Tuesday, July 13, 2004 | 10:22 a.m.
The Las Vegas Monorail, which opens to the public Thursday morning, bills itself as an asset to all of the Strip.
But if you are an entertainer who doesn't work for one of the behemoth properties that built a monorail stop, stay away from its big opening party Wednesday morning.
That was the message given to longtime Riviera headliner Frank Marino when he inquired about participating in the inaugural monorail ride after he read about the star-studded sojourn in the Las Vegas Sun.
Marino was interested in attending the first-ride fete to mark the opening of the $650 million rail line. He hoped to join a list of stars that includes Danny Gans, Clint Holmes and Rita Rudner.
"I want to support Las Vegas any way I can," Marino said. "But they told me not to come because there was no Riviera stop -- that my hotel was not important. I was stunned. I love Las Vegas and the Riviera, which is about to celebrate 50 years here.
"Not only are they telling me to go to hell, but they are telling the Riviera to go to hell, and that is disgusting."
Marino, who for 20 years has starred as Joan Rivers in "An Evening at La Cage," also pointed out that Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton, was being snubbed.
Newton performs at the Stardust, which is owned by Boyd Gaming, which does not have a stop on the monorail line. However, both properties are on a route map, in the shape of a monorail car, distributed to the media as part of the opening festivities.
Hard Rock Hotel comedy headliner Jeffrey Beacher also says he was told not to attend. The Hard Rock is not on the route map. No downtown entertainers are participating, either.
"We only have invited our resort partners," said Todd Walker, a spokesman for the Las Vegas Monorail. "They (the resorts) donated, at no cost to us, $100 million worth of (property) easements in order to build the stations. They should get something back for that. This is the biggest opening event of any kind in Las Vegas this year.
"But the fact is that we can't accommodate everyone. There is only so much space, and priority goes to the entertainers at properties that have a stop."
The route goes from MGM Grand to the Sahara, behind the Strip. Some stops are named for hotels that are not along the route, but have sister properties that are, such as the Flamingo/Caesars Palace stop.
Viva Stardust
Its producer and creator vow that the "Havana Nights!" production that is coming from Cuba to the Stardust will go on, despite visa troubles for the 53 cast members.
"They'll give in (and provide travel visas), I am sure," the show's creator, Nicole Durr, told us Tuesday, referring to the Cuban government. "The little snag we have here right now is from the Cuban side. The U.S. government and the Department of Homeland Security are OK with everything because we are an independent group and not part of the Cuban government in any way."
Durr is staying at the Stardust while prepping for the July 31 opening.
"It is about freedom of speech and my artists being able to perform. I have every confidence that they will arrive on schedule and the show will go on," Durr said.
She also said that show backers Siegfried & Roy would "absolutely" be at the grand opening party and performance Aug. 7. We reminded her that Roy Horn hasn't been out at a public event since last year's tiger attack, but she repeatedly insisted that both would be in attendance.
Durr, who is German, knows the illusionist duo from way back, she said, and added that "Havana Nights!" will be performed on the same Stardust stage where they once performed.
That's Italian
One of New York's most famous old-school Italian eateries, the Greenwich Village institution Il Mulino, is coming to Vegas.
The neighborhood hangout for such celebs as Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick and assorted vintage mobsters such as Vincent "The Chin" Gigante (before he was sent off to the hoosegow!) is coming to the Forum Shops at Caesars.
The opening is planned for the end of the year.
Il Mulino also recently opened branches in Tokyo and Dallas.
Mazel tov
TV football prognosticator and Henderson resident Wayne Allyn Root is branching out. He tells us that he is starting a Nevada chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
"And why not? Las Vegas has the fastest-growing Jewish population in America. And it leads the country in small-business creation," Root said.
The first planned local RJC event is Sept. 22, with guest speaker Ari Fleisher, the first White House press secretary under President Bush.
Mind meeting
Two local trade mag publishers had lunch last week with the intention of bringing their publications together.
Minnie Madden, publisher of Call Back, the respected entertainment tabloid, is considering selling to Michael Politz, who runs Las Vegas Food & Beverage magazine and Eye on Vegas, an Internet newsletter.
Politz says the merger would make him the largest trade publisher in the state.
VegasBits
Shape: In terms of conditioning, there is no such thing as an off-season anymore for professional athletes. Terrell Owens, the new star Philadelphia Eagles receiver, was spotted going through a two-hour workout at the Palms fitness club on Thursday night ...
Wrestle: Shaun Daily (aka Shaun O Mac), who used to co-host the "Wrestling Zone" show on KLAV AM-1230, has been out promoting his new "Tap Out" Internet wrestling show, which airs Sunday nights on lvrocks.com. Over the weekend he was poolside at The Rio talking up his program, and Sunday afternoon was hosting a party for the show at Olympic Garden with "Buffalo" Jim Barrier ...
From Sun wires
Franken changes show's name: Al Franken's radio show, "The O'Franken Factor," is changing its name to "The Al Franken Show."
The new, more typical, show name was chosen over candidates such as "The O'Limbaugh Factor" and "The O'President Bush Factor," Franken said Monday.
Franken's daily three-hour show on the liberal talk radio network Air America Radio was dubbed "The O'Franken Factor" in a jab at Fox News host Bill O'Reilly.
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