Robert Earl Hates Me: The Column

Here's my take on the Robert Earl flap for LasVegasWeekly.Com.

More tales of the thin-skinned city

by Steve Friess

It took a few days for the phone to ring. I had expected it. I just didn’t expect quite what I heard from the other end of the line.

Robert Earl, the impresario who just relaunched the Planet Hollywood brand as well as his own career after ruining both in the 1990s, was hopping mad. I can’t say I was surprised.

Over the weekend, I penned a piece for the Sunday Telegraph in London about the Planet Hollywood grand “opening” and all the celebrities who were to attend the bash of all bashes. I even quoted Robin Leach, who gushed on his blog that “this may well go down as the biggest showbiz weekend in Vegas history.” In a scant 500 words, I provided Earl himself 20 percent of my space to speak and elsewhere gave great detail about what Earl’s been up to with the former Aladdin.

But I knew trouble was coming when I saw the headline to my piece on the Internet before leaving for Saturday night’s party: “Planet Hollywood's Vegas casino rolls out. Robert Earl's celebrity friends will be at the party -- again -- but it feels phony.” Yes, “phony.” It’s British.

That headline was, indeed, weird. I hadn’t made any such pronouncements about whether the sensibility of the event seemed false, but that was the impression most people would take away from the headline. It was problematic, yes.

It came about, though, because I opted to turn to one of the Vegas-watchers I respect, Hunter Hillegas from RateVegas.com, for balance. As a journalist, I’ve developed a list of observers whose expertise and independence is unimpeachable while still being eminently quotable. Hunter has become one of mine and he happened to be available on short notice in the four hours I had to write the piece.

Here’s what Hunter had to say about Earl’s reworking of the property and the self-conscious flooding of celebrities into the hotel: “It feels very fake. He's got a lot of celebrity friends, but it still feels totally phony to me. The kind of people he's getting are on the way out, they're not up-and-comers. I have serious doubts of the prospects of Planet Hollywood on a long-term scale.”

When Earl called me, I figured he would be angry about the headline. He had every right to be. But as someone who has been in the public eye and in business for so many years, I also assumed he would know that I don’t write headlines and that my piece itself was a balanced look at the story. The vast majority of it was what he ought to have viewed as “positive,” and he should’ve been able to tolerate some criticism.

Still, the entire piece was tainted by the headline, and I conceded that point to Earl. But that’s not where he stopped. He ranted on about who the hell this RateVegas.com guy was, why he ought to have credibility and how I could possibly defend this “piece of sh-t.”

Read the rest here.

This week's LVW col: Robert Earl

Here's this week's LVW column. The full Robert Earl interview will air on the podcast either next week or the week after, postponed by the live Elaine Wynn event this weekend. Enjoy. -sf

His name is Earl
He may have lost control of Planet Hollywood, but a wiser Robert Earl is no Vegas flop

By STEVE FRIESS

Vegas is a tough town to break into. Because the gaming business is seen from afar as an easy-money racket, all manner of showboaters, dilettantes and charlatans believe all they need to make it on the Strip is money and an oversized ego. The story of those hubrists’ flops are both repetitive and legend.

That’s why I must stand up for a man I fully expected to fail, who arrived from—almost literally—another planet, with the kind of unearned bravado that so typified all the previous wannabes who became never-had-beens. He was loud and proud and believed that just because he knew other hospitality-related businesses he could conquer Sin City, too.

He fell short, ’tis true, and his Planet Hollywood resort is now being absorbed into the Harrah’s universe. But I’m here to say that, while it may seem otherwise, Robert Earl was no Vegas failure.

The fact is, Earl did everything he promised back in 2003, when he acquired the moribund, desperate, horrifically designed Aladdin for $800 million. He took a place with a theme rendered radioactive by 9/11 and spent $1 billion making it bright and accessible on the outside, sultry and hip on the inside. He vowed to deploy his star-laden Rolodex in the service of rebooting the Planet Hollywood brand and he did so beyond anyone’s expectations, with constant film premieres and those big beauty pageants and one ubiquitous mascot known as Holly Madison.

Earl formally lost control of the property last month as Harrah’s, which had bought up Planet Hollywood debt, commandeered the company. The enterprise was heavily financed and then beaten to a pulp by the Great Recession, the same situation faced by almost every operator in Vegas.

Unlike the others, though, the 58-year-old Brit ran out of time. He did nothing wrong, per se; that $1 billion he plunged into the transformation of the Aladdin to the Planet Hollywood was completely necessary to make the place viable. Earl just hit a bad beat and didn’t have the depth to weather it.

“In a nutshell, the days of individual entrepreneurs on the Las Vegas Strip, with the exception of Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson, are over,” Earl said by phone last week from the CanyonRanch SpaClub in Tucson, lest anyone worry about his ability to make ends meet.

