloof.

Links:

Brent Barrett's website is here
A bio and some voice clips from Sierra Boggess is here
Tickets for "Phantom" at the Venetian are here
Steve's mom's newsletter is here
More information about Sweet Adelines is here
Pix of Steve's Mom are here and here Rebecca Spencer, who plays Mme Giry, has several albums out. Find them here
Neonfest, Vegas' GLBT film festival, is Oct. 20-22. Find out more here.

* * *

Oct. 5: Rita Rudner

Comedienne and longtime Vegas headliner Rita Rudner discusses her new gig at the Harrah's Las Vegas and her new novel, "Turning the Tables." Plus, Review-Journal gaming writer Howard Stutz joins us to dissect the news of that Harrah's may be bought out for $15 billion.

Links:

Rita Rudner's site is here
Buy Rita's new book here
Get tickets for her new show here
Steve's pieces on the Portable Media Expo are here
A Howard Stutz piece on the Harrah's buyout plot and its fallout is here

* * *

Sept. 28: A Red-Hot Issue of Playboy

The first Playboy Club in 20 years opens atop the new tower at the Palms in October, so Steve has revealing chats with Hugh Hefner and his daughter, Playboy Enterprises CEO Christie Hefner. Plus, the SkyLOFTS will have a "music butler," I-15 is being torn up and readers sound off about the Adelson interview.

Links:

Steve's USA Today pieces on the Playboy Club are here and here
The Palms Hotel is here
The Playboy site is here
E!'s show on Hef is here
The MGM Grand's SkyLOFTS is here
A solid piece on the I-15 road construction from the R-J is here

* * *

Sept. 21: A CSI Special

As the top-rated Vegas-based CBS crime drama opens its seventh season tonight, we chat with star Marg Helgenberger and executive producer Carol Mendelsohn. Helgenberger reveals that she's unlikely to extend her contract and how she was very unhappy when the show added New York and Miami franchises. Plus, the winner of our Phantom tickets giveaway is revealed.

Links:

CSI's website is here
Marg Helgenberger's site is here
The R-J's story on the new Wynn golf tourney is here
An interesting new book about how casinos treat patrons is here

* * *

9/14: Venetian owner Sheldon Adelson
(and a little bit of Wynn)

The world's 14th wealthiest man explains his plans for Macau, has some choice comments about rival Steve Wynn and jokes -- yes, he's funny -- about the shopping at his newest resort. Plus, we play a piece of Steve's interview with Wynn that pertains to the controversy over tips at the Wynn Las Vegas. And we banter about Cirque du Soleil's first Vegas failure.

Links:

The Venetian Las Vegas is here
Sheldon Adelson's official corporate bio is here
Steve's picture of the Cotai Strip model is here
All Steve's pix from Macau are here
Here are links to the Raffles L'Ermitage Beverly Hills and Peninsula Beverly Hills, both mentioned by Adelson
The Sun's cool piece on casinos chasing deadbeats is here

* * *

Sept. 9: Gloria Estefan

We're in Miami, so we chat up the Celine Dion of South Beach. The Queen of Latin Pop has some spicy remarks about how the record industry screwed itself at the dawn of the Internet Age, talks about almost being an American Idol judge and opines about performing in Vegas. Plus, we chat about pool-crashing in Vegas, a possible smoking ban and the end of Vegas native Andre Agassi's career.

Links:

Gloria Estefan's website is here
The Cardozo Hotel, where we met Gloria, is here
AP writer Kathleen Hennessey's brilliant pool-crashing piece is here
Steve's piece grading Vegas pools for the LA Times is here
The R-J on the changing hours of "Phantom" is here (last item)
An R-J piece on the possible smoking ban is here
PodcasterPeers.Org, where The Strip is nominated for an honor, is here
A podcast about the podcast panel Steve hosted at NLGJA is here

* * *

Aug. 31: Palms owner George Maloof

For our first anniversary, we're joined live in the studio by our first guest, Palms owner George Maloof, to discuss the new concert venue, Playboy Club, Fantasy Villas and condo project. Plus, we discuss in depth Steve's trip to Macau.

Links:

The Palms' website is here
Steve's appearance on KNPR, re: Macau, is here
Steve's piece on Nevada Today about Macau is here
Steve's Holocaust story from the NYT is here

* * *

Aug. 24: The Chat From China

Steve is in Asia about to meet up with Wynn and Adelson on Macau, so Miles flies solo except for the 20-minute Skype chat that Steve is recording with him in the photo above. Also discussed is why the LV marriage license bureau won't be open 24/7 anymore, what's up with the poker champ's money and why is Wynn is redistributing tips?

Links:

Steve's Newsweek piece on Macau is here
Photos of the Wynn Macau and other Macanese-Vegas stuff is here
The R-J on Wynn's new tip program is here
An AP piece on new hours for the marriage bureau is here
The UPI on the poker champ's money woes is here

* * *

Aug. 17: Liza Minnelli

Liza cuts loose, giggling a lot and getting a little spacy as she talks about her upcoming Luxor appearances. Then, a surprise interview answer to the trivia question. Also, we discuss a wacky proposal for fixing traffic problems on the Strip, high-speed trains to LA and Steve's day on the set of CSI at the MGM Grand.

Links:

Liza Minnelli's official site is here
An R-J piece on the proposal to cut down the trees on the Strip is here
An R-J piece about proposed trains to LA is here
More on Sarann Knight Preddy is here
The site for CSI is here

* * *

Aug. 10: Gladys Knight

The former Flamingo headliner and Vegas resident reveals the real reason she left the hotel and how she encouraged Toni Braxton to come to Vegas. Also, she talks frankly about her gambling addiction and conversion to Mormonism. Plus, we discuss the trouble with Braxton's new show.

