Nominations : September 15 – October 1
Voting : November 1 – December 1

Awards Webcast

Saturday January 10, 2009 (still tentative)
Live from Las Vegas, NV
www.vegastripping.com

Most notable, of course, is Echelon being put on ice for three financial quarters… pushing its theoretical opening date back to Q2 2011 at the earliest. The M Resort is now on track to open in March 2009 according to the LVSun. The arena that was planned for the parking lot behind Bally's and Paris has also moved further into the future.

The design of the MGM/Kerzner property (across the street from Sahara) will be finished this fall, however groundbreaking has been put on hold indefinitely.

One of the questions that will be answered is whether there's any substance to the story that more than $5 million in cash was found in a storage shed of a top executive.

We hear rumblings that a cable show has interest in doing a documentary on Pure's IRS battle and the damage it could do to the PMG empire.

Meantime, the fact that the celebrity investors are staying the course likely means two things: They've received assurances that the "problems" have been fixed, and that the payoff on their investment will be even more lucrative.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/26582289.html

Soft-core pornographer Joe Francis has caused casino developer Steve Wynn to go wild.

Attorneys for Wynn and his Strip hotel-casino this week slapped "Girls Gone Wild" founder Francis with a defamation lawsuit stemming from public comments the videographer made about high-roller practices at the casino.

Wynn Las Vegas sued Francis in June, claiming he owes $2 million in gambling debts dating from February 2007.

According to the initial lawsuit, Wynn Las Vegas extended $2.5 million in credit to Francis on Feb. 16, 2007, and an additional $300,000 two days later.

More here:
http://www.lvrj.com/business/27010909.html

You know the expression, the one about Vegas keeping all your shenanigans close to the vest and not letting its other city friends know about them. See, the city's good at keeping its word but only as good as you are. Come back to Arkansas with a Chinese character on the small of your back or a Celtic armband across your biceps, and your word's about as good as a Brett Favre retirement press conference. If you wanna get inked with an out-clause, sign a marriage license. If you want something that really lasts, I know a few guys named Mario, Carey and Vince who can hook you up. Because anybody can get a back-alley tattoo. You came here to get one you can enjoy long after the hangover

Starlight Tattoo

When Mario Barth was growing up, his homeland of Austria was known around the world more for sausages than tattooing. Now the owner and chief tattoo artist of Starlight Tattoo inside the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, Barth remembers what it was like to be at the vanguard of a new movement. "There was absolutely no scene. It was really underground-oriented. Either it was for military personnel, or it was for people who lived a rough lifestyle, like bikers or prisoners." But since immigrating to America, Barth has seen the tattoo culture explode. He has five U.S. shops, but his Vegas venture stands apart because of its interactive nature. "I try to create a friendly environment. Everybody's used to seeing tattoo shops where the sign is half broken and the neon makes breaking sounds, and the people walk in normal and then they come out serial killers," Barth said. To make the experience less intimidating, Starlight offers glass booths so lookie-loos can check out every angle of an in-progress tattoo and even ask questions. The environment is secure and sterile, and welcoming to some of Barth's most unlikely customers. "Right now, there's a huge trend of females – the so-called soccer moms, are getting tattooed…So basically, the people with the biggest preconceptions about tattooing have now made a choice that it's acceptable to go out and get it done." 702.255.7827

Hart & Huntington's

He may have been raised in a strict, traditional family, but motocross star Carey Hart has made up for lost time with a complete shirt of ink that runs from his knuckles to his neck to his waistline. Following a career-threatening injury in 2003, Hart began planning a life after motocross. Tattooing seemed like a pet project that, even if no one showed up, would make him feel at home. "I wasn't looking to set the world on fire with a tattoo shop," Hart said. "It's my passion. That was going to be more of my clubhouse. I wanted a place where I could have a shop, I can hang out and get tattooed if I want and hang out with my friends." Of course, people did show up – in droves – and Hart & Huntington's at the Palms became the branding ground for two seasons of the A&E series Inked. Hart is mum about a "big change" coming to H&H in the next year but admits that, at 33, he probably can't hold pace with what he estimates is 300 hours worth of time under the needle. "I'm just trying to slow it down a little bit. I'm still pretty young, and I'm pretty heavily covered. I've got two legs and a neck left, so I'm trying to take my time a little bit." 702.942.7040