Read the rest at LasVegasWeekly.Com.

Show is UP: Robert Earl

Here's the show, which has been in the feed since Sunday. In fact, most weeks the show is in the feed a day or more before it get it on the site or blog! Another reason to subscribe (it's free!) in iTunes or in Zune. Click on the date below to make it play or right-click to save it and listen at your leisure. Enjoy!

April 19: Robert Earl's Exit Interview

Back when he was unveiling the former Aladdin as the new Planet Hollywood casino, owner Robert Earl made some pretty lofty claims about what his resort would mean for Vegas. That was then. Earlier this year, Earl turned over control of the property to Harrah’s Entertainment, unable to keep his head above water amid these unprecedented, perilous economic times. Earl, naturally, has no regrets as he explains in this episode what his role will be going forward and why the old one-property entrepreneur model of Strip ownership is, for the most part, dead. Other topics on the agenda: CityCenter, Prive, the Palms and his memorabilia stash.

David McKee of the Las Vegas Advisor fills in for Vegas, bantering about Macau perils, CityCenter data, Matt Goss branding, surprising Strip charges and much more.

Links

David McKee’s blog, Stiffs & Georges
Matt Goss’ website
Caesars Palace’s Cleopatra’s Barge
RateVegas.Com on CityCenter’s damaging data
The NWiR episode with Steve debating Rich Velotta on whether it’s too soon to judge CityCenter
Bobby Baldwin admits to David Schwartz in Vegas Seven that the Aria casino is dark
MGM Mirage’s food seminars at Whole Foods courtesy (via SaveLV.Com)
Steve’s profile of Stephen Siegel and VegasHappensHere.Com post on Rumor
News of Prive’s closing, the big travel convention that’s coming and Philly Inq’s casino

The Show is UP: The Earl of Vegas

Here we go again! Enjoy our big chat with Planet Hollywood C.E.O. Robert Earl. Click on the date to hear it or right-click to download the show and listen whenever you want. Or subscribe via iTunes here or via Zune 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 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

Robert Earl Hates Me

I just got off the phone with Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl, who tells me he will never speak to me again because of my piece in the Sunday Telegraph of London about the Planet Hollywood opening. He's not just pissed about the misleading headline, which I didn't write but which I agree is problematic, but in general that I dared quote someone like Hunter Hillegas from RateVegas.Com as an independent observer.

More to come on this - and we'll discuss tonight on the live show.

The Strip is LIVE tonight w/ ROBERT EARL!

What a difference a year makes! Last fall, the Planet Hollywood CEO Robert Earl vowed never to speak to me because of an article in the UK media about the brand relaunch upset him. But last month, we buried the hatchet and this week he granted his first podcast interview in which he discusses our feud, his latest business dealings and, yes, even whether that "Planet Ho" sign was intentional!

Join us in the chat at LVRocks.Com from 7-8 p.m. PT for this week's live show. Plus, we'll discuss Vegas news, catch up on listener feedback, have a new poll and, as always, the Top Secret Tourist Tip of the Week. Or wait till Thursday for the podcast.

The Strip Is LIVE Sat w/ Robert Earl

Ex-Planet Ho resort owner Robert Earl is this week's guest on The Strip, talking about why he had to cede control of the resort to Harrah's, what he thinks of CityCenter and what his role in Vegas is now. PLUS, guest host David McKee of the Las Vegas Advisor's Stiffs & Georges blog will fill in for Miles, who has to work. I've consigned the task of drumming up a Top Secret Tourist Tip of the Week to McKee, too.

Join us 5-6 p.m. PT at LVRocks.Com for to listen, watch via webcam and chat with other fans. The podcast edition, of course, usually posts for subscribers (it's free!) by the end of the weekend.

Also join us from 4-5 p.m. for two new episodes of The Petcast. This week, we've got Dr. Patricia McConnell, pet blogger/author and former co-host of NPR's "Calling All Pets" in the first half-hour and then Dr. Marlene Zuk, who researches animal behavior and was recently quoted in this New York Times Magazine piece on whether animals can be gay.

So chill with us from 4-6 pm PT tomorrow. It's fun and we enjoy the company.

Planet Aladdin's Odd Preview

Pete Sampras looked like hell. Sugar Ray Leonard doesn't go by "Sugar" anymore. Pepsi commercials were shown. Carmen Electra was somewhere on the Planet Mars, not Planet Hollywood.

And that wasn't the half of it. In one of the most truly odd press events I've ever attended, a man who looks like a cross between Dudley Moore and that short guy from L.A. Law stood on a stage in a mammoth theater once where Elvis was adored and Linda Ronstadt was booed (I was there!) and read from a script about all of the new restaurants, bars and amenities his "new" Vegas resort is going to have. (His image was also projected on two large, somewhat creepy oval screens floating in ginormous metal hands such as you see here.)

