VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Marrandino rocks on — to Le Reve

Friday, Dec. 20, 2002 | 9:21 a.m.

Don Marrandino is checking out of the Hard Rock Hotel.

He announced his resignation Thursday and will work for Steve Wynn at Wynn's new Le Reve resort.

"This is the opportunity of a lifetime," Marrandino, the Hard Rock's president and chief operating officer, told VegasBeat.

His official title will be executive vice president/general manager of Wynn Resorts Ltd.

"I love (Hard Rock owner) Peter Morton and have nothing but wonderful things to say about this place and the people here," Marrandino, a 44-year-old New Jersey native, said.

"But when Steve Wynn -- the greatest guy in gaming today -- calls you, you gotta listen to what he has to say."

Marrandino said he will remain with the Hard Rock for a transition period as he helps his replacement -- no one has been named -- ease into the slot. He had no timetable for the process.

In a prepared statement, Wynn said: "I am excited that Don Marrandino will infuse Wynn Resorts with some part of the energy" that has made the Hard Rock a "very special place on the Las Vegas scene."

Wynn credited Marrandino's "vitality" and "originality" with "exposing Las Vegas to a new dimension in the evolution of the entertainment industry."

Le Reve is scheduled to open in April 2005.

Marrandino, who has the disposition and appearance of a California surfer dude, was seemingly a perfect fit with the rock 'n' roll aura of the Hard Rock.

He arrived at the hotel in 2001 after spending seven years at Station Casinos and the six previous years at The Rio.

Marrandino's first hospitality industry job was at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City in 1981.

For Sunset Station's opening in 1997 he booked Nils Lofgren and Clarence Clemons from Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Marrandino has continued to book rock's biggest acts for The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel, from the Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan.

Last week VegasBeat exclusively reported that The Joint had no acts booked after the Red Hot Chili Peppers played on New Year's Eve, setting off a wave of speculation regarding Marrandino and The Joint itself.

Gaiety trumpeted

That was an increasingly svelte Oscar Goodman who turned up at "A Very Gay Christmas Carol" Thursday night at the Whitney Library Theater.

Thursday morning the Las Vegas mayor had his monthly weigh-in, as part of his two-month-old diet and exercise program. He has lost another eight pounds, for a total of 13 off his original weight of 233 pounds.

That night he and Gary Peck, director of the Nevada ACLU, made a surprise appearance onstage, playing a homosexual couple at a commitment ceremony.

The audience started howling with laughter when they realized who was up there.

"Between me and Goodman, there was more ham onstage than at all of the Christmas buffets on the Strip," Peck said.

Goodman -- justifiably proud of his trimmer shape -- was quick to point out, "A few months ago there would have been 13 more pounds of ham than there was tonight."

Low profile

It is safe to say that Richard Bryan is one of Nevada's most recognizable names and faces.

He was governor from 1982 to 1988 and a U.S. senator from 1989 to 2001. Today he is a regular on KLAS Channel 8 news broadcasts, where he offers insightful political commentary.

It was therefore natural to see his mug shot in the American Gaming Summit 2003 registration brochure. The January conference at The Rio bills itself as "The Most Important Event in the Industry."

Problem is, the name under Bryan's picture is Tom Foley.

Would that be Tom Foley the middle infielder who hit .293 for the Montreal Expos in 1987? Or Tom Foley the Washington state politician who was the 49th Speaker of the House?

Phone tag

Evolution of a rumor:

In an October interview with Elle magazine for its December issue, Catherine Zeta-Jones says that she sometimes feels she is a frustrated lounge act, and would love to have a Vegas show one day.

In November VegasBeat runs a little item about Zeta-Jones telling the glossy of her interest in Las Vegas.

Two days ago we get a call from John Harlow, the Los Angeles bureau chief of The Sunday Times of London. He was very excited when he asked us what we knew about the new Catherine Zeta-Jones show that is about to open on the Strip.

"We heard she has been offered big bucks by one of the casinos," Harlow said.

Oh yes, we told him, it is all true. In fact, she is going to open for Michael Jackson when he opens his magic show next week at the Dunes. Or was it the Sands?

(Uh, for the record, we're kidding. Zeta-Jones has not been booked and the Dunes and Sands are now rubble.)

He wants his TIVO

Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano should have been a speed skater, not a figure skater. It would have made it easier to get to all his commitments.

Saturday night he headlines a one-night stand at Mandalay Bay, with Nancy Kerrigan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Apollo Anton Ohno and En Vogue (who will not be skating.

The show is to be taped for broadcast Jan. 1 on NBC (for more about the show, see Jerry Fink's story on page 1E of today's Accent section).

Boitano's problem is the live show occurs at the exact same time he performs on the televised "Ray Charles Tribute on Ice," also on NBC, which was taped in Los Angeles in October.

"Maybe I'll bring a Watchman or something into the dressing room," Boitano told VegasBeat. "I hate to miss myself like that."

Moore, merrier

VegasBeat had a chance to briefly chat online with Julianne Moore on Thursday, just after she was nominated for a Best Actress Golden Globe award for her role in "Far From Heaven."

"Success doesn't do anything but exacerbate your personality. People I know that are crazy as movie stars were crazy before they were, too," she said via e-mail.

Referring to anyone in particular?

"Me? I am extremely tenacious. As an actor you need to have an extreme amount of sensitivity combined with a ridiculous hardheadedness."

VegasBits

Steve Schirripa -- the former Riviera entertainment director who co-stars on "The Sopranos" -- is having another Las Vegas book signing. He'll sign copies of "A Goomba's Guide To Life" at Borders at 2190 North Rainbow Blvd. on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ...

Tickets just went on sale for "Drew Carey & The Improv All Stars." Carey, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Kathy Kinney, Greg Proops, Brad Sherwood, Chip Esten, Jeff Davis, Julie Larson and Sean Masterson will take suggestions from the audience at MGM Grand's Holywood Theatre from Jan. 23 to Jan. 26 ...

The latest high-end property in the Las Vegas Valley, the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, is ready to go. It has signed up The Firm, a prestigious Las Vegas public relations company, and is starting to give tours to potential VIP customers next week.

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