Links:

Gladys Knight's Wikipedia site is here
The Za Show blog is here
Vegas.Com's airport kiosks is here

Aug. 3: Chubby Checker

The "Twist" maven complains that he's not given the credit he deserves for his contributions to dance and music, comparing himself to Walt Disney and Alexander Graham Bell.

Links:

Chubby Checker's site is here
Read about the I-15 shutdowns here

* * *

July 27: Toni Braxton



Links:

Toni Braxton's site is here
Get tickets to her Flamingo shows here
Read Steve's piece on handheld gaming from Wired here
The Red Rock Resort website is here

* * *

July 20: Andy Williams
Caesars president Gary Selesner



In honor of Caesars Palace's 40th birthday, Andy Williams recalls how much he made to open the joint and the current president admits he might not have hired Celine.

Links:

Caesars Palace's website is here
Andy Williams' website is here
A photo of the $1 million fishing lure is here
More info on The Petcast is here
The story about the mayor and urinating in public is here
The website of the contortionist and one-time "O" star whose husband wrote us is here

* * *

July 13: Chris Moneymaker

Links:

Chris Moneymaker's website is here
MGM Grand's Signature website is here
Lynn Parson's podcast and site are here
Read about Homeland Security idiots here
McCarran's No. 1? Read here

* * *

July 6: Jennifer Tilly

Links:

Jennifer Tilly's IMDB listing is here
See pix of Jennifer Tilly in our studio here
Steve's USA Today piece following Tilly's WSOP victory last year is here
All the press we've had for the Joan Rivers and Liza shows is here

* * *

July 4: SPECIAL BREAKING NEWS EDITION! Liza With a...V?

* * *

June 29: Joan Rivers + Paige O'Hara

Links:

Joan Rivers' official site is here
Paige O'Hara's website is here
Tickets to "Menopause: The Musical" are here
Hear the Joy Behar and Shelley Berkley show, since both were referenced

* * *

June 22: Reba McEntire

Links:

Reba McEntire's site is here
Buy tickets to Reba's show in Vegas here
See Steve's Phantom piece in USA Today here

* * *

June 15: Dennis Hopper

Links:

Check out the Cinevegas website here
Learn about John Romeo's video podcast here
More information on the Hoover Dam is here
Get tickets to Jubilee! at Bally's here

* * *

JUNE 8: George and Giles Martin, Austin Miller

Links:

See "Love" images and video, here
Austin Miller's site is here
We break the news of Hairspray's closure here

* * *

June 5: SPECIAL EDITION! HAIRSPRAY CLOSING!
(See Norm Clarke's coverage here)

* * *

June 1: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Austin Miller

Links:

Andrew Lloyd Webber's site is here
Austin Miller's site is here
Steve's appearance on Future Tense is here
Tickets for Phantom in Vegas can be bought here
The USA Today piece on lobby odor is here

* * *

May 25: Cirque founder Gilles Ste. Croix

Links:

See Cirque's page, with "Love" images and video, here
Steve's Wired piece on tough-to-open packaging is here Mike Weatherford's R-J piece on Cirque is here
R-J story on the Venetian's mobile gaming devices is here

* * *

May 18: Hal Prince

Links:

Tickets for "Phantom" in Vegas are here
Read about Prince's lifetime achievement Tony
Hal Prince's Wikipedia page is here

* * *

May 11: Franco Dragone
Jesse Jackson

Links:

Franco Dragone's website is here
To buy tickets to "Mystere," "O," "A New Day" or "Le Reve" click on the show's name.
Jackson's Rainbow/P.U.S.H. Coalition is here

* * *

April 27: Louie Anderson

Links:

Louie Anderson's website is here
Buy tickets to his show at the Excalibur here
Guest host Geoff Dankert's cars blog is here

* * *

April 20: Jon Secada

Links:

Jon Secada's website is here
Read about Clara Bow's ranch in the R-J here
Hear Steve's KNPR commentary here
Pix from Engagement Weekend are here
Johnny Mathis' Wikipedia entry, referencing The Strip, is here

* * *

April 13: Johnny Mathis

Links:

Johnny Mathis' website is here

* * *

April 6: The Charlie Palmer exclusive

Links:

The site for Charlie Palmer's hotel is here
Steve's piece from Newsweek.Com is here
Steve's piece on NPR and podcasting is here
A shot of Eva Longoria from space is here

* * *

March 30: Howie Mandel + Kathy Griffin

Links:

Howie Mandel's website is here
Kathy Griffin's website is here
The Las Vegas Review-Journal's Best of Las Vegas is here
Listener John Romeo's video podcasts are here
Steve's piece on the World's Largest Buffet is here

* * *

March 23: Dennis Miller and the Lush

Links:

The Museum of the American Cocktail is here
The King of Cocktails' website is here

* * *

March 16: Liberace and Big Elvis

Links:

Wes Winters' site is here
The Liberace Museum is here
Big Elvis is here and at the Barbary Coast

* * *

March 9: Mamma Mia! Special

Links:

Mamma Mia! tix available at Mandalay Bay's site
Carol Linnea Johnson's profile is here

* * *

March 2: Danny Gans

Feb. 16: Joy Behar + Rep. Shelley Berkley

Feb. 15: Special Steve Wynn edition

* * *

FEB. 9: Comic Rich Little
Little Church of the West owner Greg Smith

* * *

DEC. 29: Harvey Fierstein

* * *

Dec. 22: David Copperfield

* * *

Dec. 8: Terry Lanni, MGM Mirage CEO

* * *

Nov. 24: A Thanksgiving re-run of our 9/15 Steve Wynn episode

Links:

Steve's Chicago Tribune review of the Wynn is here Steve's Wired report on his tour with Wynn, click here
Wynn Las Vegas: www.wynnlasvegas.com

* * *

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