The Show is UP: Holly Madison's Stars

Alrighty, folks. Here's a new show! And folks who download the show might already know that for the past few weeks we've been adding a time guide to help you navigate to parts of the show you want. It's below and it's in the show notes on the Web version. Enjoy. Click on the date below to play or right-click to save the show. Or you subscribe -- for free -- in iTunes or Zune and you'll always get it first. -sf

May 22: The Spawn of Holly

Oscar Goodman may be working overtime to ensure his wife replaces him as the official face of Vegas, but it's been a heckuva lot easier for the city's unofficial mascot, Holly Madison, to spread her fame among her minions. Her longtime personal assistant, Angel Porrino, is now a star in the new Caesars Palace hit "Absinthe" and her best gay boyfriend, "Peepshow" singing star Josh Strickland, recently landed atop iTunes with his first single. And, to hear them tell it, they owe a huge debt to one particular former Hugh Hefner girlfriend. Porrino met Holly while testing to be a Playboy Playmate and Strickland, who created the role of Tarzan on Broadway and was a contestant on the second season of American Idol, became fast friends with the blonde bombshell when she joined the Planet Hollywood topless production.

In Banter: Bye to Sahara and Jerry Lewis, hi to Rod Stewart, hi and bye to Lotto Express, a maybe-hi to Google’s driverless cars, yay to Absinthe and more.

Open & Banter: Start to 24ish
Angel Porrino interview: 25-53
Trivia/Poll/Letters: 54-1:04ish
Josh Strickland interview: 1:05-1:49ish
TSTToTW: 1:49-end

Links to stuff discussed

Josh Strickland’s website, Twitter and hit single
Peepshow’s website
Absinthe site
Angel Porrino’s Wikipedia page and Twitter
Sahara owner Sam Nazarian’s load of bs to Johnny Kats
VegasHappensHere.Com on the Sahara progressive drawing and the media coverage of the closure
Pollstar.Com on Rod Stewart coming to the Colosseum
The Washington Post on Jerry Lewis’ MDA Telethon retirement
Hear our Jerry Lewis interviews form 2007 and 2010The site for Total Rewards Marketplace
The R-J on the brief life of Lotto Express
The L.A. Times has video of the Google driverless cars idea and Consumerist has the Nevada angle
Yelp’s assessment of Serendipity3
VegasInc on Venetian-Palazzo profit drop caused, perhaps, by LVS pulling most of its comps
Also, Wynn defends Adelson
Steve’s column for the Weekly about how the recession could help the city
NPR’s The State of the ReUnion episode on Vegas
The NYT Times Talk podcast that Strickland was on with Tim Rice

The Strip is LIVE Tonight @ 8pm PT

Oscar Goodman may be working overtime to ensure his wife replaces him as the official face of Vegas, but it's been a heckuva lot easier for the city's unofficial mascot, Holly Madison, to spread her fame among her minions. Her longtime personal assistant, Angel Porrino, is now a star in the new Caesars Palace hit "Absinthe" and her best gay boyfriend, "Peepshow" singing star Josh Strickland, recently landed atop iTunes with his first single. And, to hear them tell it, they owe a huge debt to one particular former Hugh Hefner girlfriend.

On this week's show, I spoke to both of Holly's proteges about their new endeavors, plastic surgery, backstage dramas, reality TV and much more.

We'll get started at 8 p.m. playing the Strickland interview until Miles is home and ready to do the proper show. Join us at http://ustre.am/tGQx to watch us and chat with other listeners. If you can't I'll try getting the podcast out as quickly as I can, so you can subscribe to The Strip (it's free!) in iTunes or Zune to get the latest show and various specials.

The Show is UP: Rick Thomas

Alrighty, another fun-filled episode heading your way. Click on the date below to listen or right-click to download and listen at your leisure or subscribe via iTunes or Zune.

Aug. 2: Rick Thomas Roars On

Seven years after an on-stage tiger attack ended careers of Siegfried & Roy, there’s still one magician on the Strip using the huge wild cats to stun and fascinate audiences. That’s Rick Thomas, who has bounced in his Vegas career from one resort to another and presently appears at the Sahara. Steve speaks to Thomas this hour about returning to the stage with his tigers after Roy’s injury, about what went wrong for Criss Angel, Hans Klok and Steve Wyrick and about why he hesitated before agreeing to take over the showroom at the Sahara.

