Friday, July 8, 2005 | 8:34 a.m.
Some viewers will be disturbed -- others fascinated -- by the independent documentary "No Limit: A Search for the American Dream on the Poker Tournament Trail."
Highlights of the film were showcased at the Palms this week, capitalizing on the international spotlight shining on the World Series of Poker action taking place down the street at the Rio.
"No Limit" follows poker player and independent filmmaker Susan Genard from the fall of 2003 through the spring of 2004 as she crisscrosses the country entering poker tournaments.
She has her then-4-year-old son in tow, leaving him with babysitters in casinos while she pursues her dream of winning.
Genard sees no reason for anyone to be bothered by the footage of a child in a stroller in a world populated by gamblers whose whole purpose in life is to end up with all the chips.
"I take my child to work with me," she said during a party in the GhostBar following a showing of clips from the film. "I'm always very close to him."
Genard says she is probably closer to her son than most parents, who leave their children at home when they go to work.
In one scene she is sitting at a poker table, focused on the game at hand, when she receives a telephone call from the sitter, informing her that her son has a stomachache.
As she speaks to her son on the phone, uttering comforting words, Genard remains focused on the action unfolding in front of her -- watching the cards, following the betting.
"No Limit" is a candid film about the cutthroat world of poker.
While following Genard on her journey, more than 40 world-class poker players are interviewed -- giving us a glimpse at what makes them tick.
Bobby Baldwin, the 1978 winner of the World Series of Poker and now chief executive of Mirage Resorts, is among the elite on the list. So is 2003 champion Chris Moneymaker, as well as dozens of others.
The film was produced by Genard, of Santa Monica, Calif., and her former boyfriend, Tim Rhys of Portland, Maine, publisher of MovieMaker magazine.
Rhys is the father of Genard's now 6-year-old son, but they were no longer romantically involved during the filming. The couple are in business together through Camden Pictures.
Genard saw the potential for a documentary about poker in 2002, a year before its popularity exploded in 2003 because of media hype.
"No Limit" co-director Brian O'Hare says editing of the film will be completed in a couple of months, and they hope to enter it in the Toronto Film Festival in September.
O'Hare is not a gambler, but he is enthusiastic about the documentary.
"Most of us see only one side of the phenomenon," he said.
"No Limit" digs deep into the psyche of the poker player.
It isn't always a pretty sight, but at least it is an honest one.
"Poker parallels a lot of universal truths," O'Hare said. "This film isn't so much about poker as about their dream."
The film turns poker into a metaphor.
"We're all trying to win the World Series of Poker," O'Hare said.
More poker
The 36th Annual World Series of Poker, which began June 2 at the Rio, is winding down.
Some 6,000 fans entered this year's $10,000 buy-in series, competing for a championship prize of more than $8 million.
This is the first year the series has been held at the Rio, which is owned by Harrah's, which bought Binion's Horseshoe a couple of years ago to gain ownership of the World Series of Poker.
The surroundings are a lot nicer and more spacious -- Binion's wouldn't have been able to easily accommodate the record-breaking turnout of gamblers this year.
But not every poker player is happy that the international event was moved from Binion's, its home for 35 years.
"I don't like it," said 77-year-old Johnny Hale, who hails from Owasso, Okla. (a small town outside of Tulsa), and sports a white Stetson and Western-cut attire."I liked the old, dirty place. It's hard for me to make the change."
Hale won the title of Best All Around Poker Player in the 1980 tournament. He has been playing poker most of his life, but perfected his game during World War II.
Since retiring he has been focusing more of his time on the game, organizing tournaments around the world, including an annual seniors event in Paris.
Next year he will help the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma host its first million-dollar tournament at its casino in Catoosa, Okla.
And more poker
The late Benny Binion was a pretty down-to-earth guy, a Texan who founded Binion's Horseshoe and created a place known around the world as a Mecca for true gamblers.
One wonders what he would think about the changes to the World Series of Poker he started 36 years ago. It's more of a circus atmosphere these days, fueled by the unprecedented interest in poker around the world.