This was the much-hyped "preview" of the new Planet Hollywood, although the most significant thing to occur today is that we in the media are heretofore permitted to refer to it simply as Planet Hollywood and not the Aladdin or, even more awkwardly, the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood. Most of us are still enjoying referring to it as Planet Ho, as the marquee read for a day last week.

So they held a press conference today where nobody got to ask any questions -- not even Robin Leach! Instead, we were treated to an overly produced speech by Planet Hollywood CEO Robert Earl, who is hoping his Vegas property returns him to prominence after he admittedly overbuilt the Planet Hollywood brand into bankruptcy earlier this decade. He talked about things that Vegas CEOs don't normally discuss -- can you imagine Steve Wynn getting all hot about his deal to, say, exclusively serve Pepsi? (Apparently the soft-drink maker is putting promotional info about the hotel-casino on 12 million cans this summer. Oh, and a Coke cup was used in "Stomp Out Loud," by the way.)

There is certainly a lot of interesting stuff happening here, most notably a restaurant lineup that will include Strip House (which in Las Vegas joins Social House and StripSteak to add new confusion), Alfredos (by the folks who invented Fettucini Alfredo) and Earl of Sandwich (by an 8th-generation member of the guy who thought to put meat between bread).

Late in the proceedings, Earl announced he's having three "sports ambassadors" to the property, though what their jobs are is anyone's guess, and out pops Pete Sampras, Roger Clemens and (not-Sugar) Ray Leonard. Clemens looks bigger than I ever imagined him to be but oddly like Nick Lachey on steroids, Leonard looked about right and Sampras looked...barely ambulatory. His thinning hair was in disarray and he gripped the back of his hips the way Grandpa Joe Simpson would. The three of them actually bumped into one another as they were about to leave and Earl bellowed at them to stay where they were on stage!

Next we got a preview of the Faster Than Magic show by German illusionist Hans Klok and co-starring Carmen Electra. She did not participate in the preview, which had to do with making a woman in a box disappear and reconstituting an apparently torn up newspaper. You know, original stuff. I noted to a friend next to me that the flowing-blond German magician seemed like the second coming of Siegfried and some ass sitting ahead of me turned to crack: "Oh, I'm sure Siegfried's come twice many times." Ew.

The finale was Bruce Willis, a partner in the Planet Hollywood, appearing to announce the Grand Opening date of Sept. 28-29 and promising the best party Vegas has ever seen. Which is doubtful since that would have to be the premiere of "Zumanity," when they carpeted the top floor of the New York-New York parking lot and had a human mobile dangle from a mammoth crane for entertainment.

The hotel, by the way, looks sensational, vastly improved from the monstrosity that was Aladdin Deux. Here are shots of the lobby, an overview of the casino and a shot of a room, each of which is themed with a different movie's memorabilia. This one is the Pulp Fiction room, though you can't really see that from this.

Pam's New Trick @ Planet Ho

So our observation that Carmen Electra didn't seem to be "there" at the Planet Hollywood press event last week and rumors in Norm's column that she was being difficult proved prescient. She's out before the thing even starts.

Alas, Carmen always was the pretender "Baywatch" Babe, and so here comes the real thing, a much more jovial and upbeat Pamela Anderson, who popped out of a box today. She seemed very happy to be there and will serve as Klok's assistant in "The Beauty of Magic."

You can hear the raw audio -- it's about 8 mins -- of the big event here on a special edition of "The Strip", including a rare press-conference question asked by yours truly that revealed she'll start out on a three-month contract.

There were a couple of cringe-worthy moments on this audio:

* MAJOR WHHSH VIOLATION: "What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas," Robert Earl said. "Carmen is gone. She didn't stay in Vegas." Groan. Ick. Sigh.

* BROKEN GAYDAR?: Hans Klok has an extremely fey on-stage presence, not to mention he's the spitting image of Siegfried. But then he goes on about how he used to watch "Baywatch" and always thought Pam was "hot." So maybe it's not that he's gay; maybe he's just European.

* MALAPROP MAN - OR NOT: "Is that your first ever trick?" Earl asked Pam.

Finally, I know get no points for this because I didn't blog it, but last night I guessed the mystery star would be Pam both to the show's publicist, who wouldn't spill it, and to Miles. So there. But Norm tells me that they also tried to get Paris Hilton. I like this choice much better, don't you?

Want to SEE it instead of listening? Check out RawVegas.tv's footage!

Wynn Atty Writes To VegasTripping

Sigh.