In Banter: Gays stop traffic, Nora Ephron hearts SW Steakhouse, Louie Anderson gets a gig, Tony Curtis loses a gig, PA beats NV, Wynn unveils an app and Steve hunts for a car.

Links to Stuff Discussed:

Rick Thomas’s website
Steve’s AOL News piece on the gays stopping Strip traffic
MGM Resorts’ Fabulous Gay Weekend thingie
Norm Clarke on Louie Anderson’s new gig
VegasHappensHere.Com on Tony Curtis’ recovery and lost film role
The AP on PA’s outgrossing NV in gaming taxes
The Las Vegas Sun on Congress’ efforts to undo the online poker ban
VegasTripping has a peek-a-boo at Cosmo and a review of the Wynn iPhone app
VegasHappensHere.Com on Steve’s car-buying drama
Holly Madison’s big no-resort-fee splash at P-Ho
LasVegasDirect.Com offers a list of Vegas hotels with resort fees

Pictorial: Holly's Backstage World

Last week, I went backstage at Peepshow for a piece I'm working on and hung out for a little while with this blog's very own pin-up, Holly Madison. While I was in her dressing room, I shot a bunch of photos because the place had all sorts of tchotchkes and wall, uh, art. It is quite colorful.

All my pix can be found in this Flickr set, but here are some of the highlights. That, above, is Holly about to glue on her false lashes.

I also learned while I was there that Holly's under contract through the end of December and sales for Peepshow have improved with the success of her new reality show, Holly's World. So various reports of the show's demise have been exaggerated, again.

Her famous dogs weren't with her, but when they are, here's where they chill:


The door...


...and her bobblehead, pez and some boobs:


Check out the Flickr set to see the sheep-humping art, the Peepshow Prayer and more.

Podcast-a-Palooza FOR YOUR LIFE!

OK, folks! As you can see above to your right, the Podcast-a-Palooza is approaching this SATURDAY at the Palms.

If you're unfamiliar, this is the second annual event during which Five Hundy, The Strip and the Vegas Gang perform 30ish-minute versions of their shows live in The Lounge (aka The Gossy Room) at the Palms. Admission is free and runs from 4-6 pm PT, will be LIVE-STREAMED online starting at 3:45 p.m. and will feature Queen of Vegas Holly Madison as our guest and MGM veep Gordon Absher chatting with the Vegas Gang. I suspect Five Hundy's guest will be Jack Daniels. Our emcee is Wings For Wheels and Popdose podcaster Dave Lifton and Scott Whitney of the Living In LV show will join the podcasters' roundtable and Q-and-A when it's all over.

Thing is, I didn't know until today what VegasTripping's Chuck Monster (a Vegas Gang member) posted the other day. Planet Hollywood is really getting into it with some pretty nifty giveaways!

According to Chuck, here are some of the prizes we'll be drawing to give away:

* A small group of winners to take a guided tour of the still-under-construction PH Towers, a fascinating sneak peek two months before it opens!

* Six (6) pairs of tickets to see Peepshow.

* A two-night stay at Planet Hollywood, with two (2) tickets to see either Peepshow or America's Got Talent Live and a meal for two at the Spice Market Buffet. Specifics TBA on that one.

* Some other gift bags, too, with books, music and other swag.

So! Not only do you get to hang out and observe three of your favorite Vegas shows live for free but you could win, win, win!

Welcome to the new VegasHappensHere.Com!

Wow!

I didn't even know we had put it online already, but the amazing Sparky of Las Vegas plugged the thing in and the lights are all on so here we are! What do you think? I know it may take some getting used to, but it was time to kick it up a notch around here and that Holly Madison photo couldn't be wasted! (Maybe I should take a page from the vermin Perez Hilton and rename myself Holy Madison or something...)

A word about the thought process behind the way VegasHappensHere.Com is now branded. My inspiration over the past several years has been Nikki Finke, the L.A. Weekly columnist who has turned herself into probably the most important journalist in the Hollywood business thanks to her blog, Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily. In fact, when I decided to change the name from The Strip Podcast Blog to Vegas Happens Here, I did so after considering renaming it Deadline Vegas as an homage to Finke before realizing just how derivative that would seem.