Vince Neil Ink

While Mötley Crüe embarks on a world tour in support of a well-received new album, its frontman's passion can be seen daily at the intimate O'Sheas casino in between Imperial Palace and the Flamingo. Vince Neil Ink features some of the country's top tattoo artists, although Crüe fans requesting the services of a Dr. Feelgood may be out of luck. "Tattoo is my personal form of art," Neil said. "And in my ongoing quest to tattoo the world, what better way to do it than to put a shop in the middle of Sin City?" Neil's quest begins one person at a time inside the 1,230-square-foot shop, which boasts four tattoo rooms including one VIP room and another that lets voyeurs get a peek of the action. Neil received his first tattoo at 19 and, like many first-timers, thought it was too big. But the prospect of future inkage was too great, and he is now the proud owner of several more and bringing his fascination to the masses. Also included in Neil's shop is a retail area with logo merchandise and Mötley Crüe memorabilia, including the chopper created by Count's Kustoms for the "Girls, Girls, Girls" video front and center in the store's window. And, yes, you're sure to hear a few Crüe tunes along the way. 702.733.3212
http://lvshowbiz.com/

Comedian Rita Rudner's life spills onto the stage like laughter during her nightly show at Harrah's. Not surprisingly, the exact same thing happens over the phone, from her wispy voice, dead-on timing and humor based in logic.

"One of the funny things (my daughter) said the other day was, I was driving, and of course I wasn't driving fast enough for the guy who wanted to get to the red light first. You know, it's a red light. Why would I want to get to the red light first? So he was a lovely gentleman, and he passed me and gave me the finger. And Molly was in the car and said, 'Mommy, why did that man make that sign at you?' And I said, 'I have no idea.' And she said, 'I think he just wanted you to wait one minute.'"

Judging from Rudner's vitae, she's not exactly used to waiting one minute. She moved to New York at age 15 to dance on Broadway and has been accumulating accolades ever since. She's as versatile as they come. In addition to being a comedian, she's also an actress, dancer, comedy writer and New York Times best-selling author with four books under her belt. Her most recent collection of essays, I Still Have It…I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It, came out in May and delves into what it's like to get older.

In addition to some of the challenges – like turning 50, which she says for a long time she could only annunciate as filthy – Rudner admits to many good things about aging.

"I'm much calmer," she said. "I'm lucky in that I've achieved what I've achieved. I'm kind of satisfied with my life so far. And I think that I have more to offer my daughter because I've lived for a very long time. I really admire younger mothers – a lot of my friends are younger mothers because I'm so much older – but I think I wouldn't have been as good a mother as I am now if I'd done this in my 20s."
http://lvshowbiz.com/

Sticking to the old game
Lawrence, picking up Carlin’s dates, will do what he does best — sing, make people laugh.
By: Jerry Fink/Las Vegas Sun

Las Vegas has long been a place where everyday people can live large and make all of their wildest dreams come true, but in the land of decadence, gambling and excessive expense, only the high-roller is truly king. Also known as "whales" or "premium players," these VIPs come to Sin City to gamble with outrageous sums of money, and the casinos are more than willing to bend over backward and offer tantalizing perks and accommodations to ensure that the big bucks are dropped on their tables and that the high-roller will return to them on the next trip. And before you start thinking that you qualify for this kind of special treatment, remember that we're talking about people who spend $500,000 to $5 million a night playing no-limit table games and taking $500 pulls on high-limit slot machines.

Strip hotels are in constant competition to have the most luxurious accommodations for the highest of high-rollers. The Las Vegas Hilton offers its wealthy patrons the key to its Sky Villas, 5,000- to 10,000-square-foot, two-story supersuites on the 30th floor penthouse level where Elvis stayed during his 800 performances there.

For the more classically inclined, the Mansion at MGM Grand, inspired by 16th-century Florence, Italy, is a 290,000-square-foot palace housing 29 villas. Opulently furnished and decorated with an impressive 800-piece art collection, the Tuscan-styled arches and decoratively carved wooden doors lead through gardens modeled after the Medici family gardens in Tuscany to villas up to 12,000 square feet. Once inside, touch-screen remotes control the lighting, music, drapes and even the fireplace.