Irony -- and parody -- may be dead in Vegas.

The fine folks at VegasTripping.Com were working on a funny little parody website, WynnCore.Com. This is all that there is right now...


...but that's also pretty funny -- and deliberately so -- because the WynnLasVegas.Com site is notorious for being inexplicably slow to load.

Well, the Wynn peeps aren't amused and they sent this nastygram (click to enlarge if necessary) to Chuck at VegasTripping.Com:



Basically, they're telling Chuck of VegasTripping: We own it, take it down, give us the keys, thanks a ton, love ya.

Except there is this thing known as parody, it's why Sarah Palin can't sue Tina Fey and it has legal standards. Chuck was the one who coined the merged term "Wynncore" for the Siamese-sister "world famous resort, hotel, casino complexes." That shorn term is now in wide use across the Vegas-centric Web. (Speaking of which, we never hear much of MEGACENTER(tm) anymore, do we, LVS?)

That said, Wynn's lawyers -- taking a much-deserved break from their effort to make it impossible for Grandma to stuff Garth Brooks tickets into Junior's stocking this Christmas -- have deep pockets. Chuck was surprised by the letter and is considering his options.

"The whole thing is just preposterous," he told me tonight. "The artist in me says that we should defend ourselves but the banker in me says we can't afford to. Spending a lot of money to defend a half-baked gag for something with limited appeal that was intended to amuse about 15 people doesn't make any sense, but it is a parody website. What we're doing here is not all that different than what Andy Warhol did with Campbell's soup can."

I think he underestimates the humor potential. The Wynn site, like the man himself, is eccentric and unique, forcing users to wait and having Wynn's dulcetto narrating things as though he's cooing to a lover. The possibilities are endless.

Chuck said he's likely to remove the content but that he isn't planning to just fork over the domain name.

Meanwhile, this incident brought out an absolutely charming bit of Vegasacana from Hunter Hillegas of RateVegas.Com. Back in 2003, he received this gem:


Is that not the greatest thing since Ted Stevens' Series of Tubes? Oddly, there's no secretarial notation, so is it really possible Wynn himself typed this? And how is it Hunter didn't remember this back when Robert Earl was making it his life's work to bring him down?

Hunter said on his Twitter (get it?): "I wrote back saying, thanks for your concern but 'sorry, no dice'. Asking for no coverage was a non-starter."

P.S. to Hunter: How about scanning in the whole letterhead? I'm dying to see what the logo looked like back then. That's just FUG. I'm sure Roger Thomas would disavow.

[Full disclosure/Gratuitous Brag: I was VegasTripping.Com's Person of the Year for 2007, the very apex of my career.]

The Gays, The Jews and Vegas

There is a pathetic creature out there who reads this blog religiously and never seems to miss the podcast but who is nonetheless livid that Miles and I are gay and that we talk about our lives as if -- get this! -- they were normal. He even spends his time posting homophobic messages on this blog under old posts that nobody is reading anymore (I get email alerts to all new posts or I'd miss it, too) and has debates with himself, pretending to be more than one poster. It's very odd. And always loaded with bad grammar and spelling because kooky fundamentalists are uniformly averse to the English language.

Still, even wacky, virulent homophobes have their days, and this may just be his. Thinking he was hurting my feelings, he passed along this very useful link from a Swedish newspaper reporting that Swedish magician Joe Labero (pictured above) bitched to an in-flight magazine about why he can't get work in Las Vegas:

"I don't mean to sound prejudiced of course, I'm just cynical. A blond Swedish Viking will have a hard time breaking through the hierarchies that control Vegas, where power rests in the hands of Jewish business syndicates, American dollar millionaires and homosexual booking agents."

Fascinating. Did you know this? Planet Ho is installing a Dutch magician, Hans Klok, who is reportedly not gay, American or Jewish, and he's been hired by P.Ho CEO Robert Earl, who again is none of those things. There's Steve Wyrick, Nathan Burton, Lance Burton, David Copperfield and Criss Angel -- none are gay (not openly anyhow) and none are Jews. True, Siegfried & Roy are gay but would never admit it, but they sure weren't Jewish or American. We're not entirely sure they were even Earthlings.

Could it be that Mr. Labero is just not very good? Look at this clip below -- he's cutting a woman into pieces in a box. Gosh, Vegas really needs its 18th version of THAT trick. And the close-ups of him -- what's with the 1980s-hair-band look? -- I wonder about his protestations of heterosexuality anyhow.




Interestingly, He did go on to apologize for the remarks yesterday. You know, because he didn't mean to sound prejudiced. Of course.

Anyhow, being gay and Jewish myself -- and left-handed and hearing impaired, what a list! -- I'd like to speak on behalf of this city when I answer this other comment made by Mr. Labero:

"But I will get there, sooner of later."

