The Luxor Incident as seen from the inside; Dave Berns makes return to talk radio

By John Katsilometes

Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010 | 7:40 p.m.

At this writing I'm at PT's on Durango and Flamingo Roads, where Stephanie Dianna Sanchez is lording over happy hour. Not sure if it's an actual Happy Hour in terms of drink specials and the like, but there is general happiness going on. Her parents are here, shooting pool with her sister and brother-in-law and sharing tamales. Which I cannot eat.

Time to break the rack on the notes:

Night at the Luxor

The final performance for Angelica Brides as the star of "Fantasy" at Luxor wound up as an overnight event that spilled into Eyecandy at Mandalay Bay, then breakfast at Pyramid Café back at the pyramid. Bridges was given a fine sendoff by the cast and crew, even as producer Anita Mann and hotel president Felix Rappaport were out of town fulfilling family commitments.

The night kicked off with some unexpected drama, as the hotel parking garage and hotel entrance leading from that garage were shut down for more than an hour after a "suspicious vehicle" had been reported. More suspicious, even, than a Yugo.

As the scene unfolded, it was interesting to observe the hotel's security team deal with this sort of unexpected incident. Parking was among the chief concerns — parking at Luxor never is easy on a weekend night, but last night the closing of the garage created a snarl of creeping vehicles on the west end of the hotel.

When I arrived at around 9:30, I was led toward the surface lot north of the garage. Full. Then it was off to the Excalibur, which was nearly full but there were spaces on its surface lot if you were willing to park there (using some nifty reverse maneuvering of course) and walk across that lot and back over to the Luxor. After making it over from that lot, I tried taking the elevator up to the casino level from the garage and was summarily told that even that option was unavailable. I was led in by a security official, and the first person I ran into was ... Bridges. She had left her costumes in her car in the garage and was certain to be late for the show (she wound up improvising her attire on her final night, even wearing a costume of blue-purple peacock feathers).

Comedian Sean Cooper later said he nearly missed the show entirely because he barely could find a parking spot in time for opening curtain. As is his wont, Coop talked his way into a spot with assistance from security, saying, "Trust me — I am in the show.

More important was the tension felt by hotel guests. Metro officers had taken control of the scene at the garage, so hotel security could offer little more than "the garage is totally shut down." I'd never been in inside a hotel in such a security event, and there was a wide range of emotions inside, including tension, frustration and anger. Even lacking information about what was happening outside, the security staff did a good job of keeping everyone reassured they weren't in danger. I'm not sure if anyone else remembered the incident from May 2007, when a hot-dog vendor who worked at the hotel was killed by a pipe bomb on that garage's top floor.

One thing I learned is, taking pictures or attempting to interview those affected is, shall we say, frowned upon. After taking two shots, I was told, no mas. But I was offered a bottle of water. Minutes later, when the doors leading to the parking garage walkway finally flew upon, there was a cheer among dozens of guests who had been milling around that exit.

The stream of people leaving looked a little like a conga line, actually. The "safety concern" turned out to be nothing significant, a mere oddity, but when you're in the middle of that type of incident and devoid of information, you can't be sure.

Bridges makes roast

Bridges left Las Vegas today to return to Los Angeles to take part in the taping of Comedy Central's roast of David Hasselhoff, scheduled to air at 10 p.m. Aug. 15. Bridges said Comedy Central writers came up with the material for the special, but presenters were allowed to add their own jabs. She said she was unsure if she would add anything to what she was given, which she said was, "Totally hilarious, no-holds-barred." So expect a lot of references to video of his 2007 dietary malfunction. Bridges' link to the Hof is from her stint as a cast member of "Baywatch," and other scheduled roasters include Pam Anderson, George Hamilton, Hulk Hogan, Jerry Springer, Jeffrey Ross, Lisa Lampanelli and Seth MacFarlane, who also is emcee.

Bernsie's back

Dave Berns, who in December turned the dial from KNPR 88.9-FM after hosting "State of Nevada" for four years, is back on the air. On at 5 p.m. Monday, his "Nevada Today" hourlong daily chat program debuts on KUNV 91.5-FM (disclosures, not to be confused with plugs: I host "Our Metropolis" on KUNV each Tuesday, and I'll join Dave for his debut on the station Monday).

Slammin' Sammy

Sammy Hagar made an unannounced appearance at his Cabo Wabo Cantina at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood on Friday night, and opened for Aerosmith on Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The local band Acoustic Soul was geared up for what it expected to be Hagar's return to Cabo Wabo later Saturday, but he never showed. Word is he was driving over, or was being driven over, and got caught in traffic. The sequel would have to be "I Can't Drive 35," and it would be the theme for weekend traffic on the Strip.