The younger generation's millionaires (and young-at-heart billionaires) stay at the Palms for its ultra-hip and swanky playboy lifestyle. Enjoy shooting hoops? Check in to the Hardwood Suites, complete with an indoor basketball court, locker room and optional cheerleaders. The Real World Suite, made popular by the overindulgence and nonstop partying by the cast of the 12th season of the MTV show, is a modern 3,000-square-foot playpen complete with plasma TVs, pool tables and a full bar. Of course, for the real playboy high-roller, there's no substitute for the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa. This supersuite has a 20-person outdoor Playboy Jacuzzi pool with a glass wall that juts out over the edge of the building and offers a truly one-of-a-kind view of the Strip. On top of that (as if that's not over-the-top enough), the Hef-inspired space features a fully equipped gym with sauna and spa treatment room, a glass elevator, pop-up plasma screens, private poker table and a round rotating bed.

Golfers with a ton of green stay at the Fairway Villas on the private 18-hole golf course at Wynn Las Vegas, complete with 3,000 square feet of luxury space, blown-glass sinks and the ever-present butler service. Or go all out and have a champagne brunch onboard a private helicopter as it takes you and your golfing buddies out to the ultra-exclusive Cascata Golf Course in Boulder City.

The rule in Sin City is you have to pay to play. Stories about the spending habits of the highest rollers have become Vegas legends, and casinos actually take a considerable amount of risk hosting a whale that can clean out the cage in a good night of baccarat or a few lucky spins on the roulette wheel. The high-roller VIP treatment is provided to keep them coming back and dropping their substantial amounts of cash on the tables. (One anonymous billionaire once reportedly lost $29 million in one weekend of misfortune playing seven hands of blackjack at a time with up to $300,000 per hand.)

But don't despair if you don't have a billion-dollar net worth to throw around. Casinos in Las Vegas still make more than half of their revenue from the slot machines played by regular folks, and they'll take care of you as well – especially if you sign up for the reward cards that keep track of your gaming habits – and award redeemable points for playing. You probably won't be going home and coming back in a Learjet or have a private dinner prepared by Joël Robuchon, but there's a good chance you could have a free buffet – after all, we can all feel like high-rollers.
http://www.lasvegasweekly.com

Of course, changing costumes 17 times every night and being the longest running headliner on the Las Vegas Strip, starring as Joan Rivers in the hit show La Cage at the Riviera, I definitely have a handle on what it really means to be a quick-change artist. In fact, the only performer who goes through “the change” as much as I do is Cher — and we even use the same primary designer, Bob Mackie. But as much as this may give me a leg up when it comes to melding fashion with entertainment, the ladder of success was definitely harder to climb wearing high heels.

Actually, I was a natural in them from the moment I took my first steps as a female impersonator — it’s sneakers that I have trouble walking in. I always knew I’d be successful in whatever I chose to do; I just didn’t know I’d be wearing designer stilettos to do it.

In reality, female impersonation has always been part of my makeup — literally. I started out wanting to be a doctor and while I was in college, I worked at a large pharmacy on weekends. Apparently, I spent more time upfront at the cosmetics counter than at the back dispensing pills. Makeup fascinated me for some reason and through trial and error, I learned to apply it. One Halloween, I dressed up like Diana Ross and went to a party. There was a booking agent there who told me that I looked so good that he could send me out to different events impersonating famous divas and offered me $150 a night. That’s when I kissed the idea of medical school goodbye (little did I know I’d end up curing people with laughter instead of medication). And even more to my surprise I’d parlay that $150 an hour into a multi-million dollar 25-year contract in Las Vegas.

Then, one night, I went to Atlantic City to see Joan Rivers perform. She invited me backstage, where I met the producers of An Evening at La Cage, which was playing at Bally’s Park Place and where the headlining host of that show was a female impersonator who portrayed Joan. Since I couldn’t sing, Joan seemed like a good character for me as well. She was the most glamorous of all the female comedians and subsequently became my alter ego.

After finishing my four years of college, I ended up in Florida, headlining the La Cage show as Joan Rivers. Meschulam Riklis, who owned the Riviera at the time, and his wife, Pia Zadora, came to see the show and brought the show to the Riviera on a six-month contract. More than two decades later, I’m still here.