I'm thinking not.

Planet Hollywood Towers: A Special Preview

Because Planet Hollywood (@phVegas) actually understands the significance of New Media, Hunter Hillegas of RateVegas.Com and I got to take a first-look tour of the Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate today along with a group of lucky attendees of Saturday's Vegas Podcast-a-Palooza at the Palms. Vegas Bill (@VegasBill), who keeps tabs on all sorts of Vegasy goings-on on Twitter and his site, was one of those attendees as well.

This building, it must be said, is a very odd place. I'm not sure if I mean that in a good or bad way; it will take on a different life when it opens in December. But P-Ho-To is a different animal isasmuch as it is a fractional-ownership condo-hotel with 1,201 units. That means some people buy shares in it, others buy them outright and others just book on Travelocity or wherever.

It starts out well with the front desk...


...and a nice swimming pool just off the naturally-lit lobby:


But, strangely, they're saying only guests of the tower get to use this pool. I say that's strange because I asked P-Ho owner Robert Earl once whether he planned to renovate the hideous pool areas he inherited from the idiot Aladdin developers and he said that it wasn't really doable but that the new towers would have better pools. I'll have to dig up the quote, but I'm sure he was saying that guests of both P-Ho and P-Ho-To would get to use them. Hard to imagine it now because the pool at P-Ho-To was nice but not really big enough to accommodate thousands of guests.

Anyhow, the fun of a first-look tour is seeing stuff still underwraps. This is the lobby...


...the escalator from P-Ho-To's valet entrance...


...the elevator faceplate...


...the 10,000-square-foot ballroom (dunno what this mound of furniture's for)...


...and the hallway.


On the 30-something floor, we visited a 1-bdr suite and an attached (if you want it that way) studio. The 1-bdrs have these beautiful kitchens:


The whole kitchen thing led to a discussion amongst us tourists (tourers?) about whether people staying at, say, Trump or Signature actually use those kitchens. Hunter says yes. I'm dubious beyond maybe the fridge and microwave. Where do they shop? (Soon, P-Ho-To will have Whole Foods at The Crystals at CityCenter, tis true.)

Here's the bathroom -- that's a shower to the left, a WC to the right:


And here's the living room area:


One of the coolest features I'd never heard of before is that these suites will have blackout curtains for the windows upon which the TV can be projected if guests so desire. They'll watch movies or TV or whatever. That's pretty clever.

You know a British guy owns the place when the trash chutes are labeled thusly, huh?:


Next we went to the 55th floor (right, guys?) and saw the 2-bedroom suites. Before I show that, though, I ought to show an exterior of the building. Note below the pink pointy tip jutting out?
Well, this is what that pink part looks like from the inside:


It's a pink zone! Here's what it looks like with people in it...


...and this is what CityCenter looks like:


I came really close to titling this post "Planet Hollywood Towers by Barbie." I mean, wow. And, yes, it was a bit warm in that space, too. It's just...strange. Elle Woods would be thrilled.

I didn't take particularly good photos of the furnishings, much of which weren't in the suite anyhow. I'm sure that Hunter has some great stuff that he'll undoubtedly post on the blog of RateVegas.Com. He's already posted several on @Hunter Twitter feed.

But, as I am wont to do, a few more oddball observations. First, this is the view of the Marriott Grand Chateau and Polo Towers.


You may not be able to see it, but I did not know that both have rooftop pools. Why don't more of the Vegas resorts do this, I wonder. Seems pretty awesome to me.

Second, this is the carpet in the hallway on the higher floor we visited:


It's getting trashed by bits of construction crud and movers and such. Wouldn't it make sense to lay the carpeting last, after all the hard work is done so it doesn't look hagged out before you even open?

I just loved VegasBill's Blackberry case...


Summation: I dunno. The views are terrific, the furnishings seem modern and sleek, the kitchens looked fabulous and...I don't know who's coming. Or what they're eating, since the building will only have one restaurant and they're not even sure if (a) it'll be open when P-Ho-To opens or (b) what sort of fare it will offer.

Since they're not going to be able to sell many fractionals for quite a while, it's essentially another 1,200 hotel rooms added to the oversupply at the same time as thousands more open across the street. If CityCenter really drives in new Vegas tourism, then P-Ho-To is in a great position to be the more affordable new experience with great access to the other one. Time will tell and five years from now I suspect both skeptics and optimists will see evidence that they were right.

Planet Ho's Big Night

I'm resting up before I head out this evening to partake in the grand opening of Planet Hollywood, which Robin Leach predicts on his blog -- a bit excessively I posit -- "may well go down as the biggest showbiz weekend in Vegas history." They do have a lengthy list of stars showing up for the thing and the big crowner of the night will be a concert from Barbra Streisand.

