Magician Steve Wyrick Postponed Again; Will He EVER Open?

That's not just my question. It's the one stalking the folks at the Las Vegas Hilton, too. There's some snag going on over there that goes beyond needing more time to perfect the show, and now I have a Hilton source telling me there are financial problems. Before it even opens, there are financial problems?!?

I had exclusively reported on July 26 the the journeyman magician's new headliner gig had been postponed from a 7/27 opening to an 8/5 opening, and the other day a ticket agent told me its new opening date was 8/6. Well, that's today, and the Las Vegas Hilton website has scrubbed those dates and a ticketing agent said it's supposed to open 8/9 but "I can't really predict the future."

Indeed. Don't hold your breath on that, either, because the resort's website shows Wyrick scheduled to appear EVERY SINGLE NIGHT UNTIL JANUARY 31, 2012 WITHOUT A SINGLE DAY OFF.

Yeah, right.

[Aside: By then will it even be "the Hilton" by then?]

If you try to book tickets for any of these dates, you evidently can do it, though. They're $39.95 to $125. Something tells me there'll be plenty of seats available on a walk-up basis, though, so I'd hold off on that.

Why does this even matter? Well, Wyrick's face is already plastered on a 20ish-foot-tall banner on the side of the resort where Barry Manilow's visage once gazed down upon the masses. Has there ever, in the history of Las Vegas, been a show advertised and promoted like that that has simply never opened?

Wyrick, of course, has a long history of financial troubles and disappointing shows. Most recently, he went bankrupt after the $35 million Wyrick Theater and bar complex in the Miracle Mile Shops failed miserably. And yet he keeps trying to come back, and that spirit and effort deserves a certain admiration from even those not impressed by his tricks.

There's one more bit of proof, though, that Wyrick is clearly not ready for primetime at the Hilton. This...


...is what you find out front at SteveWyrick.Com. Maybe that's a time-traveling DeLorean? THAT would be an awesome trick.

The Strip is LIVE tonight w/ Charlie Palmer & Hal Sparks

We are live again tonight on this UStream channel, starting at 7:30 p.m. PT this time so we can play both interviews before Miles gets home for the proper portions of the show.

This week, we visit once more with Charlie Palmer, who used this program once upon a time to reveal a WORLD EXCLUSIVE about plans to build a Vegas hotel. Last week, it was announced he'll be inducted into the American Gaming Association's Hall of Fame, so we talked about that, why he never expanded beyond his two Vegas restaurants, what's next for him in New York now that his Grand Central Station eatery is closed and why the e-winebook idea he pioneered at Aureole hasn't really spread as far and wide as expected.

We also have an interview with the very funny comic and former "Talk Soup" and "Queer As Folk" star Hal Sparks, who talks about having his show interrupted by Motley Crue rocker Vince Neil's "assault" on ex-girlfriend and ex-TV reporter Alicia Jacobs at the Hilton in March. We'll play a Vince-related excerpt of the Hal Sparks chat during the main show, then issue the whole thing as a Strip Extra to keep the main episode from becoming too long.

So start by playing the Hal Sparks conversation at about 7:30 p.m., followed by the Charlie Palmer interview, followed by the proper show when Miles arrives from work to do the proper show parts.

Just a tip: As the weeks tick down, the live show gets weirder and weirder. Normally, I end up with about 1-3 minutes of outtakes, but it's been more like 10 over the past few weeks. Miles can't seem to help himself, and it's really funny stuff. So come on down for the live show while you can!

Or, of course, the podcast version will be out later this week. And soon I will pull together our final outtakes show, too. Sigh. A lot of "last" this and "final" thats going on around here. Yikes.

Finally, if you're unclear who Hal Sparks is, check out these excerpts of his 2010 Showtime special, "Charmageddon":

The Las Vegas Hilton To Be Renamed!

Both the Review-Journal and VegasInc is reporting today that Hilton Worldwide is terminating its franchising agreement with the folks who own the las Vegas Hilton, effective the end of 2011. Chuck at VegasTripping.Com, in an item referencing the R-J piece, wrote that this means the Hilton will have to change its name. The R-J report says no such thing -- gigantic, glaring omission, bro -- but Liz Benston in VegasInc does.

