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 hear Earl's thoughts on Hans Klok, Steve Wyrick, George Maloof and whether anyone really wants to live full-time on Las Vegas Boulevard.
Plus, details on the new Mirage volcano, a shakeup is rumored for 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
4 comments:
(listening to the show as I type)
I took a trip to PH a few weeks ago and posted impressions, good and bad. It isn't totally complete, but they did some things right that I find go wrong elsewhere.
Was the Hans Klok thing really a surprise? I figured it would last about as long as it did. The whole thing hinged on the starlet, and I figured that Pamela Anderson would only do the same exact routines six times a week before she found it boring.
He likes to go on about branding, and one of the smartest things they did is dropping the restaurant logo/font branding for the lowercase, semicircle logo and Apple-esque typeface. Hitching the hotel to the restaurants isn't a wise move, as it's an uphill battle for anyone to sell a friend on going to a "Planet Hollywood hotel" in the first place. The hotel sells the company better, IMO.
If I had the opportunity to ask Earl a question, I'd ask whether Alfredo's is still scheduled to open (or will it now become a Bucca, though I hope not.) I went up to the upper level to see where it could be and noticed that Strip House and Koi pretty much consume the former fine dining space.
That plan was interesting to me because between Alfredo's and Earl of Sandwich, they have two imports from the Orlando mouse house that were hugely popular with tourists there (Alfredo's ended it's EPCOT deal to move to Vegas). At first I figured it was coincidence, but since he's talked about property in central FL now I'm not so sure.
Earl said P-Ho has a croisant "better than sex"?
Maybe another reason to go there.
Heather and I go to Buca in Summerlin quite often. It is often crowded there.
BTW- In my opinion, I liked the Alladin theme better than the P-Ho theme.
Regarding Carrot Top- First off, I do not know Carrot Top personally and have only met him a few times, nor does he need me to defend him, still, why do people insist he has or currently uses steroid? One listener said something like, "Look at him 5 or 10 years ago." Uh, ok. So? People can change their physique for better or worse over a period of time. Imagine if all you had to do while on the road is write jokes and perform and work out on your personal gym that travels with you. Don't you think you may put on some muscle mass?
Finally- As I type this I can see the P-Ho pool. You were right Steve, it is nothing special. A basic 'L' shape with some foliage and bright yellow umbrellas. Certainly not in the same league as Caesars or Bellagio or Manadalay Bay or Luxor or MGM or, well, you get the point.
The best thing about Planet Hollywood is at 1 PM in the afternoon -- it's the "Wes Winters Liberace Tribute Show".
Wes does a great tribute to Liberace but is even better doing his own songs. His piano player is mind-blowing, and you have to hear him sing to know how great his talent is.
For a fabulous time, go see Wes' show at PH. It's $24.95, at 1 PM every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Post a Comment