Proving he's not really gay, Miles has opted not to come with me to see Streisand. Thus, my companion for the evening will be our friend Amy, co-host of the sisterly podcast Grits to Glitz. Proving she MIGHT have been gay in another life, she ran out and bought a new dress!

Meanwhile, the Planet Ho revival gave me a chance to sell my first piece to the British media, what with Robert Earl a famous Londoner and all. So read my account for the Sunday Telegraph of London here. And, if you're a British reader, any chance you can snag me a copy tomorrow and mail it my way?

The Show is UP: In The Valli Of Jersey

Because I'm in Florida visiting my parents and will be traveling home tomorrow, I figured I'd put this post up now. Our latest show featuring a conversation with the legendary Frankie Valli is now online. The show won't be in the RSS feed for iTunes or Zune subscribers until early Thursday, as always, but you can download it by right-clicking here or listen to it via your computer by clicking here right now.

May 15: In The Valli of Jersey

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. Valli talks about what covers he likes, why he left his Luxor contract so suddenly in 2005 and much more.

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

Show 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

David Saxe Explains, Sorta

The uberproducer David Saxe called this afternoon to explain the bizarre notice issued by his company on May 28 in which David Saxe Productions announced that "due to popular demand" the June 11-17 performances of the not-yet-open "Vegas! The Show" were sold out. The trouble was, the show's debut had been postponed June 18 and everyone at DSP knew that when this thing was sent.

Saxe did his best in our chat to marginalize me, going on about how he'd never been interrogated in this manner by a journalist and suggesting I call all my competitors for a better take on what a swell guy he is. You know, because a city's not worth much if its media doesn't adhere to groupthink, right? He even opened by asking what he'd done to make me hate him which, of course, was designed to force me to say I don't hate him.

And I don't. I also don't hate Nina Radetich, Matt Goss, Grandmother Kathy McClain, Michael Politz, Steve Wynn, Robert Earl, Jim Murren or any number of others I've found myself at odds with in the course of doing my job. It's not personal. To paraphrase what Sharron Angle said when I asked her to say something nice about Harry Reid, I'm sure they all love their families.

Anyhow, Saxe called, which is the stand-up thing to do. And this is a summary of his explanation:

1. He did not know that notice was going out and it was only intended for ticket brokers, not journalists.

2. It was not true that all of those shows were sold out, although it could have been because he had some group sales deal that would have filled the theater on the unseen, unfinished production for some of those dates.

3. Yes, I was correct that on May 28, when that notice went out, DSP knew the shows were not occurring, let alone that they were sold out.

The new show was expected to debut in the former Steve Wyrick Theater, now the David Saxe Theater, on June 11, but it's been pushed back because of renovations to Saxe's other Miracle Mile Shops showroom, the venerable V Theater. So shows in the V will take place in the new DST and the Vegas thing is scheduled to start June 18.

That's perfectly reasonable. So why claim this other stuff? Saxe said it's a normal part of his interactions with ticket brokers, that it is better to claim the shows were sold out rather than that for technical reasons the show isn't opening on time. This way the ticket brokers and group-sales people don't lose confidence in the show. (How they can have confidence in a show nobody's seen yet to begin with is an enduring mystery.)

"So we say, 'because of popular demand' as opposed to, 'Hey, we have to push it back because of X, Y or Z,' " Saxe said. "They put a little spin on it."

I kept asking Saxe why it's OK to say that to anyone -- journalists, business associates, Joe The Plumber -- and he kept (a) agreeing with me and then (b) insisting that it's just the way business is done between companies like his as ticket brokers.

"I didn’t love the wording, I didn’t agree to it, but whatever, if it looks like we're having technical difficulties, they don’t need to know the reason why," he said. "This is an inside industry thing between my ticket brokers and me."

It does feel like I've kicked over a bit of a hornet's nest here. Clearly this is a side of the Vegas ticket business that few people know of or understand. I have noticed those shows at the V Theater always, always, always have huge lines flooding into the mall. And some of them are shows I've enjoyed -- Gerry McCambridge made my top 10 list in the Weekly last year and Gregory Popovich was a guest on The Petcast's show No. 11 (out of 250 now, btw!)

Those shows are supported by an intense public marketing campaign -- it's hard to go anywhere without a Vegas.Com booth offering Saxe's fliers -- and coupons abound in Las Vegas magazine and elsewhere. Yet Saxe also clearly has an impressive entertainment machine rolling along that seems to hinge upon selling large blocks of seats to groups, too.

