Columnist Joe Delaney: Concert, boxing match will have LV hopping this weekend

Joe Delaney

Friday, Nov. 12, 1999 | 10:41 a.m.

Joe Delaney's column appears Thursdays and Fridays. Reach him at 259-4066 or joe@vegas.com

Mandalay Bay should be a big winner this weekend with Ricky Martin in its Events Center this evening, and co-promoting Saturday's Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis heavyweight championship boxing match in the Thomas & Mack Center with Hilton's Park Place Entertainment. What would be an ordinary weekend is extraordinary.

Lewis would be wise to employ the same unpopular but successful tactics that should have won for him the first time. ... His chin is suspect. ... If Lewis gets careless and goes all-out for a knockout, the wily Holyfield, always better the second time around, could take Lewis out. ... This one should be more interesting than their first fight.

Virtually all the fight tickets went to the various hotels. ... The regulars who help keep boxing alive week after week will have to pay $50 or $75 to watch it on a big screen or on pay-per-view.

A few kudos

Andre Agassi deserves all those accolades for his accomplishments on the tennis courts this year and even more praise locally for his annual Grand Slam for Children fund-raisers at the MGM Grand. ... Andre is one of our town's best ambassadors. ... Next time you travel overseas you will note the high regard accorded Andre throughout the world.

Locally, master magician Lance Burton very quietly does much good, especially with those LV charities that deal with ailing and disadvantaged children. ... The Shriners/Variety Club and the Children's Charity are two major beneficiaries. ... Siegfried & Roy's work with endangered animal species worldwide, so vital, should be noted as well.

Wayne Newton, moving to the Stardust hotel next year, is another artist who never has said "No" to any worthwhile local cause these past 40 years. ... More on this in next Thursday's column.

And a suggestion

Buddy Greco is away this weekend but Mrs. Greco, Lezlie Anders, and her orchestra, will be playing tonight in the Flamingo Hilton showroom with Frankie Randall, a Sinatra disciple, filling in for Buddy, who will return next Friday. ... It's good to see visitors -- and locals -- dressing up and going out to dine and dance in style.

Harrah's Improv comedy club has declared Thursdays "local's night" with two-for-one ticketing for Las Vegans showing a valid local ID at Harrah's box office. ... The hotel should include the very funny "Washington Sex Capades 2000" in this offer to locals.

After the National Finals Rodeo concludes on Dec. 12 it would also be nice if most of the hotels would give those who live here a similar opportunity. ... LV's population is at 1.3 million and still growing. ... Let's make Las Vegans feel welcome on the Strip once more.

UNLV this weekend

Trumpeter Jon Faddis, like Wynton Marsalis, has his roots in jazz but excels in playing classical music as well. ... Faddis leads the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band in concert at 8 p.m. Saturday in UNLV's Ham Hall. ... We've heard Faddis & Co. and put them on equal footing with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, which is scheduled as the 1999-2000 finale for the prestigious UNLV Vanda Master Series on April 16.

The late Al Hirt, a fellow New Orleanian, was an immensely talented trumpet player. ... Ellis Marsalis, Wynton's father, played piano in Hirt's group. ... Little Wynton was allowed to attend rehearsals.

One day, impulsively, Hirt gave Wynton one of his horns. ... Al told me later, "If I had known he was going to be that good, I would have given him a piano, a set of drums, anything but a trumpet." ... Marsalis has won Grammys for both his jazz and classical recordings.

Friday addenda

Happy 50th anniversary to the Las Vegas News Bureau and its prime sponsor, the LV Convention and Visitors Authority. ... It was a warm occasion, presided over by bureau chief Myram Borders, one of LV's premier journalists through the years. ... The affair saw a blue ribbon turnout of veterans and new members of the media; nicely done.

Don't miss the Four Freshmen, 52 years and still going strong, tonight and Saturday at the Santa Fe hotel; pick up their new CD while there. ... Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society's Mozart-Haydn Celebration is 3 p.m. Sunday in UNLV's Ham Hall. ...The McGuire Sisters and Clint Holmes head the stars appearing for the Candelighters Dance for Life, 4 p.m. Sunday (Boulder Station). ... See you next Thursday.