Stiffs and Georges

Media previews are a double-edged sword. They can be a cheap way of drumming up advance press but can also betray a project in trouble: Surf the Musical was obviously going to be dead on arrival. And it was. Given its arid recent history in Las Vegas, the directorate of Cirque du Soleil would be [...]

Our question for the day is, “Who benefits?” Taking the long view of Caesars Entertainment to bundle a mixed bag of Planet Hollywood, its-casino-to-be in Baltimore and Caesars Interactive, in whose interest is it to purchase minority stakes, since CEO Gary Loveman intends to maintain majority control. Or, in the case of his Maryland casino, [...]

MGM Resorts International, that’s who. As predicted, a lawsuit filed to overturn last November’s casino expansion was laughed out of court. Judge Ronald A. Silkworth called the litigation “baseless,” which is a nice way of saying, “Thanks for wasting my time with this rubbish, @$$holes.” This clears the path for MGM to move forward on [...]

For those of us who missed it this year, the best Christmas tradition of which I know.
First and most importantly …
To you, the reader, who makes this possible, a year of happiness, health and wealth, whether material, intellectual or spiritual.
Atlantic City: Good luck in a year that will end with ‘13.’
Boyd Gaming: New TV commercials.
Caesars [...]

If Sheldon Adelson played the ponies as he does politics, he’d enter a Shetland in the Kentucky Derby and put all his money on it to win. What could be better than knowing the Las Vegas Sands CEO blew $100 million trying to buy the White House and a sizable tranche of Capitol Hill in [...]

There may be a new Cirque du Soleil production show at Aria but it’s been drowned out in the thundering hooves and comparable hype that marked Shania Twain’s arrival at Caesars Palace. It was quite a sight: 20 horses and Twain herself, “in a floor-length leather coat and black leather trousers, her curly hair wild [...]

OK, so Cirque du Soleil’s Zarkana is certain to be a slam-dunk at the box office and a better financial performer than its predecessor, the unlamented Viva Elvis. However, does anyone find this invitation a bit culturally off-key? English and French … in Las Vegas? Yes, I know Cirque is headquartered in Quebec but does [...]

If you’ve been wondering where the pre-opening buzz for Aria’s new Cirque du Soleil show, Zarkana, is … you’re not alone. I Get Paid for This author Rick Lax is puzzled by the strange, stealthy run-up to a show that CdS prexy Daniel Lamarre has described as “a sure bet.” Perhaps MGM Resorts International is [...]

S&G readers have been reporting difficulties accessing LasVegasAdvisor.com and/or seeing this column in more than a rudimentary HTML version. Is this a widespread phenomenon? We’ve certainly been having computer problems up the wazoo here at LVA HQ and I apologize for the inconvenience. If you are experiencing technical difficulties, any information you could provide us [...]

… as in the Las Vegas Advisor weekly poll. Tomorrow’s promises to be a real doozy. The question is,  What was the worst show in recent Strip and Downtown history? The dog kennel hasn’t been completely filled but I can share with you some of the nicknames our hard-working research department has coined for some [...]

All photos: © Scott Roeben
Surf the Musical officially washed ashore last night at Planet Hollywood and one can only hope this bit of flotsam goes out with the next ebb tide. Although it’s not quite as craptastic as a four-song media preview suggested, that’s a relative compliment indeed. Like musical pemmican, Surf compresses over 25 [...]

It was bound to happen: Not one, not two, but four douchebags trying to get tables at The Mirage’s Carnegie Deli wearing nothing more than swimming trunks and flip-flops. That’s taking “casual” just a mite far. What’s the over/under on how much longer it will be until someone wanders onto a casino floor completely naked. [...]

According to the Jornal Tribuna de Macau, by the end of the month, Wynn Resorts and the government of Macao “may sign” the long-awaited land tender upon which the fate of $2.7 billion Wynn Cotai rests. It “could be” a done deal by May Day — in which case I think Steve Wynn should brandish [...]

In terms of quantity, quality and proximity, the Los Angeles Times is the closest thing Las Vegas has to a major metropolitan daily. (Hell, the Sacramento Bee puts the Las Vegas Review-Journal to shame.) Indeed, the LAT treats Sin City as a distant, less-virtuous suburb of the City of Angels. A recent spate of stories [...]

“We said to Kevin [Antunes], ‘Listen, we don’t want to hear any accordions in ‘Beat It.’ … It’s gotta be Michael Jackson.’ We said to Jamie [King], ‘We don’t want any — and I don’t want to insult anybody — French clowns dancing at a Michael Jackson show.’ ” — Jackson family [...]

Cirque du Soleil® has laid another oeuf — or Las Vegas Sands has claimed yet another showbiz victim. Its resident show at Venetian Macao, Zaia™, is closing after a 42-month run. Either the touchy-feely, eco-friendly whimsies of Zaia™ were too daft for Chinese audiences or Sands’ tradition of high rental costs were too much for [...]

File this under ‘When camp icons collide.’ Yes, that’s Joan Collins, O.B.E. with showgirls from Jubilee! Between the show’s tenure and that of Ms. Collins, those are two careers characterized by unusually long legs — metaphorical and otherwise. Unfortunately, this summit meeting is overshadowed by the forthcoming collaboration of Madonna and Cirque du Soleil, a [...]

First, the good news: Borgata — accounting for more than one-fifth of the entire market share — continues to vastly outpace the rest of the Atlantic City market. Last month, it raked in $50 million for a 2% gain, driven by strong slot play … and despite looser hold (8.3% vs. 8.9%) than A.C. overall. [...]

This week finds me up to my butt in page proofs of Rick Lax’s forthcoming book, I Get Paid for This, a Michael Jackson The [sic] Immortal World Tour™ review for WizardOfVegas.com, profiles of developer Brett Torino and Mayor Carolyn Goodman, locating Sonny Liston’s grave and sundry other matters. Which means I’m totally behind the [...]

As the reviews trickle in from Saturday night’s Las Vegas premiere of Michael Jackson The IMMORTAL World Tour™ we may be seeing an inversion of the Viva Elvis™ phenomenon. In the latter instance, the out-of-towners raved and local critics yawned. In the case of Jackson, the in-Vegas verdict is pretty favorable, even rhapsodic (to say [...]