Columnist Joe Delaney: Charting a multitude of entertainment changes

Joe Delaney

Thursday, Aug. 24, 2000 | 9:26 a.m.

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

Lou Rawls, as quoted in a Las Vegas Sun story on Aug. 17: "They fired everybody (who knew about entertainment) and hired a bunch of new people. The whole concept of show business has changed. It has no meaning. They do a lot of one-night bookings." Rawls, appearing in the Blue Note at the Aladdin last weekend, preferred the days when entertainers would be booked for a week or two at a time so "you could develop a rapport with your audience."

The article also expressed Rawls' lament that the change of entertainment philosophy seems to be putting more emphasis on large-scale productions and concerts.

It goes much further than that with the loss this month of two major star-policy rooms, the Caesars Palace Circus Maximus and the Desert Inn Crystal Room, both for the foreseeable future ... The Circus Maximus is slated to be relocated; the Crystal Room, future unknown.

A little history

There was a time when LV showrooms were in operation twice a night, seven days a week ... Lounges had top-notch attractions as well, afternoons and evenings until the wee hours of the morning ... In a number of hotels, the lounge shows were as important a contributor to casino action as the main showroom ... Corporate thinking (every hotel area must be a profit center) led to the demise of the lounges as a casino factor.

The recent surveys commissioned by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority show entertainment as the No. 1 reason for visiting Las Vegas yet, in the addition to the two showrooms closing this month, three more are currently vacant -- the Flamingo Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas and Rio.

You can add Mandalay Bay's showroom, which has been picking up stars no longer playing Caesars or the Mirage for two or three-day weekends, to the list ... What ever happened to long-range planning?

Summing up

The Flamingo Las Vegas has known for the past couple of years that there would have to be a replacement for "The Great Radio City Spectacular" ... "Chicago" could have continued in the Mandalay Bay Theatre with some marquee-name power, at least until a suitable replacement was found or star policy instituted ... Paris Las Vegas knew from the beginning that "Notre Dame de Paris" was never going to be a winner here.

Credit the Rio for a valiant effort in its new Samba Theatre, now vacant ... There are performers who could do business in Las Vegas and shows, production and otherwise, that could work as well.

The trouble started with the four-wall, or lease out the showroom to entrepreneurs concept; abandonment of the responsibility of entertainment to third parties ... Entertainment requires knowledgeable visionaries who can both think and operate long range as well as short range.

Star-policy rundown

It's George Carlin (Bally's); Duke Ellington Orchestra (Blue Note); Motown Legends (Caesars Palace); Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Bobby Rydell (Desert Inn); The Penguins, Dixie Cups and The Cadillacs (Gold Coast); Clint Holmes (Harrah's); Bill Acosta (Luxor); Isaac Hayes (Mandalay Bay); David Copperfield, plus Rita Rudner, plus Tommy Tune starring in "EFX" (MGM Grand); Siegfried & Roy, plus Danny Gans (Mirage); and Lance Burton (Monte Carlo).

There's more: The Smothers Brothers (Orleans); David Cassidy-Sheena Easton (Rio); Sally Struthers-Rachel Ricca in "Always ... Patsy Cline" (Silverton); The Pointers, plus Bob Anderson (Stardust); and Melinda, First Lady of Magic, plus Andre-Phillipe Gagnon (Venetian).

Tickets for UNLV's 2000-2001 "Big City Season" are now on sale at UNLV's Performing Arts Center Box Office or from tickets.com ... Season tickets are still available; call 895-2787 or 895-4717; don't be shut out.

An appreciation

Vet Las Vegas producer and good friend Matt Gregory died on July 28, at age 79, a cancer victim ... In the early 1950s, at the original El Rancho Las Vegas, he brought over the first of the French-styled revues, paving the way for the "Folies Bergere," "Lido de Paris" and "Casino de Paree" that followed ... His subsequent productions were noted for style and class ... His son, Adam, is a local stage technician ... Rest well, Matt.

The "30-30 Dinner," now called the "Old-Timers Dinner," will be at the Stardust on Oct. 22 ... Tickets are $35, available through Ken Johann Realty (382-6336) ... Order early, get that good table ... See you Friday.