Through Saturday the Rio is sponsoring its first World Series of Poker (WSOP) Lifestyle Show, with more than 100 poker lifestyle vendors selling their wares.
There are countless side games around town, the nontournament events played by professional gamblers who think tournaments are not as exciting as the more private affairs.
And there have been a few sideshows, such as Wednesday evening's World Series Barbecue party, hosted by professional poker player Howard Lederer and sponsored by Jim Beam Brands.
Wednesday night there was a mixer for VIP poker players at the Rio's Flirt nightclub, hosted by the World Series of Poker and sponsored by Knob Creek, VOX and Jim Beam.
The poker carnival comes to a close next week.
The final two days of the tournament, July 15-16, will be held at the old Binion's, a tribute to its roots during this centennial anniversary of Vegas.
Manly men
It might not necessarily be true, but there are rumors that some performers in some male revues are gay.
It's an image issue.
I'm told that all of the cast members of "Candyman: From Russia with Love" are as straight as an arrow, and there is no reason to dispute that.
But it may be hard to convince some people when the dance revue closes its show at Fitzgeralds tonight and reopens July 18 at Krave, a gay-friendly nightclub and restaurant.
When Krave opened last year on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and Harmon Avenue, next to the Aladdin, the owner boasted it was the first gay club on the Strip.
It features a showroom, bar and restaurant (EAT).
While the venue may cater to folks of all persuasions (billing itself as "omni-sexual"), it still has the image of an upscale gay club, at least with locals.
Michele Mosey, executive producer of "Candyman," which features a cast of all-Russian performers, isn't concerned about the conflict of image.
"Most people don't know it's a gay nightclub -- especially the tourists," Mosey said, "and more than 80 percent of our clients are tourists."
Female tourists, that is.
"Our guys are definitely straight, and we are aiming for the female audience," Mosey said.
She says because the show targets females, it was necessary to find a location on the Strip as opposed to downtown.
"A lot of ladies won't go downtown," Mosey said. "They're afraid of it. I never went downtown before I did the show. Fitzgeralds was nice enough to give us a start, but we needed to be on the Strip."
"Candyman" will share the showroom with "Fashionistas," porn producer John Stagliano's avant-garde production that features a cast of characters including homosexuals, cross-dressers, dominatrixes, submissives and S&M fans.
The plot involves a love triangle -- between two women and a man.
"Candyman" is a more traditional dance revue along the lines of "Thunder from Down Under" (Excalibur) and "Chippendales" (Rio).
The cast of eight includes three former members of Cirque du Soleil. All of the dancers were trained by Cirque.
Mosey says the larger showroom at Krave will allow the performers to spread their wings. No more bumping their heads on the ceiling.
"The guys will be able to do all their Cirque stuff," she said. "We will have more room to expand our show, to showcase their talents more."
"Candyman" performances are 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays (dark Sundays). "Fashionistas" performances are at 9:30 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays.
Channel 35 update
Despite receiving some bad press when Robin Leach ended an agreement with KVTE Channel 35 earlier this year, executive producer Jon Fondy says the UHF station is well on its way to creating the Las Vegas Network envisioned by owner Nathan Drage.
Drage bought the station in 2003. He and Leach became business partners more than a year later, but the partnership ended over management issues.
Fondy wasn't around when the controversy hit the fan. He signed on later as an executive with the station and as host of "Vegas Business," a business-oriented talk show that airs live at 5 p.m. and repeats at 9 a.m. Mondays through Fridays.
"Channel 35 has experienced tremendous growth," said Fondy. "We started with three live programs, and now there are 11. We have 24 hours of programming a day -- we're growing every day, and we're having fun at it, too."
The programming is a mixture of live and taped shows and movies.
For his show, Fondy interviews a variety of people about a variety of business subjects in Vegas.
"The program was designed to be a daily, comprehensive business report about the business of Las Vegas," Fondy said. "That includes gaming, gaming stocks, tourism, the growing real estate market, politics, education, entertainment.
"We try to do the show on a very topical basis. The news you will see here you may not see until the next day in the newspaper."
He says the station and the business program are gaining credibility.
"The mayor talks with us," Fondy said. "The director of tourism came in recently."
