Columnist Kate Maddox: Dusty opening for Desert Passage

Kate Maddox

Friday, Aug. 18, 2000 | 8:36 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at kmaddox@lasvegassun.com.

Well, it was a casino opening, so I guess it couldn't have gone that smoothly. There were some kinks, big ones, at the Aladdin on Thursday night.

As hundreds of people filed into the newly opened Desert Passage mall early in the evening, they were greeted with champagne. Nice, huh? Classy move, unless you wanted water.

Keeping with the desert theme, I suppose, guests who asked for water (or any other nonalcoholic quencher) were told the hotel had run out. I understand authenticity, but this bordered on ridiculous -- should have taken it as a sign of things to come.

Most of the shops were open, but only a few were doing business. Sur La Table, the upscale cookery store, had a slew of customers, as did a couple of galleries. People were out for strolling and window shopping, things were going fairly well, and then the crowds rushed in. As expected, the mall swarmed with people and things got a little hairy.

Rumors that the hotel wouldn't be open before midnight were swirling around. At 10 p.m. the fire inspectors hadn't even entered the Aladdin to do their final checks. So those that had hoped to drop a little cash at the tables were forced to hit the mall and forget the 21.

Construction was still being completed at the Desert Passage, so crowds had to tangle with workers rushing to put on the finishing touches, and avoid the wandering performers who managed to take up too much space and cause a somewhat nasty racket.

Ringing ears were de rigeur.

Even Barbara Eden, Jeannie herself, was only allowed a quiet fanfare. After the late start (festivities ran at least a half hour behind schedule) Eden followed a camel parade into the mall. Oh well. So much for celebrity sightings.

One Strip star who did seem in the mood to celebrate Las Vegas' newest hotel was comedienne Rita Rudner. And who could blame her? Rudner was decked out in more than $200,000 worth of Mayor's Jewelers diamonds -- they are a girl's best friend, you know.

Rudner strutted through the Desert Passage sporting a 42-carat diamond and platinum necklace, with a pair of $20,000 earrings to match. With a walking advertisement in Rudner, Mayor's seemed to be one of the few new mall boutiques getting into the spirit of the evening.

After the heat and hustle of the mall crowds, one might have thought a cozy concert at the brand new Blue Note Las Vegas jazz club would be just the ticket. And it was, if you fancy saunas.

The club, which was packed to the gills with invited guests, had a busted air-conditioning system. One of the club managers blamed headliner Nancy Wilson for the heated conditions. Seems Wilson is anti-a/c and claims it affects her voice. Fair enough, unless you've just hoofed it at least a block in sweltering heat to get to the new place (the Blue Note can only be accessed from the street; there is no mall connection).

The show was more than an hour late getting started. When Wilson took the stage around 9:30 p.m. (to be followed by Lou Rawls ) those guests who weren't up to sweating it out were filing out -- rapidly. Even perennial party-goer Robin Leach looked less than comfortable.

Well, on the whole it was a rough welcome. But here's hoping that things improve and the place does well. After all, the Aladdin was a Las Vegas institution. We can only hope its successor can carry the torch.