Columnist Joe Delaney: Lewis-Tua to highlight weekend

Joe Delaney

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000 | 10:25 a.m.

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

Lennox Lewis vs. David Tua for the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council championship belts, now the property of Lewis, Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center is the top entertainment event of the weekend ... Tua can hit with authority ... We doubt it can go the full 12 rounds, but it should be a battle whatever the length.

Lewis is a vastly improved fighter over the person caught cold and taken out in two rounds by one Oliver McCall ... Can Tua get inside early? ... If he can, it could be a very short, unpleasant evening for Lewis.

Prior to Las Vegas, I was part of talent manager/agent Joe Glaser's boxing brain trust, close to the events that led to Sugar Ray Robinson's comeback and recapturing of the middleweight title from Carl "Bobo" Olsen and his "lend-lease" series with Carmen Basilio, and those first two fights with Gene Fullmer ... My interest since then is solely as a fan.

A few questions

Will the Flamingo Las Vegas evening show "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" be here after the first of the year? ... How will Bill Acosta fare when he moves his "Lasting Impressions" from the Luxor to the Flamingo on Nov. 28, doing 10 p.m. shows with live music and dancers working topless, with a reported $59 ticket price, almost a 50-percent hike?

Wouldn't the Pharoah's Theatre at the Luxor be ideal for Rita Rudner if she does have to vacate the MGM Grand Cabaret Theatre right after Thanksgiving? ... Is the authentic Paris version of the Crazy Horse revue still coming to the MGM Grand Cabaret Theatre? If not, will Rudner stay on there indefinitely?

Will Steve Wyrick's magic show at the Sahara be like that final straw that sent the camel to the osteopath? ... Could it be that Wyrick's onstage personality is the weakest part of his performance? ... Don't you agree that hotels should go back to operating their showrooms themselves?

An appreciation

Steve Allen ranks with Milton Berle; "Your Show of Shows" with Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris; and Lucille Ball as major contributors to the early growth of television ... Allen created "The Tonight Show" concept and set the standard for Jack Parr, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman and others.

Allen was a multitalent whose forte was discovering and helping to develop the career of others ... Bill ("Jose Jiminez") Dana, Don Knotts, Louis Nye and Tom Poston were regulars, but he also gave other comedians an outlet, odd fellows such as Lenny Bruce and Professor Irwin C. Corey ... He gave Pete Barbutti, now at the Plaza, his first TV opportunity.

His singing regulars were Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gorme, Andy Wiliams and Pat Kirby, who retired early, winners all ... Our relationship goes back to his radio days in Los Angeles, before television ... We lost an authentic American original last week.

Star-policy rundown

It's Whitney Houston-Bobby Brown, Friday only (Aladdin); George Carlin-Dennis Blair (Bally's); Clint Holmes, evenings and Mac King, afternoons (Harrah's); Fielding West (Lady Luck); Blue Man Group (Luxor); Penn & Teller, plus Rudner, plus Tommy Tune starring in "EFX" (MGM Grand); Siegfried & Roy and Danny Gans in separate theaters (Mirage); Lance Burton (Monte Carlo) and the Righteous Brothers (Orleans).

Plus Barbutti (Plaza); Lee Ann Womack (Stardust); Jack Jones (Suncoast); Dom Irrera, Friday only (Sunset Station); Rick Thomas, afternoons (Tropicana) and Melinda, First Lady of Magic (Venetian).

A few more questions: Can De La Guarda be a long-term winner at the Rio? ... Shouldn't Park Place keep Caesars Magical Empire going at least until they do build that new showroom? ... Will we see a number of show ticket price increases as Las Vegas enters the year 2001?

Local events

"The Who's Tommy" continues through Sunday (CCSN Horn Theatre); LV Little Theatre's "Tuna Christmas," this weekend and next (3844 Schiff Drive); Laura Taylor and the Nevada Jazz orchestra, 2 p.m. Sunday (Winchester Center) ... More good jazz at Pogo's on Friday; with the World's Smallest Jazz Band, 2-5 p.m. Sunday (Swede's Corner) and at the Riviera on Monday nights ... Support your local events ... See you Friday.