Recent guests of Fondy's included real-estate agent Jason Abrams of Re/Max Central and investment specialist Sheldon Stern of AJ Capital Mortgage.
They discussed the uniqueness of Vegas -- whose economy seems to be recession-proof.
Abrams and Stern say they are not concerned about the station's limited viewership -- the UHF channel is not on cable and therefore has the potential of reaching only about 200,000 viewers.
However, Fondy says "Vegas Business" (and perhaps all of the Channel 35 programs) eventually will find a home on cable. He's hoping his show will be on cable by Aug. 1.
Meanwhile, the station is getting some national exposure via computer.
"All the shows are being streamed on the Web (www.vegas35tv.com), so people all over the United States can watch the live feed," Fondy said.
Eventually, Fondy said, programming will be sent to satellite, and other UHF stations will download whatever they choose.
"That's 20 million potential viewers," he said.
Among the programs available on 35 are "Oddsfather," "Vegas Sports Party" and "Aloha Sunday."
There are bilingual and Spanish programs on weekends.
"We're right on track to becoming a network," Fondy said.
Weird stuff
"Amazing Animal Inventions," a feature created by Las Vegas producer George Ciccarone, will premiere at 8 p.m. Sunday on Animal Planet (Cox Cable channel 58).
The two-hour special will be hosted by comedian Debra Wilson, who was a co-star of Fox's "Mad TV" for eight seasons.
Among the 20 inventions that will be featured (along with their inventors) is a hamster-powered car, a horse taillight, a bird diaper, a hamster hauler, a dog scooter and a fish-tank toilet.
Going, Going, Gans
Danny Gans will be taking off for 12 weeks beginning Nov. 1 for rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder.
A Gans spokesman said the impressionist doesn't want to cancel any shows that have already been sold, so his last performance will be Oct. 30. He returns Feb. 7.
Shows at the Mirage are at 8 p.m. nightly, dark Mondays and Fridays.
Last year the popular performer was off for several weeks for surgery on a torn tendon in his right hand. He injured the tendon while lifting weights.
Gans also has missed performances in the past because of a cracked sternum he suffered in an auto accident, and for a head injury received when he dripped over the family's dog.
Vegas views
Eight-time Grammy Award winner Natalie Cole will perform on the floating stage at Lake Las Vegas at 8 p.m. July 30 as part of "Stars on the Lake" concert series.
Tickets are $100 for reserved VIP seating and $49.95 general admission.
For information call 795-7469.
Blues musicians Jai de Lavon, formerly with the house band at House of Blues, and Rick Nashe, with the band BluesStorm, will make their debut at the Jazzed Cafe at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The Cafe is located at 8615 W. Sahara Ave.
Tickets are on sale for the Las Vegas International Mariachi Festival, which will perform at the Thomas & Mack Center at 8 p.m. Sept. 17.
Featured entertainers will include Cristian Catro, Aida Cuevas, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan and Mariachi Sol De Mexico.
Tickets range from $49 to $119.
For more information go to www.unlvtickets.com or call 739-3267.
Internationally acclaimed pianist and vocalist Ray Coussins will perform at the Monte Carlo's Houdini Lounge beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Thursday.
Also at the Monte Carlo -- in the Pub and Brewery -- the R&B group Legendary Joint Chiefs will perform nightly at 9:30 p.m. tonight through Sunday, July 14-17 and July 21-24.
The Tropicana, former home of the Casino Legends Hall of Fame museum, has opened the Las Vegas Historic Museum -- an exhibit that focuses on gaming, mobsters, entertainers and the brothels of Nevada.
A video covers the rise and fall of the Mafia in Las Vegas; there are several large photos of such gangsters as Bugsy Siegel, Frank Rosenthal and Al Capone.
Among the entertainers featured in the museum are Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Louis Prima, Judy Garland, Wayne Newton, Elvis Presley and Liberace.
In the brothel section, there are exhibits from such bordellos as Sheri's Ranch, the Mustang Ranch, the Chicken Ranch, Mabel's Whorehouse, Madam Kitty's and the Green Lantern.
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