Covers!

Quick list of great cover versions by local bands (in scrambled order):

• The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," by Frankie Moreno (who recorded the song with violin great Joshua Bell).

• Free's "Wishing Well," by Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns.

• Rush's "Tom Sawyer," by Yellow Brick Road (or, really, anything by YBR).

• Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Steel Panther.

• Donnie Iris' "Ah! Leah!," by Sin City Sinners.

• Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight," by the Lon Bronson Orchestra.

• Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird," the $100-per-request version by the aforementioned Acoustic Soul, which is powered by Nina DiGregorio's blistering violin lead.

Groovy or hilarious stuff I witnessed or experienced in July

• The end-of-show sequence in Marc Savard's "Comedy Hypnosis" at V Theater at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. This segment stars about a dozen men shedding their inhibitions (and much of their dignity) and acting out their best lovemaking moves with inflatable dolls. It's a fully clothed, yet remarkably elastic, orgy. I cracked up while watching the bemused expression on Savard's face, like, "Gosh, what have we here?" Incredibly funny and uncomfortable all at once.

• The vinyl-is-final approach to the music played at The Beat Coffeehouse at Emergency Arts. I stopped in there Friday to catch up on some work, and thumping from the old turntable was Run-D.M.C.'s "Raising Hell." During "You Be Illin'," the album actually skipped. Hadn't heard that happen in about, oh, 25 years. Then it was on to Blondie's "Eat to the Beat," and the party was on. I love The Beat, maybe enough to tote my collection of Beatles albums to the coffee pub to see what kind of condition they're in.

• The Plinko board at "The Price is Right" stage show at Jubilee Theatre at Bally's. I caught the show for the first time Friday night. Given that Plinko is the greatest of all contest show games, I was very much looking forward to seeing it in action on the big "Jubilee" stage. It went OK, except that when contestant "Mary" from Phoenix dropped her Plinko disk into the field of Plinko pegs, the bloody thing got stuck! It happens, I guess, but Mary shook it (the board) and won $200. How does this place stay open?

• The interior of Veil at Silverton. From the outside, the entertainment and employee town-hall meeting venue looks a lot like a giant, white, tented pavilion. That's pretty much what it is, in a skeletal sense, but inside you find comfort in the hall's padded chairs, a nicely raised stage and well-shined chandeliers. Sort of like the magic hall The Beatles walked into at during the final scene of "Magical Mystery Tour." Hotel officials are really excited about the Sept. 17 event at Veil: "Half Pint Brawlers." Yep, wrestling among dwarfs, or "dwarves," for Tolkien fanciers. Other bookings at Silverton: .38 Special (Sept. 4), Average White Band (Sept. 18) and Three Dog Night (Oct. 23). Think Silverton is in a tug-of-war with Buffalo Bill's Star of the Desert Arena for mid-level entertainment? Me too.

Everybody loves Romano

Brad Garrett says his real-life friend and former brother from "Everybody Loves Raymond," Ray Romano, wants to appear at Garrett's comedy club at Tropicana. But that onstage reunion will be somewhat complicated as long as Romano is contracted to headline at Mirage, and Romano is booked there with Kevin James for weekend dates in September, October and November. But during an interview I conducted with Garrett for a recent Las Vegas Weekly cover story, Garrett hinted that Romano might find his way to the Trop, regardless of his current ties to MGM Resorts and Mirage.

"You know, things can happen," Garrett said. "I think I gotta get him here when there's a little bit of a lapse, maybe. And I know he wants to." A lapse, eh? As they say, in comedy, timing is every ...

Thing. It's everything.

Magic in the scheduling

Magician Steve Dacri is changing his schedule at Shimmer Cabaret to one night a week, Mondays. He'd been performing Sundays and Mondays, but clipped Sundays to help the room accommodate new shows being brought in (these include "Nunsense" and Trent Carlini's Elvis tribute, which join Andrew "Dice" Clay in Shimmer's eclectic lineup). Dacri's final Sunday was to be tonight. I mention Dacri primarily because he was not listed among performers in an update about Shimmer last week. Simple oversight, and yes, I will have to make is show, which I've heard is very good.

Extremely random, obscure, aged sightings

A couple of slices of obscurata from the field: In the mid-1990s, Robbie Robertson of The Band was known to hang out at PT's in Summerlin, the outpost on Rampart just north of Lake Mead Boulevard. This went on for about two weeks. Evidently, Robertson owned a house in the area at the time. Also during that period, David Gilmour (known as the lead guitarist for Pink Floyd when he is recognized) was spotted at Crown & Anchor.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.