This is kind of a pretty big deal. That sign alone cost $8 million and was the most expensive marquee ever when it was built. Other than the Barbary Coast-Bill's and Aladdin-PlanetHo name-changes -- both brought on by ownership changes -- can you recall another property losing its identity? I mean, the Flamingo Hilton became the Flamingo, but big whoop. And, yeah, the Las Vegas Hilton was originally the International. So there's that.

I have a few ideas, though! Since they're always pimping the Elvis connection over there, the Elvis-a-Rama is presently available. Or maybe it's time to create an Electric Daisy Resort so at least the peace-loving stoners will have a place to rest their weary heads next time the slither on by these parts. Or, given that the property almost stretches far enough north, could this be the New Sahara? I'm sure Sam Nazarian would happily liquidate the name along with the toilets for the right, probably not terribly high, price.

My money? Something far more boring. Remember that massive flagship Marriott that's supposed to spring up one of these decades across from the convention center? Well, look it! They can skip the construction costs and all that bother! Hooray!

Manilow To Open At Paris On V-Day Weekend?

The official announcement just came that Barry Manilow's tenure at the Hilton ends Dec. 30. KVBC's Alicia Jacobs had reported as much last month and I had already Tweeted on Oct. 1 that I had confirmed that Manilow was in talks with Paris LV to move over there.

While the Paris folks have been coy because negotiations are ongoing, I now can report that Manilow has hired a new show director and is gunning for a Valentine's Day weekend 2010. Nothing's set in stone and no contracts have been signed, but the pieces are clearly falling into place.

The Strip is LIVE @ 7 p.m. PT w/Rick Nielsen

We're on tonight at LVRocks.Com at 7 p.m. PT with my interview with Rick Nielsen of the legendary band Cheap Trick. It was a longish interview so we may not be able to play it all during the hour but it'll all be in the podcast edition, I promise. Cheap Trick has been doing some amazing Sgt. Pepper shows at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Other topics this week include the Mindy Kaling "attack" on the Luv-It neighborhood, thoughts on "CSI: The Experience," Harrah's sudden buying spree and Top Chef Vegas.

Join us at 7 p.m. PT at LVRocks.Com for cam, chat and the live stream. Miles says he "should" be able to make it. We're discussing moving the live show to Sunday evenings to fix that problem, so we're curious your thoughts on that, too. But we should have a normal show tonight. Join us or subscribe via iTunes or Zune.

Buh-bye, Earl Turner?

Journalist Esther Lynn, who gossips about Vegas online as Claire Voyant, reported yesterday that "Earl Turner is no longer part of the [Las Vegas] Hilton's Shimmer Cabaret show." He's been co-headliner with Lani Misalucha.

The show's dark until Friday but Earl won't be there anymore when it resumes, Lynn writes. The rest of the juicy post:

"Depending which story you choose to believe, either Mr. Turner refused to take a requested pay cut as business is a bit slow right now, or Earl, of the inflated ego, went off to do a cruise ship gig, saying something like "I don't know how long Voices will run and I need to keep my other options open." Perhaps by NEXT Friday we will have the accurate information. What we have been told is that, for the immediate future, the show will reopen on the 11th with Ms. Misalucha at the helm. There will have to be lots of changes in advertising. If you have a pair of sharp scissors, you may want to join the team to help cut Earl's face out of all the photos and ads, and lop that "S" off the word Voices."

I just tried to confirm this report but it's Saturday and nobody from Hilton PR's team is around. A box office reservationist told me when I pressed her about whether Turner would be in the show upon its return, "As of now, Earl Turner is still officially in the show, but there is no guarantee that that will be always be the case."

I was intrigued by Lynn's "of the inflated ego" snark. I hadn't really been all that aware of Turner until he and his folks turned out to be the only people involved with "Las Vegas Celebrates The Music of Michael Jackson" to make significant comp demands or refuse to promote the event in the press.

Something tells me that if Turner really does depart for wetter climes, an interview with the lovely Ms. Misalucha -- an arranged entertainment marriage if there ever was one -- could be very illuminating.

The Show is UP: Heavy Metal's Sweetest Star

Here's the terrific conversation with Dee Snider. Plus, there's some good news nuggets in Banter you won't hear anywhere else...yet! Click on the date below to listen or right-click and save to your computer. Or subscribe (it's free!) via the iTunes link or via the Zune link.