Of course, the thing people are most curious about where female impersonation is concerned and the first question they ask is, “Where do you put IT?” I always respond with, “Where do you like IT?” The second thing they want to know is how long it takes me to perfect Joan each night. When I first started, the makeup process took over two hours. Today, it takes me less than an hour but it takes an hour and a half to get the makeup off because of all the putty and wax and theater makeup I use.

When I’m putting on my makeup, I look at Joan’s picture. I try to recreate her facial structure, much like an artist who takes a blank canvas and turns it into a painting. It’s been a lot easier to do over the years because I’ve had over $150,000 of plastic surgery — I have my surgeon, Dr. Giselle Anson, on speed dial. The more I have done, the more I end up looking like Joan Rivers. I’ve had a nose job, cheek implants, a neck lift and liposuction and I’m a big fan of Restylane and Rejuvederm. And I’m never more than six months away from a shot of Botox. At this point, I’ve had so much Botox even my clothes don’t wrinkle.

Again, I didn’t do the surgeries to look like Joan but because it softens my features, and when I apply the makeup, it helps me create the illusion. She’s had so much surgery herself that she’s changing every day, which makes it difficult to get her physical appearance down. By the way, early on, she ended up suing me for $5 million for using some of her material. It’s a good thing we settled since I was 80 bucks short at the time. But now we’re friends again and have worked on many projects together.

The hardest part about impersonating Joan for me has always been her hairstyles. In the 80s, she had the teased-up bouffant, then she went to the straight pageboy — what I call her talk show look — and now she’s got the Meg Ryan spiky cut. Luckily, I have a great wig stylist in Las Vegas, Leslie Arce, who can perfect all my Joan Rivers looks.

Around 15 years ago, because Joan was getting up in years and I was concerned that I wouldn’t have a character if her career didn’t stay stable, I invented a Femme Fatale character that I also portray in the show. Of course, little did I know that Joan would end up being the Chief of the Fashion Police on the red carpet and also the top seller of costume jewelry on QVC. So now I just portray Joan for the first 20 minutes of the show, doing a monologue to warm up the audience, then I introduce the other acts as the “Femme Fatale” Frank Marino character.

To that avail, I have more than 2,000 gowns in my wardrobe, most of them designed by Bob Mackie and others created by Nurielle and a local designer, Coco Vega. I also have trunks full of jewelry bought by my personal shopper, Caryle Daniels, who travels all over the world picking up exotic pieces for me.

For my Femme Fatale look, Kenneth Blake, who portrays Madonna and Dolly Parton in La Cage, does all my wigs. Many of the kids in the show have outside talents. For example, Steven Wayne, who portrays Cher and Celine Dion, is a high school principal by day.

I feel La Cage has had the staying power it has because it appeals to everyone from prom kids to senior citizens. It brings people’s most favorite female performers and their music to life when they are unable to see the real star. We have characters in the show from Britney Spears to Diana Ross to Bette Midler. There are 15 superstars for the audience to enjoy on any given night. You never know who you are going to see. The show is constantly changing. Audience members come back time and time again and never see the same show twice.

While the show has provided a lot of wonderful things for me personally — I received a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Fame; I have a street named after me, Frank Marino Drive (which also goes both ways); I was in “Miss Congeniality 2”; I’ve received the key to the city and Mayor Oscar Goodman has proclaimed every Feb. 1 “Frank Marino Day,” and starting this September, I’ll be a special event weekend correspondent on EXTRA TV – it’s still a blast for the audience, being one of the most fun shows a person can see in Las Vegas. Along with my costume and monologue changes, every night, the cast does things to keep the show fresh for us so that we are all continually excited about performing.

After all, An Evening at La Cage has survived four presidents, two wars and the turn of the century. So if life continues to be a drag, it’s fine with me.
http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/

“From its inception our goal was to build a resort that offers customers a unique and compelling entertainment and retail experience,” says Rob Goldstein, president and chief operating officer of The Palazzo.
 
LAVO Executive Chef Ludo Lefebvre will lead guests through a culinary journey as he creates signature dishes from countries such as, Spain, France, and Italy. His menu creations will be designed for sampling and sharing. Hailing from Los Angeles, Lefebvre earned a James Beard Award for “Rising Star Chef” and was the city’s only chef to earn the Mobil Travel Guide Five Star award at two different restaurants.
 
The restaurant at LAVO will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner with late night dining until 2 am.  The nightclub at LAVO will be open six nights a week from 10 pm to 5 am.

