Lady Luck shines on Third St. visitors

Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005 | 7:16 a.m.

Third Street is alive with the sound of live music and pounding hammers.

The new owners of the Lady Luck are creating an entertainment and restaurant zone that already has become a fun destination for locals as well as tourists.

"This was part of the vision when they bought it," Virginia Perkins, vice president and general manager of the hotel said.

Last year Las Vegas-based Henry Brent Co., whose majority owner is Timbers bar and grill chain founder Andrew Donner, bought the former Trolley Stop casino west of the Lady Luck (which the Brent Co. managed).

The company began converting the property into a series of restaurants and bars before it bought the Lady Luck for $24 million in May from its owner, a private real estate company based in Newport Beach, Calif.

"This is about the owners wanting to create a walking district that includes retail, dining and entertainment," Perkins said.

They were inspired by such popular areas as the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego.

"They want to create a level of energy on the street so that anywhere you go you can hear great music," said Debi Puccinelli, director of marketing, entertainment and public relations for Lady Luck.

A $25-million renovation project has begun on the hotel even as work continues on the restaurants and bar district.

"We are slowly closing some of the venues inside the hotel and casino to begin renovations," Perkins said. "It will be totally renovated -- including both of the towers, except for the time share apartments.

"All of the casino floor is to be redone -- food venues, several have closed temporarily. We will have new everything -- new lobby, new lounges."

The renovated Lady Luck will feature a new showroom, lounges and restaurants.

Puccinelli said the showroom will have headliners and possibly a permanant show.

Already open in the entertainment/restaurant zone on Third Street are The Hogs & Heifers, the Celebrity nightclub (which features a variety of live music) and the Triple George Bar and Grill (which has live piano music).

The most recent venue to open is the Sidebar, a 1,400 square-foot bar nestled in between the Triple George and Celebrity.

The club features a lengthy cocktail menu, appetizers, a cigar bar and taped music.

Mayor Oscar Goodman, no stranger to cocktails, checked out the new venue Tuesday night when OPAC (Oscar Political Action Committee) met at Triple George.

Lady Luck is in partnership with the owners of Celebrity (where Bill Haley's Original Comets will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday); it leases space to the owners of Hogs & Heifers and it operates Triple George and Sidebar.

The Sidebar is an allusion to its size and location. Not only is it beside other venues, it is close to the courthouse.

"We're hoping to cater to the people who work there for lunch and dinner," Perkins said.

There are more venues to come.

Another club, as yet unnamed, will be constructed north of a pawn shop (which is next door to Hogs & Heifers). The shop is the only space on the street not owned by Lady Luck.

"The new venue will be dedicated to music," Puccinelli said. "People will hear diverse acts -- blues, rap, whatever. It will be very eclectic.

"We hope to establish a reputation so that people will know whoever is here will be good."

And there will be space for another venue on the ground floor of the west tower (at the north end of the block).

"But we haven't decided yet what we are going to put in there," Perkins said.

Armed Forces benefit

The Kiwanis Club and the Las Vegas Sports Committee will host a benefit show honoring our local Armed Forces.

The show will be at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 in the 1,940-seat Cashman Theatre.

Over 200 local service men and women, on leave from the war, will be VIP guests of the show.

Entertainment will include Herb Reed and the Platters, Rich Little, Johnny Hernandez, Jimmy Hopper and Susan Anton.

Tickets are $45 at the door and $35 in advance.

For information contact Bob Feeney at 897-2283 (office) or 812-3671 (cell) or E-Mail bobfeeney@wlgdirect.com.

New radio show

"Lunchtime With Ira, Live from the Las Vegas Hilton," a weekly radio show broadcast from the Hilton's Shimmer Cabaret, will debut on KDWN 720-AM (Talk Radio) at noon Monday.

The show will feature Ira David Sternberg hosting celebrities, entertainers, tourism executives writers and a variety of others.

Sternberg, who was inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2000, previously hosted a long-running weekly talk show on KDWN, "Las Vegas Notebook."

Jerry Fink can be reached at 259-4058 or at jerry@lasvegassun.com.