So the content of this site remains exactly the same. You'll find breaking news and incisive commentaries about the Vegas entertainment and business scene as well as photo journeys into places that others don't get access to. This site remains a portal for "The Strip" podcast and "The Strip Sense" columns in the Las Vegas Weekly and a space for musings about my personal and family endeavors, too.

Oh, and here's a tease: You're about to see a bit more of me on TV. When it comes to pass, you'll understand why this site needed an overhaul. Stay tuned!

Obviously, there will be more tweaks to come, some fun new graphical ideas and widgets and such. And we welcome your advice! Thanks again to Sparky! Did I give out his link? Oh, I did? Well, can't do so too often. And here's Sparky's claim to fame:

Vegas Friday Foto Fun

[Update: A commenter noted that the KYK4FSH plate could be related to this fishing group. Totally possible!]

I don't have much time -- still laboring to get back on track after the benefit -- but I've had these images sitting on my desktop waiting for their blog moments. When better than a Friday of a holiday weekend?

First of all, someone needs to tell Google Maps...


...that the Boardwalk Hotel is no more. Isn't it odd what they have on the map and what they don't? Miracle Mile Shops is there but P-Ho isn't? Boardwalk is there but that gateway to CityCenter, Monte Carlo is MIA? Was the Boardwalk ever the most significant landmark in that area of the Strip?

Next, here is yet another reason...


...to love Holly Madison.

I had to be at the Hard Rock one Sunday recently when Rehab, the original Sunday pool party, was going on. Beyond how impressed I was by the crowds...



...I was also amused by the display case.


And as if the implants weren't enough, they have these T-shirts:


It made me wonder. Other than the sexual connotation of "I rubbed one out," I can't think of any other connotation. Am I missing something or is this simply a single entendre? Why not just write, "I spunked in the pool at Rehab" or something? Same thing, no?

I was stuck at a light up on the north end of the Strip the other day and wondered as I stared at this billboard...


...whether Arthur Weiner gets many calls these days.

And, finally, a little license plate fun. Or something. Is this...


...not offensive to Jews? What does it mean, anyway? My instinct is that's code for "Jew for Jesus," but I'm a little surprised the Nevada DMV would OK the use of a slur on a license plate.

And $100,000 later...

Wow. I'm sorry I didn't blog yesterday after the Michael Jackson tribute benefit and all its ancillary activities, but I've had my mom and two of my sisters here and yesterday we all had a celebratory lunch with Erich's family. But we did it! We raised $100,000+ for music education programs and put on a dazzling show.

I'll write more later, but at the moment Miles forgot his phone and I have to take it to him at work, then take my mom and sister to the airport. Also, I have to write my column about the event. So the fun hasn't stopped. But I leave you with this:My very first Flickr photo album.

And here's my favorite shot:


'Nuff said. Well, not really. But for now.

The Show is UP: Keeping Up With Joan

Somehow even with all the MJ tribute craziness, we managed to pull off a pretty good show with the irrepressible Joan Rivers. She's spunky, that one. No time for an AAC edition, though, and I've been advised NOT to split the feed in two, so I may abandon the AAC format so as to not annoy the non-iTunes peeps out there with burdensome extra download material. People really hate that, so I've learned. Anywho, right-click on the date below and save it to your computer. Or you can subscribe (it's free!) via this iTunes link or via this Zune link.

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

The Show is UP: Holly Madison

Sorry I'm so late getting this up! It's been a very long day with two NYT assignments and lots of MJ benefit conference calls. Now I'm heading out to see Charo at the Riv. Don't be mean about that; I hear she's really good. There's a prospect I'll fall asleep, I'm so exhausted, but I'll grab a Red Bull or something. As for the Holly chat, the live chat room fell silent during this conversation when we played some of it then. When I wondered about the silence, one listener wrote, "This is really surprisingly interesting, so I'm just listening." Cool, huh? Check it out. You know the drill: click on the date below to listen or right-click and save to your computer. Or subscribe (it's free!) via this iTunes link or via this Zune link. -sf

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

Titty Smackdown: Crazy Horse v Peepshow

It is true, this show was not for me. Literally. "Crazy Horse Paris" is a burlesque show at MGM Grand that, ostensibly, exists primarily to turn on heterosexual men. And there's nothing wrong with that, exactly. It's what this city was built on, right?

Except that I feel a little sorry for the heterosexual guys out there. You deserve better.