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

Breaking: Name Change For Manilow

Say buh-bye to this...


...and hello to this:


In what must be a fairly rare occurrence in Las Vegas, Barry Manilow's show at the Las Vegas Hilton has been renamed starting this fall when he returns for more shows next week. The singer's program has been known since its 2005 debut as "Music And Passion," stealing the phrase from "Copacabana."

The show going forward will be known as "Ultimate Manilow: The Hits." The show's site, MusicandPassion.Com even bounces now to UltimateManilow.Com. The difference? Hilton spokesman Ira David Sternberg said the new show will exclusively be Manilow's songs, as opposed to the earlier renditions that included some covers from his shockingly successful Greatest-Songs-Of-The-Pick-A-Decade albums. It's unclear whether he'll stick strictly to the songs on his 2002 album "Ultimate Manilow." Barry's expected to perform at the Hilton for at least two more years.

It would seem that Manilow could have altered the song mix without changing the name, but perhaps it's a chance to remind the media that he's still over there and to sell a whole new line of Manilow-branded swag.

The last time I recall a show changing its name it was La Femme at MGM Grand becoming Crazy Horse Paris. I can't think of another such instance.

Is There A 9/11 Room Rate Discount?

Here's this week's LVW column...

The price is … strange

Room rates take a curious plunge right around the anniversary of 9-11

By STEVE FRIESS

I am not one of those 9-11 conspiracy nuts. I have an eccentric British pal who does believe that George W. Bush, despite his incompetence at ordering in lunch, was behind the most horrific events of our time. This friend is constantly forwarding e-mails asserting that the Baltimore family behind Vegas casino implosions actually imploded the World Trade Center and made it look to the stupid people of the world as if some “hijacked” airplanes caused their fall.

I reject all this, so I’m sane, right?

Well, maybe. But I won’t hold it against you if you wonder about me after I tell you this:

I am a 9-11 Vegas-hotel-discount conspiracy nut.

Stay with me for a moment. Something weird is going on around here.

About a week ago, for reasons I can’t even recall, I took a look at room rates in September at the MGM Grand. I was surprised to notice that in the week of September 7, the resort’s rates fell to their lowest level of the entire month—$100 a night—on that Thursday. That Thursday is the seventh anniversary of the terror attacks. Every other Thursday that month, the rates were the highest of the Monday to Thursday rates. During that particular, auspicious week, the rates fall dramatically.

Odd, thought I. Could it really be that, lo these many years later, there’s still some residual impact on occupancy because people prefer not to travel or recreate on that date?

My brain said no, but my heart said yes, so the next thing I knew, I was obsessively scanning hotels.com to see if other resorts on the Strip saw similar dips on 9/11/08. Here is the list of resorts that see unusual room-rate drops on that Thursday: Luxor, Bally’s, Harrah’s, Bellagio, New York-New York, Treasure Island, Paris, The Mirage, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas Hilton, Golden Nugget, the Rio, Hard Rock, Wynn and Trump. There may be more.

The Mandalay Bay and Hard Rock were particularly startling. At Mandalay Bay, the room rate is $210 Sunday through Wednesday, then $120 on Thursday, a $90 drop. At the Hard Rock, the rates are $299 Monday through Wednesday and $109 on Thursday. That’s a $190 decrease! The Wynn is also kind of odd: The rate all that week and the week after is $499 per night except on September 11, when it’s $399.

Read the rest HERE

Revisiting Manilow, Le Reve, Shark Reef

Hey kids. Miles and I are just now going to sleep after a treacherous travel day from Vegas to Long Island on that trailer park in the sky, Southworst. I didn't realize we were committing to two layovers -- in ABQ then BWI -- and in BWI we had weather problems that grounded us for five hours. Then we got on the plane and sat because, well, in five idle hours they forgot to make sure there was someone on hand to fly the bird. Sheesh. Anyhow, we're here now, will be in NY for a few days seeing some shows and unveiling my late grandfather's headstone, a Jewish year-after custom. So, for now, I leave you with this week's Weekly column about the spree of shows and attractions my niece and I saw last week and my thoughts on revisiting them.