MGM Mirage proft falls as Vegas gamblers spend less.
MGM Mirage, the world's second- largest casino company, said second-quarter profit fell 69 percent as cash-strapped U.S. gamblers spent less at its Las Vegas casinos. Net income dropped to $113.1 million, or 40 cents a share, from $360.2 million, or $1.22, a year earlier, the Las Vegas- based company said today in a statement. Net revenue slid 2.1 percent to $1.9 billion from $1.94 billion.

MGM Mirage owns 10 casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, where casino revenue slumped 16 percent in May, the fifth straight monthly decline. The sluggish U.S. economy, exacerbated by the worst housing slump since the Great Depression and soaring food and fuel costs, has hurt the biggest U.S. casino market.

“MGM is half of the Las Vegas Strip, so it's hard to avoid,'' Dennis Forst, an analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets in El Segundo, California, said in an interview July 28. He recommends holding the shares. “Although the main Vegas numbers were dreadful, MGM is probably the barometer that everyone should be using.''

MGM, which owns The Strip's Bellagio and Luxor, said revenue per available room, a measure of rates and occupancy known as Revpar, fell 5 percent on the Strip as occupancy dropped to 97 percent from 98 percent a year ago, and it charged less for rooms.

Lower Room Rates

The casino company majority-owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian said property earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, an indicator of cash flow, declined 18 percent to $564 million in the quarter.

“Guests continued to visit the company's resorts in high numbers, but at lower room rates, and current economic conditions led to lower visitor spending,'' MGM said. “Gaming revenues were impacted slightly more than non-gaming revenues.''

MGM Mirage, which trails only privately held Harrah's Entertainment Inc. in size, rose $2.10, or 6.8 percent, to $33.10 at 10:34 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange trading. Before today, the shares fell 63 percent this year.

Gambling revenue declined 4 percent across all of MGM's properties, mainly because of a 7 percent slump in overall table game betting and a 10 percent slide in slot-machine takings at its Strip casinos. Food and beverage sales rose 2 percent and entertainment revenue fell 4 percent.

Meanwhile, Bellagio reported record quarterly hotel revenue and Mandalay Bay delivered record second-quarter Ebitda.

High-End Records

“The high end has been so far less affected by the economy,'' said Forst. “It's the lower-end properties — Circus, Excalibur — that have been facing more difficult times than Bellagio and Mandalay Bay.''

MGM Mirage opened its MGM Grand Macau in December 2007, a joint venture with Pansy Ho, daughter of gambling magnate Stanley Ho. In the second quarter the Macau property's Ebitda was $23 million, delivering an operating loss of $5 million.

“We are still in the early stages of realizing the potential of this resort,'' Chief Executive Officer Terry Lanni said in today's statement. “We have taken several steps to improve our operating performance over the past several months.''

MGM and Pansy Ho are planning a second Macau development site, they said earlier.

Kerkorian, Dubai World

Kerkorian and Dubai World, the government-owned investment group, have been buying MGM shares, boosting their stakes to 53 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively, according to regulatory filings.

The two are spending about $11.2 billion to develop the CityCenter complex of hotels, casinos and condominiums on the Las Vegas Strip. The investors spent $600 million financing CityCenter construction in the quarter, unable to raise a $3.5 billion loan MGM had expected before the end of June.

Banks including Bank of America Corp., Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, UBS AG, BNP Paribas, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. have agreed to lend CityCenter $1.65 billion, MGM said today. Deutsche Bank AG, Morgan Stanley, and the Bank of Nova Scotia have also made lending commitments, the casino company said.
http://thevegaseye.com/

In one corner is an art-collecting casino mogul and in the other is a millionaire soft-porn outlaw, and at stake are millions of dollars and the reputation of a Strip casino.

Steve Wynn’s lawsuit to collect a $2 million gambling debt from “Girls Gone Wild” promoter Joe Francis turned into a no-holds-barred legal donnybrook this week, as Francis alleged in court papers that the casino mogul used a variety of tactics to run up the gambler’s losses, including providing prostitutes at his Strip resort.

Wynn hit back with a defamation lawsuit just three hours after Francis’ filing.

Francis alleges Wynn was with Francis and the prostitutes in his hotel room and that Francis was told the women were Wynn’s “personal gift to you.”