Parlez-vous *faux pas*?

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 the putty-nosed CdS braintrust somehow think Zarkana is premiering in Montreal and not at Aria on the Las Vegas Strip? In addition to our large, international tourist base, Clark County is — as of a year ago — 29% Hispanic. Which means, if you’re going to run a bilingual ad here, don’t do it in French, crétins! It’s a slap in the face to three out of 10 Southern Nevadans and adds to Cirque’s airy-fairy image of being too cool for the room. Boyd Gaming and Station Casinos, incidentally, continue to put up both Chinese- and Korean-language billboard advertising. When it comes to multicultural marketing, Cirque needs to réveiller-vous and smell the motherfucking coffee … if you’ll pardon my French.

Heard on the Strip … word is that Richard Bosworth, who made a failed run at Hooters Casino Hotel several years ago, is back and involved in the takeover of a Casino To Be Named Later. I’ll keep you posted.