The Manilow Principle

Why some shows are better the second time - and why some are not

By STEVE FRIESS

About 15 minutes into Barry Manilow’s Music & Passion show at the Las Vegas Hilton last week, I received a mocking text message from my partner. Miles had ducked out of having to go with me, my 16-year-old niece, Courtney, and my mother because he had to go to work at the last minute, but he hardly seemed unhappy about that twist of fate.

“So, does it suck yet?” the message taunted.

I missed the message. To my utter shock, I was having much too good a time.

Yes. At Manilow.

But, faithful and puzzled readers might be thinking, didn’t you just a few weeks ago mention how much you despised that very show in that commentary about all that was wrong with the new Cher production?

Indeed, that is why I was so bowled over. When your family visits, you tend to do things you wouldn’t ordinarily want to, and my mother was, is and probably always will be a Fanilow. So off I went, preparing both myself and poor young Courtney to suffer. I prepped the teen for the idea that this would fall into the so-bad-it’s-good category.

Except it wasn’t. It was so good it’s good. Really. In my guidebook, Gay Vegas, I had given this production a “C” and complained that it was a “rush job” with “dancers who seem confused about what they’re doing.” Yet on this night, a good 75 percent of the songs were not in the prior edition, Manilow was unstoppably exuberant and energetic, and even the closing “Copacabana” was less grating and, so it seemed, mercifully a little bit shorter. Also, unlike Bette, Celine or most notably Cher, Manilow remained on the stage for all but about three minutes of the concert. Of course, his “costume changes” involved changing his sportcoat. But still.

This revolution in my thinking led me to a spree of revisiting shows and attractions I hadn’t seen in a long while.

Read the rest HERE

R.I.P. $250,000 Game Show Spectacular

I guess it wasn't that great an idea after all. I thought it would be.

With no publicity at all, the Las Vegas Hilton shut down the $250,000 Game Show Spectacular, a daytime production featuring a rotation of hosts including Chuck Woolery, Jamie Farr and Bob Eubanks. We had Chuck and Bob on "The Strip" last fall; I only found out that this show was no more when I tried this week to reach Jamie Farr for a future episode.

Ira Sternberg, the Hilton's spokesman, said the producers of the show, which opened on Oct. 8 and lasted about 6.5 months, pulled the plug. It was apparently a four-wall deal, meaning the producers were essentially renting the room.

There are no plans for another daytime show right now, Sternberg said. Having a show in that room during the day created conflicts with Barry Manilow and other performers who needed to rehearse for their nighttime gigs. And speaking of nighttime gigs, the band Phoenix, featuring Aerosmith guitarist Jimmy Crespo, performs every Thursday in that same theater starting tomorrow night. Tickets are only $19.99.

And since I know you're wondering: Nobody ever won that $250,000 prize. Bummer.

The Strip is LIVE tonight at 7:05 p.m. PT

It's the attack of the Vegas reality-TV stars this week -- except that these are actual success stories! We'll have Las Vegas Hilton's $100,000-a-show ventriloquist Terry Fator ("America's Got Talent") on live as well as a taped chat with Trump marketing veep Stefanie Schaeffer ("The Apprentice") to discuss their reality-show experiences and how they led them to Las Vegas.

We'll also recap our big trip to Switzerland and delve into some Vegas news. So join us at LVROCKS.Com at 7 p.m. PT tonight for the live show and chat room. Or grab the podcast version on Thursday.

If you haven't seen Fator before, he's really remarkable. Check this out:

Vegas' New $100K Man

We on "The Strip" never did manage to ascertain what act was first to earn $100K a week in Vegas, but thanks to the exclusive dinner I attended this evening at the Hilton, I can tell you who the new $100K-per-show performer is: Terry Fator.

Uhh, who? Fator is the 42-y/o ventriloquist who won NBC's "America's Got Talent" contest and $1 million this summer. He was promptly pegged to do a show at the Hilton in October that sold out instantly, as did the second show they added. Now he's doing a third gig in December, then New Year's Eve and then 15 dates through May.

In a rather unusual move, the Hilton released his salary, which is $1.5 million for the 15-show package. That's a nice chunk of change. Fator seemed like a very affable guy, extremely awestruck that after all these years of toiling in obscurity he's a Vegas headliner now. He gave a brief performance for a group of about seven journalists tonight and, yes, he's quite good, but I'm a sucker for this stuff. Also, he seems savvy enough to duck the answer to this question I asked: "So, just how drunk was Hasselhoff during the show?"

