Columnist Jerry Fink: Careers of two friends are just kid stuff

Friday, Dec. 19, 2003 | 9:35 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at jerry@lasvegassun.com at (702) 259-4058.

They were pals, growing up in Denver.

Dan Rodriguez liked comedy and magic.

Paull Casas liked comedy and music.

As far back as seventh grade the friends, now 40, envisioned careers in show business.

"I did a magic act, and Paull did an Elvis impersonation," Rodriguez said. "We were buddies. We promised that if one of us was successful, he would help the other."

As they grew up, pursuing their respective dreams, they never forgot the childhood vow.

Rodriguez carved out an entertainment niche for himself, performing at school assemblies and corporate events.

Casas, who began sneaking into nightclubs and sitting in with bands at age 15, landed a gig with Up With People in 1982 -- a troupe of vocalists that performed at colleges and other venues.

"We traveled all over the world," Casas said. "We even performed for the Pope. We did lots of TV."

After a couple of years, he struck out on his own, performing in hotel lounges, nightclubs and private functions, mostly in and around Denver.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez' road to success took a slightly different path.

McDonald's Corp. was a corporate sponsor for his school assembly shows.

"I got to know a lot of McDonald's owners on a personal level in small communities all over the country," Rodriguez said.

After 15 years of school assemblies, he decided to join the McDonald's team. He spent four years in training and then bought his first franchise.

"It was in Ely, Nevada," Rodriguez said. "I built it from the ground up. It was the first McDonald's in Ely."

He liked the Northern Nevada community and even served as the president of the Chamber of Commerce. He says he would have run for mayor if he had stayed, but after two years he had a chance to buy three McDonald's restaurants in Broomfield, Colo., about 10 miles southeast of Boulder.

"I couldn't pass up an opportunity to go back home," Rodriguez said.

Over the years he added three more McDonald's to the original three. But a couple of years ago, he began to burn out. He longed for the entertainment career that he had put on a shelf.

Las Vegas beckoned.

Rodriguez called Casas and told him he was moving to the Entertainment Capital of the World and to get ready to join him when he got settled.

Rodriguez sold his franchises and bought a McDonald's in Pahrump, which he and his wife, Manon, still operate. Then he fulfilled the vow made almost 30 years ago in a small town in the Rocky Mountains.

Rodriguez became Casas' producer, as well as the producer for the magic team of Victor and Diamond.

He leased the 100-seat showroom at Bourbon Street for his own acts, and also sublet the space to other producers.

In May, Rodriguez decided to get out of the landlord business. He and Casas left Bourbon Street and moved to the Fitzgeralds Events Center Showroom.

Rodriguez, in addition to being Casas' close friend and producer, is now his opening act, performing a short comedy routine as The Great Golfini, a bit that fuses a golf theme with comedy and magic.

They perform at a free show at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Rodriguez is Casas' biggest fan.

"He's a super vocalist," Rodriguez said. "He has great charisma onstage -- he's the new Wayne Newton, he's so charismatic."

Casas returns the respect and admiration.

"We have a great chemistry going," he said. "We're like brothers. We trust each other dearly, and in this business, trust is hard to find."

So are friends.

Lounging around

Midnight Affair, featuring Jessica Marciel and Mike Shane, will perform from 8:30 p.m. to midnight tonight and Saturday at the new Chianti Restaurant (in the mall at the northeast corner of Green Valley Parkway and Sunset Road).

The Southern Nevada Blues Association will meet from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 4 at Hamburger Mary's, 4503 Paradise Road. For information call 735-4400 or 812-3088 or visit the website, www.snvblues.org.

Former Las Vegas trumpeter Norman Prentice died Nov. 19 in Boise, Idaho, from complications from Alzheimer's disease. The 74-year-old musician moved to Vegas in 1953, toured with the Stan Kenton Orchestra and in 1960 joined the Louis Prima Band.

Through the years he performed with entertainers such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Ella Fitzgerald and Barbra Streisand and musicians such as Carl Fontana, Gus Mancuso, Santo Savino, Carl Saunders and Kenny Sievert.

Prentice moved to Boise from Las Vegas in 1998 after being diagnosed with the degenerative disease.