That's all well and good -- and totally fascinating to me -- but it still sets my Bullshit-O-Meter ticking when I see stuff like this and hear the explanation. Business is ugly, no doubt about it, but dishonesty in any form seems inappropriate even (especially?) when it's not an attempt to mislead journalists. That's all.

In the meantime, I'm sure David Saxe is a terrific fellow who loves his family. And, responding to another of his concerns, I hope I've found a photo of him more to his liking.

Show is UP: The Presidential Podcast

It's quite a presidential week here in Vegas, so the podcast reflects that with a fascinating chat with Bellagio pianist David Osborne as well as a brief, strangely contentious one with our old pal George Maloof. Fun stuff. Click on the date below to make it play or right-click to save it and listen at your leisure. You can subscribe, too, (it's free!) in iTunes or in Zune.

Feb. 15: A Presidential Podcast

What’s it like to host the president in your home? What’s it like to play the piano for the president at his home, that big white mansion in Washington D.C.? We’re about to answer both those questions, Vegas style. Palms owner George Maloof explains how he came to know President Obama and describes the hoopla around hosting him Thursday night for a Democratic fundraiser. Then Bellagio’s pianist David Osbourne talks about performing for six U.S. presidents including the last three at the White House. And while presidents are interesting, Osbourne’s story about the last vice president, Dick Cheney, is particularly bizarre.

In Banter: Harrah's gets P-Ho, Vegas gets Obama love, CityCenter does NOT get Obama love, another Lake Las Vegas closure, Chinese New Year is fun, the Viva Elvis party was not fun and why red ketchup is the new blue tape.

Links to stuff discussed:

Guest host Amy and Bay’s podcast, Grits to Glitz
David Osborne’s website where you can buy his music
YouTube channel for David Osborne work
Planet Hollywood is now part of Harrah's
The R-J’s piece on Robert Earl’s future
A photo of the psychadelic-looking Beijing Noodle No. 9
Articles about Casino Montelago, Hawaiian Tropic, Steve Wyrick and Krave problems
Greenspun v Station Casinos, per the Wall Street Journal
VegasMate, the iPhone app, from RateVegas.Com
Steve’s column about his VegasMate experience
The AP on the proposed McCarran liquor store plan
Steve’s AOLNews.Com and blog post on Chinese New Year
A summary of Viva Elvis reviews and Steve’s review
The classic shot of Gene Simmons pawing Amy’s hair
Steve’s AOLNews.Com piece on Obama’s visit and VegasHappensHere.Com posts on the Bellagio suite and Murren’s hopes

BREAKING: The new $25 million Mirage Volcano

There ya go - here's the first look at the rendering of the new Mirage volcano, which MGM Mirage is plunging $25 million into and which is expected to open by year's end.

Here's a video the MGM Mirage folks released just now with some behind-the-scenes stuff:



A few things to note:

* Massive fireballs will leap 12 feet into the air, thanks to the "latest developments in flame-expression technology" from WET, the folks behind the Bellagio Fountains. Lava will "flow" down the mountainside, perhaps much as it used to and the technology will "bring Las Vegas' signature blast within feet of spectators."

* There will be a musical score created by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and Indian music phenom Zakir Hussain. "Zakir and I immersed ourselves in the legends and myths and studied what really makes a volcano work," Hart says in the press release. "The result, a true union of the senses, will rattle your bones, just like a real volcano."

* It will a 7-minute show, considerably longer than the 2-minute original.

* Mirage president Scott Sibella, responding to Robin Leach's question, said they did consider moving the volcano off the sidewalk and closer to the building or inside. Steve Wynn, who created the feature, has said it was a mistake to give away the free entertainment and not force people to come inside. "It is something that we considered, but we knew we had this icon for going on 20 years," Sibella said. "We are thinking about ways to flow the people into the property in an easier manner."

It is also interesting that the press release says this is "the final step in the property's ongoing transformation." Final? It's always been my impression that, as Robert Earl mentioned on this week's podcast, there always must be something new coming up. Then again, the Mirage turns 20 next year, so I'm sure plenty of attention will be drawn to that.

Just to remind everyone -- or show non-Vegas-going readers (are there any?) what the old volcano was like, here's a decent YouTube video:

Vdara, The Opening Night

[Correction: That really is a Rauschenberg. It's on loan from Bellagio. I guess it wasn't part of the $40m acquisition, so it wasn't promoted. I stand corrected.]


I don't know how to gracefully swing from something as grave as dozens of colleagues becoming unemployed to this, but CityCenter's openings remain the most significant story in Las Vegas this year -- yes, it's bigger than the Ensign follies and more locally significant than anything Harry Reid may do in DC -- and I've got to continue to document it.