I was primed to like this show, which I finally got out to see last night because of the publicity stunt that is the blink-and-miss-her guest star gig by ex-"Baywatch" jiggler Carmen Electra. The posters look cool, the showroom was intimate and exotic and so much else about MGM Grand these days is all so classy. Plus, R-J columnist Doug Elfman said the other day when we were prepping to begin our semi-regular sparring match on KNPR that he considered CHP to be the best, most artistic stripper show in the city.

Sigh. I suppose that could be so if you ignore the awful choreography, simplistic tableaus, kaleidoscopic lighting, extremely poor lip-synching and comical costumes. There were some geniunely erotic and creative moments -- there's a scene where we see just the bottom half of a woman with a perfectly formed bottom and legs as she removes her stockings -- but more often it's a bunch of women bopping around in wigs, doing something repetitive until the music ran out. All yours for $60 a seat; what's it cost for a pole dance at Olympic Gardens these days?

And Carmen Electra? That was just...sad. Like a couple of years ago when we all got snookered into seeing the atrocious Hans Klok magic show at P-Ho because Pamela Anderson was in it, we all waited and waited and waited for the former Mrs. Rodman-Navarro to appear and she finally did about halfway through. She showed no boobies at that point, just shook her big hair about and rolled around on a lip-shaped couch. Yawn. She returned a good 20 minutes later to dance with some bendy poles, vulgarly grinding her g-stringed crack into one of them and sort of obliterating the patina of high-class CHP pretends to attain. Oh, and she showed one breast at the end of the misery, clad in a pasty which, I'm now told by every straight male reader of this blog, doesn't count.

Carmen, in the show through this weekend, does return in one final scene fully topless -- and her surgically created boobs are quite lovely with a cute flair to the nipples -- so I guess the vaginally inclined boys got what they wanted and seemed forgiving of how brief the satisfaction was. But I kept feeling sorry for Carmen that, at 37, she was reduced to such tawdriness to pay the mortgage. There could be no other explanation for why she's there other than the money; she sure didn't put a whole lot of pride in making the performance much.

There are dissenting opinions, to be sure. The R-J's Norm Clarke Tweeted during the show: "Carmen is writhing on the red velvet couch in the shape of Michelle Pfeifer's lips. Eat you hearts out Baker Boys." A few moments later, he Tweeted this: "Swinging door routine...they might be the 8 --ok who's counting -- most breathtaking performers on stage at one time in Vegas."

But even Norm seemed to lose interest; his next two Tweets, sent during the show, were about the Vegas location of the Travelocity Travel Gnome. I thought maybe someone else was Tweeting that stuff for him, but then he wrote: "But I digress....back to the Land of Merkin...and the Hot Legs routine."

OK, so you're thinking, "You're GAY. What do you know about shows about sexy women?" Fair enough. Except that I love "Peepshow" at Planet Hollywood. That is a show with high production value, a bit of a story, original music sung live and really creative ways of presenting gorgeous topless women. Also, at the moment, it has another It Girl, Holly Madison, who unlike Carmen is actually in her career prime. Holly's also required to do a little actual dancing and acting, however uncomfortable she may appear doing so.

The irony of all this is that Crazy Horse Paris is more akin to Crazy Girls, the struggling Riviera show whose operators insist remains a viable business despite a nightly audience of about 100 -- and God knows how few of those suckers paid full price -- and a cast larger than the now-gone "An Evening at La Cage." The most important difference between the two, besides the fact that CHP admittedly has more beautiful women, is that Crazy Girls doesn't pretend to be high art. CHP does, but it ain't.

BREAKING: Shoshana Bean Replacing Mel B in Peepshow

Gotta run now to the Gans presser, but wanted to get this out.

Broadway actress Shoshana Bean is en route to Vegas to take over from Mel B the lead role of emcee/narrator/PeepDiva in the Jerry Mitchell burlesque "Peepshow" at Planet Hollywood. Bean has starred in Wicked and Hairspray. She starts on June 22, as does Holly Madison, who replaces "Dancing With The Stars" star Kelly Monaco as Bo Peep.

Here's Shoshana's site. Mel B's role had no nudity, so it's unlikely Shoshana will be called into topless duty, either. Jerry Mitchell will be in Vegas next week to work with Madison. No word when Bean gets here.

Both Bean and Madison are on three-month contracts.