Friday, July 8, 2005 | 8:33 a.m.
Brown, one of the more talented entertainers in Vegas, headlines at the Golden Nugget -- which was bought from the MGM Mirage more than 18 months ago by Timothy Poster and Tom Breitling, who recently sold it to Houston-based Landry's Restaurants Inc., whose chairman and chief executive officer is Tilman Fertitta, who is a cousin to the Fertitta family, which owns Station Casinos.
Poster and Breitling still own the Golden Nugget in Laughlin.
They announced in November they were selling the Laughlin property to Barrick Gaming, owner of the Plaza, Vegas Club, Gold Spike and Western hotels downtown.
But the deal fell through in May, and in June it was announced that Barrick was selling its interest in the downtown properties to silent partner (and majority shareholder) Tamares Barrick Las Vegas Properties LLC.
Is all of that clear?
No?
Well, what is clear is that Brown, through all of the turmoil, has managed to maintain his poise and continues to provide outstanding entertainment in a part of town that is desperately trying to claim a foothold in the Entertainment Capital of the World.
But there was a bit of confusion there for a while.
Brown's yearlong contract ended in June and he took off a few weeks while a new agreement was being hammered out that would be agreeable with the new owner when he takes over -- the date of the transfer of power has not yet been announced.
While Brown's people negotiated with the Golden Nugget's people, the Nugget took the opportunity to do a little remodeling of the 400-seat showroom -- not a major overhaul, just tweaking of the sound system and a few other projects.
The former political cartoonist from Canada announced last week a new deal had been signed -- six months with options.
The deal includes adding a second show at 9:30 p.m. Saturdays -- this in addition to his performances at 7:30 p.m. Fridays through Tuesdays.
Brown is almost an anomaly in Vegas these days. He doesn't four-wall -- which means he is paid for his services, rather than renting the room from the casino.
The money is well spent.
Brown is an indefatigable performer. For almost 80 minutes he barely pauses to take a breath as he spoofs one entertainer after another -- from Randy Travis to Elton John.
Brown's rewriting of lyrics to popular songs by those he impersonates can be hilarious.
Willie Nelson's hit "Always on My Mind" comes out "Maybe I didn't pay my taxes quite as often as I should have, but they were always on my mind ..."
And Nelson's duet with Julio Iglesias ("To All the Girls I've Loved Before") becomes "To All the Plants I've Smoked Before."
Brown's creative mind takes aim at some of Vegas' most popular performers -- "Wayne Newton built a 10-foot-high fence around his property for his penguins before he realized these birds can't fly."
And at such internationally acclaimed artists as Paul Simon -- turning Simon into a stand-up comic singing a joke to the tune "Graceland."
He performs duets with himself (Elton John and Billy Joel; Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr). He shows us how country dancing came about. He spoofs John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Billy Ray Cyrus and dozens of others.
Brown has such a wealth of material, he says his shows change daily -- which also seems to be the case with the ownership of the downtown casinos.
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