So...those lovelies above were models hired by CityCenter and party sponsor Vanity Fair to offer peeks of their cleavage at the soiree throughout the first floor of Vdara, which opened officially. I must admit that it was tickling to finally be able to turn right off the Strip onto Harmon Avenue and drive up under the Nancy Rubins boat sculpture. I just love that piece so much.

After that, though, HOLY CRAPOLINA, People! You WILL be confused about where to drive. I think I had to go around twice and find the right turn to get to Vdara valet. As I wrote in my post after my first tour, the place has a feel of a very modern-looking airport terminal in that respect. MAJOR troubles ahead in terms of confused motorists. And the entire place will snarl when there are serious accidents. Yikes.

I'm not as good at writing up design and interior descriptions as Chuck from VegasTripping.Com or Hunter from RateVegas.Com, but I got here first, so I'll give it my best shot.

Vdara's first floor -- haven't seen the rooms yet -- could easily be that of a Grand Hyatt or another upper-middle-end hotel. There's a bar, one restaurant, some sitting areas and some convention space tucked in one side. It's intended as a hotel-condo but, of course, there's no grocery store or small convenience store that I could see. Where do they think people who might live there would get their sundries? Baffling.

There is a definitive 1970s-ish vibe in the decor, which is headlined by this Frank Stella piece behind registration. I recall in the 1970s as a boy on Long Island, my dad's printing company office was adorned with reproductions of similar colorful-shape pieces like this:


I was happy to see some substantial carpeting on the lobby. It is my biggest worry about what I've seen of Aria so far, that they've got these huge wide-open spaces and lots of hard surfaces and nothing to absorb noise or make walking less punishing.

The restaurant, Silk Road, follows through with this using something I haven't seen anyone EVER use in Vegas: Wallpaper. And shiny, busy wallpaper at that. Here's the inside and out of it:


I actually liked the wallpaper and totally loved the big bottle installation over the bar. It reminded me of my mother's kitchen as a boy, where the wallpaper was so intense that I could sit there for hours working out shapes and stuff. Sad, but I found that fun.

Back in the lobby, Bar Vdara is very cool. It may be that I just finished cooking Thanksgiving dinner and using my food-processor slicer, but I think of uncooked potato chips when I see this fixture:


There were two things in the lobby that were totally out of place. This...


...reproduction of a 1999 Rauschenberg is one. It must be a repro or Team CityCenter Art would've made it well known that they had one. If you're going to use random pieces in and among the headliners like Rubins and Stella and you want visitors to realize that Stella is REAL, maybe go with UNKNOWN or up-and-coming artists for random spots like this?

The other thing was this:


It was some sort of video display of information about Sebastian Copeland, a photographer-adventurer. I couldn't tell if it was there just because Copeland was one of the headliners for the party or if it would be there permanently. Either way, it was ineffective. It was an ugly bunch of screens in the middle of a very lovely space and nobody paid any attention to it. [UPDATE: They're temporary, CityCenter PR peeps say. Good. They're dumb.]

Vdara's lobby has the single most interesting piece of artwork (to me) in the whole $40 million collection, twin wall installations by the elevator banks, one of which is this:



See that? Small slits of paper stacked up make that design. When I brought it up to Hunter Hillegas in the car last month on our way to dinner, he actually bounced up and down with glee over how cool it is. It's by Peter Wegner, a name you should know. Here's a terrific written Q-and-A from KQED, an NPR station.

Also cool was how this outdoor podium/sign becomes a couch at Silk Road...


...and the view of the Rubins from inside.


When you go left from the registration desk, you come to a path with this baubly light fixture...


...that leads to a space outside of the ballrooms of the convention area. Here's one of those rooms -- I didn't go inside, sorry -- named for Rafael Vinoly, the architect of Vdara.


In that ballroom lobby area was this pretty cool lighted installation:



It was a nice enough party. Silk Road served up these drinks...


...and by the convention area was this bar serving fancy champagne.


Waiters circulated with flutes of champagne or...glasses of water. I'd never actually seen that before, people walking around a reception with trays of water. Have you?

The food was minimal. Actually, it was hidden in the convention area in such a way that most people at the other end of the event had no idea it was there. There was a bar of little sweets:


Those tree branches sport chocolate-dipped strawberries. The middle photo were trays of marshmallowy things.

Finally, I saw something I hadn't realized was there as I was driving out. Uh, once I figured out how to get out, that is. Planet Hollywood has erected this gigantic...


...lighted screen. I don't recall that being there before, but it will greet everyone who exits CityCenter from the Strip and walks across the pedestrian bridge. I was driving when I shot this, so I apologize for its lack of clarity.

It reminds me of what Steve Wynn once told me when he built that mountain: "A carnival's great, but you can only control your section of the midway." I doubt Jim Murren will be sending Robert Earl any bouquets for that eyesore.