Did any of you watch "America's Got Talent?" Would you pay $49-$149 a seat to see him? Is he the next Danny Gans now that Gordie Brown seems to have turned out not to be?

The Strip is LIVE on WEDNESDAY This Week

Sorry, folks. I've gotta go to a reception at the Palms prior to a preview screening of Love in the Time of Cholera that I'm not getting to stay for because I've got to race to the Las Vegas Hilton for a dinner with one of their soon-to-be-announced new headliners.

Anyhow, our show will be live on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. with game show hosts Chuck Woolery and Bob Eubanks. Expect some breaking news from the Woolery chat. Plus, tons of Vegas news.

Game Show Bafflement

I’m still a fan of the idea of the $250,000 Game Show Spectacular at the Las Vegas Hilton, an hour-plus afternoon program hosted by one of three TV legends, Chuck Woolery, Bob Eubanks or Jamie Farr, in which audience members get to hop on stage and win prizes for playing a variety of games, many of which were seen in some form on old-time TV shows. I’m just a little concerned about some of execution of it.

Is it really smart, for instance, to have a game in which three husbands must try to guess their wives’ weights? Yes, they do this. Then they weigh these women on stage -- the audience, thankfully, isn't able to see the actual tonnage -- and the host tells everyone which of the men came closest or is, per the game, the "most honest." Now, I have three sisters and a mother, none of whom would have ever let me see their scale results in private, much less on a Vegas stage!

The show I saw, the third woman was pretty hefty and the poor schlub she’s married to didn’t know what to say to ease her inevitable humiliation. How long until some modest woman runs off stage in tears? Why not, if they're so committed to this idea, switch it around and have the women guess their men's weights? I doubt the men would be nearly as embarrassed.

There’s also a version of the Newlywed Game in which husbands are sent away while wives are asked questions and then the husbands must answer the same way. In a reminder that this is a live show in Vegas in 2007 and not the quaint TV show of the last millennium, the first woman’s answer to “Where is the oddest place you and your husband has made whoopee?” was, uh, a sex club in New York City. And the guy came on stage and confirmed this! Woo hoo! The Hilton has outed swingers! Fun! Or something.

Finally, the press material claims they give away prizes to 50 audience members. It may have just been the show I saw, but they only had 40 on stage. The prizes were good ones, though, mostly money for the winners and tickets and gift certificates to Hilton shops and restaurants for the losers. Not a bad deal.

And one more thing: I wonder if, in this day and age, they might not invite same-sex couples up to play these games as well?

Interrupting the Fossett Stream For Vegas News!

I had to break in amid my ongoing chronicle of my Minden-Fossett adventures to send out a hearty kudos to the Las Vegas Hilton for the absolutely ingenious show concept they just announced. And I am totally, completely serious.

The Hilton launches a twice-daily regular live game show "The $250,000 Ultimate Game" on Oct. 8 with -- get this -- legendary game-show hosts Chuck Woolery, Bob Eubanks and Jamie Farr!!! OK, Jamie Farr isn't a legendary game-show host but he's appeared on a lot of them and he's a former wacky sitcom sidekick who has not gone on a vicious racist rant, so that's fun! The three of them will rotate as hosts for the show, which will cost $42 per ticket and will run at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm with a total of nine shows. I know, that math doesn't add up right, but I'm going by what they sent me and more details aren't on LVHilton.com yet.

Also unclear is what the game itself will be, but the release promises that an audience member will have the chance at each show to win $250K. If he/she does, all the audience members also get $100. They're also promising more than 50 winners per show and at least $50,o00 given away each week. That works out to an average of at least $111 per winner.

This is genius. I knew that "The Price Is Right Live" at Bally's has been doing decent business, but it's amazing that nobody's figured out until now that there's nothing Vegas visitors like more than to WIN MONEY. And that's a pretty decent gamble when you break down the numbers: $42 to be in an audience of, let's say, 300 people, 50 of whom will leave with an average of $111? You do the math; I can't. I'm still trying to comprehend what a 10,000-square-mile search area looks like.

Not to mention, $42 to see a live game show with a reasonable chance of winning something and with these guaranteed-to-be-fun stars? That's even a good entertainment bargain.

Now why don't they do this at night, too?